Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley volleyball team tested itself on Saturday, playing a quartet of games at the Pioneer Kickoff Classic hosted by Providence. Among the Blackhawks’ competition in the event were some of the elite programs in the state. Class 4A powers Castle and Center Grove were in attendance as were Silver Creek, Tri-West, Evansville Mater Dei and the host Pioneers. Despite the field being loaded and injuries limiting their depth, the Blackhawks managed to do quite well. They ultimately finished fourth out of the eight teams with a 2-2 record. “I walked out of the gym a happy coach. With the competition we played and not being at full strength, I thought the team responded well,” Springs Valley coach Erin Carnes said. “This tournament was as tough as they come and I knew going in that it was going to be played at a pace that we don't get to see very often. I felt it was important for our kids to see where they compare to the bigger programs and I wasn't surprised to see us beat some and hang with others. I was proud of the effort the girls displayed and the ability to adapt to the different lineups we had to use throughout the day.” Springs Valley opened the day with a sizable victory over Mater Dei, beating the Wildcats 25-12, 25-9, then fell to Providence 25-15, 25-13. In their third match of the day the Blackhawks took down Trinity Lutheran 25-21, 25-22 to take second place in their pool, drawing Castle in crossover play. They’d fall to the Knights 25-16, 21-25, 15-6. The highlight of the day for the ‘Hawks far and away was their victory over Trinity Lutheran. It was the first time that Carnes had defeated the Cougars in her 13 seasons as head coach. The Cougars have also eliminated the Blackhawks from the state tournament in two of the last three seasons, each time coming in the regional championship match. “It was a big deal for me and it was an even bigger deal for the kids, because now they know it's possible,” Carnes said. “Not only did we beat Trinity in two sets, we did it without playing our number one lineup due to an injury. That game went back and forth and we were even down three points at one time, but the girls never panicked and would find a way to get a sideout. If we do the right things come tournament time, I’m sure we’ll have a chance to play them again.” Over the course of Saturday’s four matches, players up and down the lineup got a chance to feature and make plays. One of the biggest throughlines over the course of the day though was the play of Maddie Carnes. In her first event as a varsity volleyball player the freshman showed that she belonged, leading the Blackhawks with 42 assists and 39 digs while finishing second on the team with 22 kills. She also put up points in bunches against Trinity Lutheran and Castle, specifically, dominating those matches in three-, four- or five-point stretches. “Her time in the gym as a young child and her experiences through club ball make all the difference. She makes mistakes like the rest, but she understands scenarios and has a very high volleyball IQ,” Erin Carnes said. “I’ve seen her take over games before and wasn't surprised when she started to pick them apart on Saturday.” Springs Valley also got strong days from their seniors. Brynne Buchanan had an incredibly efficient 15 kills, picking them up on just 29 attempts, and had 20 digs as well. Alayna Denbo was efficient too, tallying eight kills on 15 swings. Tynley Kluesner was solid all around, picking up 14 kills, 13 digs and a team-high four aces. Libero Molly Tucker was busy on the back row with 25 digs and 35 serve receptions and Leigh Carnes had her fingerprints all over Springs Valley’s success, racking up a team-high 28 kills to go with 38 assists and 21 digs. The final spot in the lineup was split between a pair of players over the course of the day. Bella Nottger played against Mater Dei and Providence, picking up four kills on 10 attempts before an injury ended her day. In the final two matches Lyric Whaley took Nottger’s place and played admirably. “I was so proud of Lyric and what she brought to the team on Saturday. When she realized she would be stepping onto the court, I could see the nerves building up, but she kept her composure and made some big plays at different times,” Erin Carnes said. “She’s such a ball of energy and her positive attitude is contagious. Moving forward, this should give her a ton of confidence.” With its season-opening tournament out of the way, Springs Valley (2-2, 0-0 PLAC) will now get to establish more of a typical regular-season rhythm in the coming weeks. The Blackhawks will be back in action on Thursday, traveling to Christian Academy, then they’ll compete against Wood Memorial in their home opener on Saturday. As they get into the meat of their schedule, they’ll try to build on the successes that they had at Providence by learning from what they saw there. “We can’t overlook anyone. Some of those schools walked in this weekend with 30-plus people for their teams and when they looked at our little roster of 10, you could just sense the attitude of ‘this is going to be easy’ fill the room. Once we started playing, however, our little roster played at a pretty high level of volleyball and they didn't expect it. We’re going to have to respect each team we come up against and play at that same high level no matter who is standing on the other side,” Erin Carnes said. “We still have a lot of room to improve. I expect everyone to be better in October than they are right now, so our team will have to be better as well. Each time we walk into the gym, it will be a chance to do just that and If we want to make it to our end goal, we’ll have to make those gains.”