Springs Valley Community High School

Until Saturday, the Springs Valley volleyball team had yet to play at home. The Blackhawks had taken trips to Clarksville and New Albany and they’d gotten results, but they were excited to play on their home court and it showed. On Saturday they started fast and never let up against Wood Memorial, sweeping the Trojans 25-16, 25-10, 25-14. “It was very nice to not get on that sweaty bus, and I know the seniors were excited to run out of the tunnel for the last first time,” Springs Valley coach Erin Carnes said. “It was a good showing for us. I felt like our defense was strong, we were transitioning to the right spots and that’s a lot of what we’ve been working on in practice.” A big part of Springs Valley’s success was the way it served as a team. The Blackhawks were able to keep Wood Memorial on its heels for much of the match because of it. They racked up 11 aces — four from Bella Nottger, three each from Tynley Kluesner and Molly Tucker, and one from Leigh Carnes — and committed just three errors on 73 attempts. “We talk about it a lot in practice. You can know everything about another team, but in the end it all really is dependent on how you’re playing on your side of the court,” Erin Carnes said. “Any time we can put pressure on, make other teams send us free balls, and run a play it’s going to benefit us and it really did today.” So far this season Nottger has been hampered by an ankle injury — it stopped her from playing in matches against Trinity Lutheran and Castle — but she’s played through it recently and been a valuable asset for the Blackhawks. Earlier in the week against Christian Academy she was dominant, tallying nine kills on 10 attempts and four blocks as well. Against Wood Memorial she was efficient once again with six kills on 11 attempts, also putting up three digs to go along with a block assist and her four aces. “She just makes plays happen. She’s just versatile. She might not get a block, but her hands reach so high over the net that she just causes a lot of chaos,” Erin Carnes said. “She transitions so well and she understands that if a setter’s coming off the net she needs to push out or kick out a little bit more. She’s very smart and she’s got a lot of hours under her belt. She’s very comfortable being in different, out-of-system situations.” Maddie Carnes was also crucial to the Blackhawks’ win on Saturday, putting together one of the better performances of her freshman year so far. She played beyond her years with 10 kills on 19 attempts, leading the team with 23 assists and 15 digs as well. “It’s quite something that she does. If you didn’t know her age or her class, you’d never walk in and think that she was in ninth grade. She just has so much poise to her game and she doesn’t ever get rattled,” Erin Carnes said. “She’s very smooth with whatever she’s doing, there’s not a lot of wasted motion and it kind of goes back to her training. “It just looks like everything is slowed down for her, which isn't really something you see at such an early age.” Springs Valley (4-2, 0-0 PLAC) will return to its home court on Tuesday, opening Patoka Lake Athletic Conference play against Crawford County. With the Wolfpack in town, the Blackhawks will begin their quest for a 24th conference title overall and eighth in a row. As they do so, they’ll continue tinkering to find the attacking balance they’ll need to play at their best. “It’s definitely going to be important to get everybody the reps that they need to stay engaged in the game,” Erin Carnes said. “It’s going to be important moving forward that everybody is getting good looks throughout the game consistently and we don’t have one or two kids who just have to take so many swings. It’s not good for them physically to have to jump that many more times and you don’t want anybody having to bear the load because we don’t have to do that this year. That’s the great thing about our team.” SPRINGS VALLEY 3, WOOD MEMORIAL 0 Wood Memorial 16 10 14 — 0 Springs Valley 25 25 25 — 3 Springs Valley: Maddie Carnes 10 kills, 23 assists, 15 digs; Leigh Carnes 12 kills, 12 assists, 8 digs, 1 ace; Alayna Denbo 7 kills, 2 blocks; Bella Nottger 6 kills, 3 digs, 1 block, 4 aces; Tynley Kluesner 5 kills, 8 digs, 3 aces; Brynne Buchanan 2 kills, 1 assist, 9 digs; Molly Tucker 1 kill, 1 assist, 9 digs, 3 aces; Kenzie Harrell 2 digs.