Springs Valley Community High School

Tuesday evening was a special one for the Springs Valley volleyball program. The Blackhawks’ match against Salem itself wasn’t particularly eventful — they swept the Lions 25-12, 25-12, 25-12 — but that was the icing on the cake. It was senior night, and on this particular senior night, the Blackhawks got to celebrate one of the most successful groups that’s ever come through the program. The quartet of Brynne Buchanan, Alayna Denbo, Kenzie Harrell, and Tynley Kluesner — all four-year players who were joined by manager Ashlyn Bonta this season — has helped the program reach historic highs and was celebrated thusly on Tuesday. During their time at the high-school level Springs Valley has posted a 103-21 record while also winning four Patoka Lake Athletic Conference championships, three sectional championships, two Leslie Akers Classic championships, and the program’s first Class A Showdown championship. “It was special for them. I don’t think it’s quite sunk in yet, that that was their last regular-season (home) match, just because we do host sectional. There were a few tears here and there, but I don’t think it’s hit them quite yet,” Springs Valley coach Erin Carnes said. “It was a special night, honoring our seniors who have put in way more than four years in total for our program and it was great to send them out of here on the winning side.” Denbo was particularly strong against Salem. She’s always been efficient in attack and stout in defense, but Tuesday might have been her best performance of the season. Eight of her 11 attacking attempts turned into kills with just one error, giving her an absurd .636 hitting percentage for the evening. She also had a hand in a team-high three blocks. Springs Valley also got plenty of production out of its other middle, Bella Nottger. The junior led the Blackhawks with 11 kills on 15 attempts and no errors, making her hitting percentage .733. She also had three digs, a block, and an ace. (Alayna) handled her middle position very well. In some games she’ll try to manipulate the ball a little bit more than it needs to be and I thought tonight she just took the ball where it wanted to go. I thought she was very efficient with that,” Carnes said. “Bella kind of went off during her time at the net too. Those two were beasts tonight. There just wasn’t a whole lot their defense could do because that ball was just coming down so fast. I thought those two were phenomenal up front.” The Blackhawks were also able to play their full complement of players against Salem, something they try to do as often as possible. Their typical reserves — Harrell, Miya Campbell, and Kinsey Saliba — each got a share of time on the floor and did what they needed to do to help Springs Valley win. That sort of thing is huge for Campbell and Saliba in particular, as they’ll be asked to step up and play bigger roles in the future. “It’s definitely a positive. Anytime that we can get those kids in the game we try to do that,” Carnes said. “(They would play) on some teams from our past and on most of the teams that we’ve played against this season. They can jump out there at a moment’s notice and while it’s tough, they understand what’s going on and they’ve bought into what we’re doing and where we’re headed. I think when they do get a chance to get out there, they showcase what they can do.” Springs Valley (25-4, 5-0 PLAC) now has just one game left in its regular season. On Thursday, the Blackhawks will travel to Perry Central, where they’ll try to close out an undefeated run to the Patoka Lake Athletic Conference championship. As they do so, they’ll try to avoid the pitfalls that they usually face when they head to Leopold. “I just want them to come out strong. Typically when we go down there it just seems very sloppy and I really don’t know why, but that’s just kind of been our M.O.,” Carnes said. “We changed the history by winning the Class A Showdown, so now I’d like to go over there and change what the pattern has been (at Perry Central). “We have to handle our first contact better and just find our game. We have to go in there and not get too goofy. We’ve got to keep our game crisp and clean and I think if we do those things we’ll come out of there with a win.” SPRINGS VALLEY 3, SALEM 0 Salem 12 12 12 — 0 Springs Valley 25 25 25 — 3 Springs Valley: Bella Nottger 11 kills, 3 digs, 1 block, 1 ace; Alayna Denbo 8 kills, 3 blocks; Tynley Kluesner 7 kills, 1 assist, 6 digs, 2 aces; Maddie Carnes 7 kills, 23 assists, 10 digs, 4 aces; Leigh Carnes 6 kills, 12 assists, 6 digs, 2 aces; Brynne Buchanan 3 kills, 1 assist, 8 digs, 2 aces; Molly Tucker 2 assists, 11 digs, 1 ace; Kenzie Harrell 1 dig.