Springs Valley Community High School

2,919 days, 48 matches, eight years and eight seasons. After its 25-15, 25-12, 25-14 victory over Perry Central on Thursday, that’s how long the Springs Valley volleyball program’s Patoka Lake Athletic Conference undefeated streak has lasted. In fitting fashion, the match followed a formula similar to many others the Blackhawks have played during the span, with the contenders coming out hot and throwing some haymakers before the champs outlasted them to win handily. Perry Central had a large, loud student section and was amped up because it was senior night as well, but in the end it didn’t make a difference after Springs Valley pulled away. In fact, the energy that the Commodores brought actually benefited the Blackhawks as well. “I think Perry gave us a lot of motivation coming out here as fired up as they were,” Springs Valley senior Brynne Buchanan said. “We just knew that we had to shut it down pretty quickly. I think we did that and I’m just really proud of the way we played.” The Blackhawks also benefited from a very balanced attack against the Commodores. Leigh and Maddie Carnes led the way for the ‘Hawks with eight kills apiece, Tynley Kluesner and Bella Nottger each had seven, Alayna Denbo had five and Buchanan had three. They were also very efficient, getting their 38 team kills on just 79 attempts with just eight errors, giving them a team hitting percentage of .380. Denbo’s five came on seven attempts, Nottger’s seven came on 11 attempts, and Kluesner’s seven came on 13 attempts. When this team is playing at its best, that’s exactly what its attack looks like. “It doesn’t surprise me because that’s what we started the year doing,” Springs Valley coach Erin Carnes said. “I knew coming into the season what we were capable of doing, but seeing them do it in that environment, in a high-stakes game with the conference on the line, was great. I just thought that they came in very focused and everybody was clicking offensively and defensively.” Springs Valley winning the conference, which it’s now done 24 times overall and eight times in a row, has become such a regularity that it’s more of an expectation than anything else. That does little to temper the Blackhawks’ pride in and excitement about the achievement though. “People expect us to win the conference, but it’s not an easy task. We have to do the right things in practice and over the summer,” Erin Carnes said. “We just have a great team, a very dominant team, when we play our game and we have a fantastic coaching staff that pushes them in practice. I feel like they’re always pushing themselves in those practices which allows us to do what we do. It’s a very cool thing to think that we haven’t lost a conference match since 2014, which makes me feel super old. It’s a very neat thing to be a part of.” For Springs Valley’s seniors, particularly, the win was a relief as it brought their turn as the guardians of the streak to a close. It started when they were just fourth-graders — Maddie Carnes and her freshman classmates were just first-graders — and now their 24-0 run has come to an end. “It’s a relief, but I didn’t expect anything less,” Buchanan said. “I was confident going into this and I’ve always been confident. We believe in ourselves.” Springs Valley (26-4, 6-0 PLAC) closed out the regular season with the win, its ninth in a row, and now has a full head of steam headed into the state tournament. The Blackhawks will begin their sectional title defense on Thursday at 7 p.m. against Orleans, and as they do so they’ll just try to continue doing the things that have made them so successful to this point. “We just need to play our game, keep mixing the ball like we are. I think everybody’s doing a good job of communication and we’re all kind of just on right now,” Buchanan said. “It’s a great feeling to feel like it’s all coming together right at the right time.” SPRINGS VALLEY 3, PERRY CENTRAL 0 Springs Valley 25 25 25 — 3 Perry Central 15 12 14 — 0 Springs Valley: Leigh Carnes 8 kills, 17 assists, 5 digs, 1 block, 3 aces; Maddie Carnes 8 kills, 20 assists, 10 digs; Tynley Kluesner 7 kills, 5 digs, 2 blocks, 2 aces; Bella Nottger 7 kills, 2 blocks, 1 ace; Alayna Denbo 5 kills, 3 blocks; Brynne Buchanan 3 kills, 15 digs, 1 block, 2 aces; Molly Tucker 7 digs, 2 aces.