Springs Valley Community High School

As it took the floor Saturday afternoon, the Springs Valley volleyball team was ready. The Blackhawks had already swept Orange County rival Orleans out of the state tournament and were set to face possibly their biggest test in sectional play, Class 1A No. 9 Loogootee. The two teams have consistently played tight matches in recent years, each trying to prove itself as one of the best small-school programs in the region and even the state, and because of that there was good reason for the ‘Hawks to have some nerves. That’s not the way Saturday’s matchup played out though. In their IHSAA Sectional 63 semifinal bout, the Blackhawks beat Loogootee and it wasn’t particularly close. They swept the Lions 25-18, 25-16, 25-17, ending Loogootee’s hopes of winning a fourth sectional championship in a row while keeping their own alive. “I think it was a really good confidence boost for the team because I know we were probably a little bit nervous. We knew that Loogootee wouldn’t roll over because that’s just not Loogootee, that’s not what Loogootee does,” Springs Valley junior Bella Nottger said. “We expected a good game coming into it. After warm-ups I think we just knew we were going to win and I think that showed when we played because we played really well.” Springs Valley knew that in order to beat the Lions, it would have to step its game up defensively and they were incredible in that facet of the match. Brynne Buchanan and Molly Tucker were strong in the back row, racking up 17 and 11 digs respectively, and they were helped in a major way by what the Blackhawks did at the net. Springs Valley’s blockers were on point, not necessarily getting the big stuff blocks in bunches — they did get one or two — but getting a finger or a hand on a lot of Loogootee’s attacking attempts and managing to slow them down. “It was really important for us. We knew that Loogootee likes to swing at the ball and they’re not going to shy away from the block, so our mindset was that we need to get our hands up and take space off the court so our defenders had room to move in and watch the ball,” Nottger said. “We knew that if we were going to get touches on the ball, it would give our back row time to get under it and then give us time to transition back to get a good attack.” With the win, Springs Valley (28-4, 6-0 PLAC) booked its ticket to Saturday evening’s IHSAA Sectional 63 championship match in which it will play Vincennes Rivet. If the Blackhawks can take down the Patriots, they’ll be sectional champions for the fourth year in a row and the 19th time in school history. In order to do that, they’ll need to rest up and then get back to playing their game. “I think we all just need to rest for the next couple of hours until we have to be back at the gym,” Nottger said. “When we get back on the court we need to move fast. We run a really fast offense, but we have to be faster than Rivet and I think we should be able to do that.” SPRINGS VALLEY 3, LOOGOOTEE 0 Loogootee 18 16 17 — 0 Springs Valley 25 25 25 — 3 Springs Valley: Bella Nottger 9 kills, 1 dig, 1 block; Maddie Carnes 8 kills, 24 assists, 11 digs, 1 block; Tynley Kluesner 7 kills, 2 digs, 2 aces; Leigh Carnes 6 kills, 11 assists, 9 digs; Brynne Buchanan 6 kills, 17 digs, 2 aces; Alayna Denbo 5 kills, 1 block; Molly Tucker 1 assist, 11 digs, 2 aces.