Springs Valley Community High School

The Springs Valley volleyball team traveled to Loogootee on Saturday for a regional showdown with Shakamak. The Blackhawks buried the Lakers in consecutive sets, winning their fourth regional championship 25-22, 25-18, 25-12. Springs Valley sharpened its play over the course of the match, utilizing a tight first-set victory as a launching pad to earn decisive victories in the second and especially third sets. Maddie Carnes was the catalyst for the Blackhawks as they claimed the crown. Not only did the junior dish out 26 assists, she also led the team in kills and aces with 15 and three respectively, then racked up 15 digs as well. Emmy Saliba was excellent as well, putting up a career-high 10 kills on 24 attempts with only one error for a strong hitting percentage of .375: a team-high on Saturday. She also had 12 digs, an ace, and a block. Kinsey Saliba had 12 kills, a block, and an ace. Maci Eckerty had a team-high 17 digs. The regional championship is the first for Springs Valley (25-5, 5-1 PLAC) since 1999, ending a 25-year drought. In that span the Blackhawks won nine sectional championships, but failed to advance past regional each time. The Blackhawks will try to keep their historic season going next Saturday at 10 a.m. when they take on Class 1A No. 1 Trinity Lutheran in the semifinal round of the Jasper Semi-State.