Springs Valley Community High School

In more than a decade as Springs Valley’s head volleyball coach, Erin Carnes has had good teams some years and great teams in others. She’s won nine Patoka Lake Athletic Conference championships and four sectional titles. It’s safe to say that she’s seen a thing or two. The team she has this season, however, is different than many of the teams she’s had in the past. This one might be better. The Blackhawks’ 2022 squad is as veteran as they come. The four seniors on the team — Brynne Buchanan, Alayna Denbo, Kenzie Harrell and Tynley Kluesner — have combined to play 802 sets of varsity volleyball and three of the four are multi-season regulars for Springs Valley. The junior class is loaded with experience as well. Through two seasons Leigh Carnes has already racked up 568 career kills to go along with 694 assists, Molly Tucker’s entering her second season as Springs Valley’s libero and though Bella Nottger sat out most of last season after transferring from Mitchell, she did suit up and play in regional. That group of seven players gives the Blackhawks the experience they’ll need to excel, particularly during the state tournament when everything is on the line. “In past situations, I felt like we crumbled when the pressure was put on us. After going through our summer training and seeing the girls playing together, I believe we’ll have that sense of calm when everything is on the line and push through to the finish,” Erin Carnes said. “For the ones that haven't had that actual varsity time, they have already had that experience in club volleyball playing against some of the top clubs in the country and know what it's like. “This team has a tremendous amount of time on the court and it shows.” The first thing most will notice about this group is its length. There isn’t just one or two players on this roster who are legitimate shot-blockers, there are a bunch. Denbo, Kluesner, Nottger, Leigh Carnes and freshman Maddie Carnes all have the mixture of height, wingspan and athleticism to alter shots and though Buchanan doesn’t have the lankiness of her teammates, her athleticism helps her chip in as a blocker as well. That depth at the net is something that Valley hasn’t had very often and it’s a game changer. “Our length at the net, for the lack of a better word, is crazy. We don’t have any holes and other teams won’t be able to find a mismatch too often. Not saying we’ll block every ball or even touch every ball at the net, but we will slow down quite a few of them and that will be a huge advantage for our back row players,” Erin Carnes said. “We saw the height advantage this summer when we played in the North Harrison tournament. The girls would get some stuff blocks and then the opposing team would try hitting around or over and that's when errors happen.” The more underappreciated strength of this team might be its versatility. There doesn’t seem to be any rotation where the Blackhawks are weaker than another. Up and down the roster there are players who have well-developed skill sets that allow them to play well all the way around and with any other assortment of teammates. That leaves opposing teams with little room to operate as their opportunities to make a push will be less predictable. “I think the versatility piece is what will set us apart from most of the teams we’ll play this season,” Erin Carnes said. “Every kid can play multiple positions and anyone who watches this season will see that when an adjustment needs to be made. At the high school level it's rarely about what the other team does and more about what’s going on on your side of the net, but as far as trying to game plan for us I think it could be tough.” The Blackhawks will kick off the 2022 season on Saturday, Aug. 13 at the Providence Kickoff Classic. The event will be a tough early test as in pool play they’ll have to take on Trinity Lutheran, Evansville Mater Dei, and Providence. “This will be our first trip to the Providence Classic. I’m excited to watch and be a part of some great volleyball,” Erin Carnes said. “Our emphasis no matter where we we go will be to compete at the highest level possible. We’ll be playing against schools much bigger than us with a lot more kids to choose from but win or lose, we won’t see that speed again until tournament time. We want to play better competition because that’s the only way we’ll keep progressing forward and get to our end goal.” Springs Valley Blackhawks Last season: 27-6 (6-0 PLAC) Coach: Erin Carnes (295-95 in 13th season at Springs Valley) Players to know: Brynne Buchanan (Sr.), Leigh Carnes (Jr.), Alayna Denbo (Sr.), Tynley Kluesner (Sr.) Matches to circle: Sept. 6 at Barr-Reeve, Sept. 19 vs. Tecumseh, Sept. 27