Sandburg’s Maya Rihani was one of the most hugged players on the court.

They were pretty well deserved too, considering the amount of service points, aces, good sets and occasional defensive gems the senior setter turned in Thursday night.

When the match was over, she had helped the Eagles win a conference title.

“I just wanted to put it all on the court for my teammates,” Rihani said. “This was really important to us. We sacrificed a lot to get to this point and have a lot of energy for it.

“I wanted to put it all out there and not regret anything.”

There were only smiles by Rihani after Sandburg’s 25-18, 25-21 Southwest Suburban Blue victory over visiting Lincoln-Way East in Orland Park.

Elise Sterling and Kate Walsh tallied eight kills apiece for Sandburg (22-13, 8-1). Reilly Chausse contributed 10 digs and Keira Fitzgerald added 13 assists.

Tamia Maddox led Lincoln-Way East (20-15, 6-3) with nine kills. Alaina Pollard added eight kills, while Maggie Simon had 16 assists and Lexi Byas chipped in with 10 digs.

Rihani, meanwhile, finished with 14 assists, 10 service points and three aces. Twice, her long service runs put Sandburg into big leads.

Late in the second game, she froze the whole gym with a beautiful misdirection tip for kill that interrupted a points streak by the Griffins.

“I just wanted to make the most out of my serves,” Rihani said. “To get those runs meant a lot to me.

“Winning conference really is awesome. Last year, we made promises to each other to stick together no matter what. We made friendships instead of enemies. Doing this for each other, and for coach (David) Vales, is just amazing.

Vales has been coaching while also battling Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He has rarely missed a match or practice despite going through two rounds of chemotherapy.

For the season, Rihani has 284 assists, 200 digs and 33 aces. She’s the perfect setting complement to Fitzgerald, who has 356 assists, 199 digs and 33 aces.

Rihani is bringing to a close a varsity career in which she has literally changed the way Sandburg plays the game.

When she transferred from Andrew before her sophomore season, Vales was planning to run a 5-1 offense that featured Fitzgerald as the lone setter.

“I really wasn’t sure about taking her,” Vales said of Rihani. “But Maya came in with tons of spirit, tons of energy, during camp. She was a little raw on the setting, but I figured we could find a spot on the JV team for her.

“She just continued to transform from an outsider to being a leader on the JV team. That just doesn’t happen. But the team accepted her and she rose to where she could feel her voice being heard.”

Her stats also were being noticed.

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“I needed a little more offense and I had (a hitter) on the bench I needed to get in,” Vales said. “When you are running a 5-1, you’re missing a hitter. So I said, ‘Let’s try this,’ and the last tournament of the year I brought her up.

“We didn’t win the tournament, but Maya was a click. I felt, ‘OK, we’re going to look different here.’ She played the last seven matches of the regular season, and we were able to win a regional championship.”

For her part, Rihani fit like a glove in the volleyball circle.

“I really wanted to move to Sandburg, and I was really excited,” Rihani said. “The second I walked into summer league, people were coming to me, greeting me, wanting to be friends with me.”

Fitzgerald not only welcomed a setting partner — she preferred it.

“When Maya came on board, honestly it was kind of a relief having someone my age with the same mindset,” Fitzgerald said. “It gave me more assurance in this team.

“I put my full trust in her, and I can’t thank her enough.”