Note: This story was written prior to school and extracurriculars being cancelled due to COVID19

The hope this season for the RMHS boys volleyball team is to ultimately win Regionals.

“This [achievement] is something RMHS boys volleyball hasn’t reached since these players were probably wearing diapers, and this year’s group certainly has the talent to make a run in the playoffs,” Head Coach Kevin Bourn said. “It all depends on what that talent translates into by the end of the season.”

With Hersey and Buffalo Grove usually strong contenders at the top of the Conference, the Mustangs will look to build on their hard-fought Conference wins at the end of last season and start where they left off.

Junior Jorge Sanchez, a two-year varsity player who plays right side (front right) will look to play an important role this year and is looking forward to taking that next step to being a leader on the team.

“Overall I’m just trying to help out the team by being a good leader and player so we can win games,” Sanchez said.

Perhaps the most important aspect of the team’s off-season training routine is club volleyball. Senior captain and returning All-Conference player Braden Muhr knows the importance of keeping in shape out of season. Prior to the start of the school year, Muhr dislocated his shoulder, resulting in getting surgery to repair the muscles and ligaments that were torn. While he sought to heal with physical therapy and rehabilitation on my shoulder, he also remained involved in playing the sport outside of school.

“This year before the season, we had almost half of our varsity roster playing club ball,” Muhr said. “Many of these guys have been working on their technique and their skills since September, which gives us an edge on other teams.”

Muhr mainly plays middle hitter, which requires you to do a lot of jumping and blocking at the front of the net, but also step up and help put a ball away on offense if needed. For Muhr volleyball is all about the fun atmosphere.

“Volleyball is such a fun sport because the electric energy there is on each and every point,” Muhr said. “On big plays, the players play harder and the crowd gets fired up for a super fun atmosphere. A team can always catch up even if your team is down a ton of points and momentum can change quickly. The players on the court can get competitive with their opposing hitter or blocker.”

Although, this type of electric and suspenseful atmosphere can’t be achieved without good play and steady improvement from the players.

“Between day one of tryouts and the last match of the season, if we haven’t completely reshaped the way we play as a team, we’re not doing our jobs as coaches and players,” coach Bourn said. “That is communicated to players [through] constant reflection on our play and its ensuing adaptations. Even after a good win, there’s something we can improve upon. ”