Baumgartner in charge of Mundelein's rally

When the Mundelein boys volleyball team advanced to the state tournament three years ago, Mitchell Baumgartner was playing freshman baseball for the Mustangs.

"I knew they were making a run but that wasn't really my focus," Baumgartner said.

This season, Mundelein has the talent in place to make another run deep in the postseason. And this time, Baumgartner will be leading the action.

Although Baumgartner had played baseball for as long as he can remember, he elected to go out for volleyball as a sophomore. It wasn't as if he was new to volleyball. He had been a top club player for several years.

"It was definitely a tough decision," Baumgartner said.

It certainly proved to be the right one. Not only did Baumgartner make the varsity team, he became a fixture in the starting lineup.

As a senior, Baumgartner is a co-captain and his play will be instrumental to the Mustangs' success.

"He's playing incredible offense and defense," coach George Dressen Jr. said. "He picks up the team and takes charge of each match. I don't think I've heard anything negative come out of his mouth in three years."

Added senior Andrew Roscoe: "We all look to him on the court and feed off his energy. He's really good at leading by example."

Baumgartner had 42 kills to help Mundelein go 5-0 and win the season-opening Hoffman Estates Invitational.

Of course, it was far from a one-man show. Senior Patrick Lenz had a team-high 47 kills. Roscoe distributed 117 assists, and Jack Boich had 7 blocks. On defense, Chris Kelly (49 digs), Connor Johnson (24 digs) and Brian Chin (20 digs) were all over the floor.

Eight players on Mundelein's roster played club volleyball together.

"We know each other's tendencies and what each person brings to the game," Baumgartner said.

When Dressen reflects on the Mundelein team that went to state three years ago, the first thing he thinks about is the chemistry. He believes this year's team is following a similar model.

"They believe they are brothers," Dressen said. "They do everything together and it shows on the floor."

Now that his attention is focused squarely on volleyball, Baumgartner hopes the Mustangs can follow a similar model as the 2007 squad.

"We expected to get off to a fast start," he said. "We have really high expectations. We're looking to make a state run."