Boys volleyball: Rolling Meadows trending upward after beating Carmel

Consider the switch flipped.

Braden Muhr says he's seen it before. He knows the signs.

The Rolling Meadows boys volleyball team started last season, with Muhr as a sophomore on varsity, with a 5-13 record. But the Mustangs got on a run at that point and finished the season at 18-17.

"This is our switch game," Muhr, a middle hitter and now a junior, said moments after leading Rolling Meadows to a decisive 25-18, 25-23 sweep of Carmel in a nonconference match in Mundelein on Monday night.

"In years past, we've had rough starts to the season. And in the second part of the season, we've been able to flip the switch. This is one of our turning-point games where we just turn it on and we get going from there."

Rolling Meadows, which got a team-high 5 kills, 4 blocks and an ace from Muhr, is now 8-12 on the season and with 15 matches left has a chance to make a similar turnaround to positive territory like last season.

"We don't have a lot of club players and we have a lot of two and three-sport athletes so we don't play a lot in the offseason together and the last couple years, we have started off with some really tough competition and some tough tournaments so we get off to a slow start with our record and we've taken some hits," Rolling Meadows coach Kevin Bourn said. "But right around this time of year, is when we start to click. Last year when we were 5-13, we ended up turning our season completely around.

"We think we can do something similar this year. I've got a brand-new starting lineup when it comes to hitters. Every single one of my hitters from last year graduated so our guys this year are starting to get some experience. And we've made some lineup changes. I think we've got the winning combination now."

The winning combination for Rolling Meadows against Carmel was a few less errors and far more energy.

Muhr was a bundle of energy, especially around the net, and that seemed to be contagious with his teammates. Carmel, on the other hand was a bit flat.

"We came into the match and didn't have a ton of energy," said Carmel outside hitter Michael Scott, who rolled up a match-high 13 kills. He also had a block and 8 digs. "It was basically communication and energy and when it's a silent gym, things aren't going to go well for you. We just didn't have energy."

Despite eight missed serves in the second game, Carmel, which drops to 13-12, gave Rolling Meadows a run for its money and Scott had some big kills to keep the Corsairs in striking distance.

But Rolling Meadows hung tough and never gave up the lead.

"We were very flat," Carmel coach Kevin Nylen said. "But we gave away a lot of points and we got behind. All season long, we've established that we can come from behind and win. But tonight, Rolling Meadows was too good. They played with a lot of aggression and we couldn't match their energy. Even though they also made mistakes, they didn't let that drop their energy and we did."

Carmel got a team-high 14 digs from Matt Herron while Rolling Meadows setter Jackson Brossett finished with 12 assists.