Matt Herron had to wait a long time for his senior season to begin.
Herron missed Carmel’s first 33 matches after suffering a concussion during club play just before the start of this season.
The high-flying outside hitter returned this week ready to give the Corsairs a boost in the Class 2A Vernon Hills Regional.
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“It just felt so good to be able to help out our team on the court again,” he said. “I can’t really describe the feeling to play a match like this in front of our amazing fans.”
Herron made his second start Tuesday and pounded down a team-high 14 kills, including three of Carmel’s last four points of the match, in a 23-25, 25-20, 25-18 victory against third-seeded Mundelein in a regional semifinal.
The fifth-seeded Corsairs (21-14) will play second-seeded Vernon Hills (28-8) for the regional championship at 4 p.m. Thursday. The Cougars swept past No. 6 Grayslake Central 25-20, 25-20 on Tuesday.
Carmel coach Kevin Nylen was not the only person happy to have Herron on the floor.
“When Matt came back into the gym last week after getting the OK from the doctor, you could just see the excitement in the rest of the players,” Nylen said. “They knew what kind of player Matt is and what he would be able to do to help us in the playoffs.
“We have a lot of solid players on this team, so kudos to them that they won 20 matches when he wasn’t able to play. He’s just a great piece to have back to join our core group.”
Even with Herron in Carmel’s lineup, Mundelein (25-9) showed off its power game in winning the opening set behind Augustana College commit Jordan Schneckloth, who had five of his 13 kills. The Corsairs lost a 23-19 lead as Schneckloth served up the final six points for the Mustangs.
“We should not have lost the first game like that, but it proved we were right there,” Herron said. “Even though we lost that game, I think it gave us some momentum for the next two games.”
Carmel’s defense stood out in the final two games.
“Our block was key,” Herron said. “Everyone was helping out blocking, and that gave us a big lift.”
Mundelein appeared to be in control of the match with an 11-6 lead in the second set, but hitting errors cost the Mustangs.
“This team did a lot of good things this season to win 25 matches — the fourth-best record in school history,” Mundelein coach George Dressen said. “We just fell behind too much, and it caught up with us in the second and third games.”
Vernon Hills, which got seven kills from Erik Giezycki and five each from Max March and Anthony Smykalov on Tuesday, will provide another test for Carmel.
“It should be fun to play a team like Vernon Hills, but we will give it our best shot,” Herron said. “I just started my season, so I don’t want it to end.”
Darren Day is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.