Senior outside hitter Nathan Mungcal can produce some breathtaking serves for Tinley Park.
But first, he has to do some breathing of his own.
“The big thing is to take a big, deep breath in and out before I serve,” he said.
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The breathing technique works well for him. And so does his serving. Mungcal is now in the top 10 on the Illinois High School Association’s list for career aces with 168.
Mungcal came up with five more of those aces Tuesday night in a 25-6, 25-16 South Suburban Blue victory over host Hillcrest in Country Club Hills.
Once the 5-foot-6 Mungcal is done with his deep breathing, he lets the power take over.
“This season, I’m not gonna lie, it’s toss it up and just rip it as hard as I can,” he said.
The Maryville recruit, who has moved from setter to hitter this spring, led the conference champion Titans (12-8, 9-1) with eight kills Tuesday night. Senior setter Ethan Ledesma added 22 assists and Aaron Benitez contributed 17 digs in the easy win against the Hawks (0-15, 0-11).
Interestingly enough, Mungcal has the most aces of any Southland player on the IHSA’s list.
He passed Oak Lawn’s Kyle Exline, who was tied for ninth with 165. With three regular-season matches left plus the postseason, Mungal could challenge Chicago Latin’s Ari Silver, who has 184, for the fifth spot.
Mungcal credited Miguel Fernandez, his Windy City Premier club coach, for getting his jump serve going.
“Serving is something I’ve always practiced ever since I was younger,” Mungcal said. “I have to say thank you to my coach. He’s the one who really taught me how to jump serve.
“Ever since I was young, he saw the potential in me. I’ve been working on putting the topspin down and trying to put down an aggressive and consistent serve. The stats just show that the work paid off.”
Chris Omiecinski, in first year as Tinley Park’s coach after moving up from the junior varsity, also saw the potential in Mungcal’s hitting ability and switched him from setter to hitter.
“With his size, people don’t expect it, but he has one of the highest verticals I have ever seen,” Omiecinski said of Mungcal. “His volleyball IQ is the best I’ve ever seen.
“It was a role we needed, and he stepped up and took it.”
Ledesma, who also played football and chess, enjoys getting a chance to set up Mungcal.
“I love the energy and connection that we have,” Ledesma said. “I also like the bond that we all have, and that’s what really launched our program where it is today.”
Tinley Park’s program started in 2018 and the Titans won their first conference title this spring. The program went through some big-time growing pains, including several winless seasons.
The Titans have actually never had a winning season but also are on track to do that.
“I’ve coached a lot of these guys on the JV level and I always knew there was something there,” said Omiecinski, who played in high school at Marist and in college at Loras. “This senior group, man, they’ve been on the other side of some things have were not the most glorious.
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“But our motto this year is ‘raise the banner.’ Our gym has no volleyball banner. And they did it. They bought in, and it’s a testament to these seniors.”
Mungcal’s hitting days will be over when he heads to St. Louis to play for NCAA Division II Maryville. But for now, he’s having fun.
“Hitting is every little man’s dream,” Mungcal said. “At 5-foot-6, my size is not great, so I just continue to work hard at it. And I have great chemistry with Ethan.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.