Growing up, Mount Carmel’s Matthew Kenzinger spent quality time around volleyball.
His cousin, Joe, was a standout middle hitter at Brother Rice and Lewis.
“I had a blast watching him,” Matthew said. “It was fun going to his matches at Lewis.”
Abby Buchanan-Kenzinger, Matthew’s sister, also is a volleyball player. She just graduated from Richards. She’s committed to play in the fall for Illinois College.
With those influences, Matt’s choice of volleyball over baseball was pretty easy.
“In volleyball, you are always in the play,” he said. “I played baseball from T-ball all the way up to freshman year. The baseball and volleyball seasons were at the same time. I chose volleyball, which I’m glad I stuck with.
“Baseball at times can be boring when you are just sitting there. There is a fast pace in volleyball, and there is always that need to improve. That kept me in it.”
It seems that fast pace is the only one Kenzinger knows.
When his senior year begins, Kenzinger will be busy. An occasional broadcaster for the Caravan football games through the school’s media club, he’s also the student body vice president.
Plus, Kenzinger wants the boys volleyball team to post a winning record before he graduates. The junior outside hitter was named all-conference by the Catholic League Blue as the Caravan improved from a 2-11 record in 2021 to a 12-18 record in 2022.
“It was really fun because we had a really young team this year,” he said. “We had just one senior on the team, and we did well for ourselves.
“The year before, we were really bad. This year was a big improvement for us. We’re definitely hyped for next year.”
Mount Carmel coach Dominic Villa, who graduated from the school in 2013 and went on to play at Dominican before transferring to St. Xavier, also hopes Kenzinger can lead the team back on a winning track.
“Matt led us to our first 10-win season since I graduated in 2013,” Villa said. “I was lucky enough to have Matt as a part of my first incoming class as a head coach.
“He has made an immediate impact on our program and our school culture.”
Kenzinger said he likes to volunteer and get involved with school activities.
Even before coming to Mount Carmel, he participated in a Feed6 program for Oak Lawn-Hometown Middle School in 2017. He appeared as the school mascot — a Mustang — to entertain the kids.
That hasn’t changed in high school. He might not be horsing around in a costume, but he ran for student council president, ending up in a three-way race with Kevin Jacobs and Stone Burke.
Jacobs, who won, and Kenzinger are close friends. Unlike some of the local battles in Tuesday’s primary election, there was no mudslinging at Mount Carmel.
“It was hilarious,” Kenzinger said of the election. “We kept it light. We will work together. I’m looking forward to overseeing some of the events we have next year.”
Kenzinger has a variety of options with his future. He would like to play volleyball and study international business in college. He’s learning Mandarin.
Although he’s a part of the Chicago Volleyball Club, Kenzinger is not playing this summer, skipping this week’s AAU National Championships in Orlando.
But he’s not just sitting around.
“From sophomore year to junior year, I improved,” he said. “This summer, I have a gym routine — working on increasing my vertical. I’m also in a sand league with my friends, and that’s really helping the all-around part of my game.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
