In 2001, the Caravan volleyball team won 34 games and placed third in the state. Since then, the program has won a handful of Regional Championships but has not quite been able to put all the pieces together for a championship run.
However, with the addition of new head coach Mary Kaye Byrnes and the return of several senior players, they are planning to reconstruct the program into a Chicagoland powerhouse.

Coach Byrnes was hired last August and brings extensive volleyball playing and coaching experience. She was a four-year varsity player for De La Salle before playing at the University of Southern Indiana, a Division II program. Byrnes was most recently the junior varsity coach for De La Salle before coming to MC. Seniors such as right side Aydin Provost, outside Ethan Battig, and libero Aidan Sauseda are returning to help her guide the team this spring.
Many of these leaders have been four-year varsity players who have shaped the culture of MC volleyball. With their first game on March 26 against St. Francis, the season is ramping up and the players are excited for what is to come.
Coach Byrnes is impressed with the talent of the team and believes this can be the start of a new era of MC volleyball.
“I walked into a program that was on its feet already,” she said. “Our main goal is to build more confidence in this program and to prove that we could be a top runner.”
Through her years involved with De La Salle volleyball, she knows how to be successful within the Chicago Catholic League.
“The most important part is staying competitive,” she said. “We have to be able to push ourselves to compete at a different level.”
The players already see Coach Byrnes as someone who can boost their abilities on the court.
“I think we need to utilize her knowledge,” Battig said. “She brings a lot of valuable information to the team, so we can’t let our egos get in the way of us progressing.”
She has been making a good first impression on the team.
“I really see her as being the coach who’s always on us but always wants the best from us,” senior defensive specialist Fernando DeLeon said. “We have a new start, and she brings new opportunities and outlooks for this team.”
While the team may not have the athleticism that other CCL teams possess, they have the major advantage of extensive varsity experience.
“We have a chemistry on the court that allows us to have an edge over other teams,” Sauseda said. “We have a lot of good communication because of our bond over the last four years.”
It is players like Sauseda who have formed a strong culture within the program over the last few years.
“We have this keyword ‘grit,’ and it summarizes what we are all about,” he said. “We always push forward and have a great time doing so.”
The mantra “grit” was introduced two seasons ago by Mr. Brooks Nevrly, the previous head coach, and has served as their unifying identity. In between huddles and plays, the players often repeat the word to refocus their efforts on the court.
With just a couple of weeks to go before the first game of the season, the team is preparing for a big season. However, while they want to win many games this year, they also have a considerable goal of changing what it means to play volleyball for the school.
“I hope to break the stereotype of Carmel just being an average volleyball team,” Battig said. “We haven’t had a bad year since I’ve been here, but we also haven’t been formidable. I think we can shock everyone and change the narrative around MC volleyball.”