Aydin Provost didn’t walk away empty-handed from playing basketball for Mount Carmel.
As a junior, Provost picked up a second-place medal with the Caravan. Even though he got into 23 basketball games off the bench, he decided to dedicate his senior season solely to volleyball.
He thought his future was brighter in that sport. And he was right.
“I tweaked my ankle during the season and that was one of the main reasons I gave it up,” Provost said of basketball. “And it was hard to pass up getting college looks in volleyball.”
Now, the Illinois Wesleyan recruit is looking to help turn around Mount Carmel’s fortunes.
The 6-foot-3 left-handed right-side hitter showed plenty of power Wednesday night, putting down 19 kills to spark Mount Carmel to a 25-19, 33-35, 25-19 nonconference win over Evergreen Park.
Ethan Battig also contributed 12 kills for Mount Carmel (2-0). Mihailo Popovic added 11.
Playing its first match in program history, Evergreen Park (0-1) was led by junior outside hitter Fionn Doherty with 11 kills. Freshman setter Michael Bruno came through with 19 assists.
The historic match saw the Mustangs, trailing 24-19 in the second game, respond by scoring six straight points. They sealed the deal with a combo block by Rahsaan Davis and Charlie Farrell.
“That was probably my proudest moment,” Evergreen Park coach Brian Zofkie said. “We have an inexperienced team in their first varsity game and they had the pressure of that going on and on.
“That was fun.”
On the flip side, Provost is having fun in the early going this season for Mount Carmel.
The Caravan, who finished with a 10-23 record last spring, opened the 2025 season Tuesday with a huge three-game victory over Wheaton St. Francis, which won 31 matches in 2024 en route to reaching the state quarterfinals.
It has been quite a journey to get to this point for Provost. Although he didn’t have any volleyball experience, he was asked to try out for the team as a freshman.
“I got pulled up midway through the season,” Provost said of making his varsity debut. “Looking back at my freshman year, I would say I was terrible compared to now.
“But working out in basketball helped me in volleyball because it increased by vertical. Then I played club and that helped me with the technical part of my game.”
Mary Kate Byrnes, a former De La Salle star, took over as Mount Carmel’s coach this spring. She helped the Meteors’ girls volleyball team go 34-4 in 2014 before playing at Southern Indiana.
She’s happy to have some talent on the team and praised Provost for his abilities.
“Aydin is our go-to hitter,” Byrnes said. “He can hit on the left, right or middle. He can serve and pass. He’s our all-around player who we will lean on a lot this season.
“If he is anywhere, we are going to try to get him the ball.”
Popovic also knows a little bit about talent from watching his standout sisters at Marian Catholic. Mila plays Division I sand volleyball for UTEP. Savka played for Tulane before graduating.
Understandably so, Mihailo is impressed by Provost.
“Aydin brings a big presence to the team,” Popovic said. “And he’s obviously very talented.”
At the same time, Popovic is looking forward to a big season for the Caravan.
“We’re better than last year,” he said. “There are some people saying this is the best team we’ve had in a while.”
You won’t get any arguments there from Provost, who is locked into volleyball as a senior for Mount Carmel and will have a future in it after high school in Bloomington.
He’s also glad now that he took up the sport as a freshman.
“I think that my teammates play a big part of me loving volleyball,” he said. “They make me want to keep playing.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
