AJ Hawlin just wanted to get out of the house.
It was the middle of the coronavirus pandemic, and he was living in a Seattle suburb.
“I was stuck at home with nothing to do all day, so I had to find something to do,” AJ Horin said. “I discovered volleyball and the community there was really great.”
That community kept him in Washington for six years. However, AJ Horin's growing passion for volleyball prompted him to return to Munster to play under his sister Madison, the men's volleyball coach. Madison Horin, who graduated from Munster in 2019, played volleyball at the University of Southern California.
AJ Horin, a 6-foot-5 sophomore middle blocker, started every game as a middle blocker for the Mustangs (13-12), who lost 25-19, 29-2 against Lake Central on Saturday. The season ended with a loss of 27, 25-22. .
However, after the Indiana High School Athletic Association announced on April 29 that boys volleyball, like girls wrestling, will receive full recognition in the 2024-25 school year, AJ Hollin and the state's teams will be eligible for next season. It will lead to a different outcome for both. Sanctioned postseason tournaments are expected to be established in both sports.
AJ Hollin said he hopes this will increase interest in Munster's program.
“A lot of the people we talk to don't even know we have a men's volleyball team,” he says. “Now that it’s recognized as a sport, it might attract more people from schools.”
AJ Horin is happy to be a volleyball recruiter these days, but his early experiences in the sport weren't all that positive.
“I originally hated volleyball,” she said with a laugh. “Two of my older sisters played volleyball, so we had to wait hours for tournaments.”
But when AJ Horin turned to volleyball to escape the pandemic doldrums, he described his opinion of the sport as a “complete 180.” But his high school in Washington didn't have a volleyball team, and the club scene didn't offer enough tournaments to satisfy him.
That's when I learned that Madison Horin, who also played on the USA Volleyball youth and junior national teams during her career, would be the men's volleyball coach at the University of Munster.
“I thought, 'Wow, I might want to move,'” AJ Horin said.
Suzanne Tennant / Post Tribune
Munster's Madison Horin, 21, scores a point against Penn in the Class 4A LaPorte regional semifinals on Saturday, Oct. 20, 2018. (Suzanne Tennant/Post Tribune)
Madison Horin said she was a little nervous about coaching her brother, but was excited at first when she heard he would be playing on her team.
“We have a great brotherhood and goof around at home, but we had to find a way to make it work in the gym,” she said. “We talked about it. We were very excited, but we were also aware of the fact that there could be trouble.”
Munster assistant Karin Miller said the Hollin brothers found a way to make everything work.
“It was very new for both of us at first,” Miller said. “You could tell they were very close. He wanted to call her 'Maddie,' but he had to call her 'Coach.' But once the season started, he didn't even know that. There was a great balance.”
As the season progressed, Madison Horin said she noticed a lot of similarities between herself and AJ.
“Competitiveness is in Hollin’s blood,” she said with a laugh. “He's a lot like me in that way. It was really cool to see that up close and see how much of an athlete he's become, not just as a sister, but as someone who loves the game.”
AJ Horin shares that love for the game, and his summer plans include learning how to drive to get his license and hitting the gym more often in preparation for next season . He is also considering changing positions. He wants to be an outside hitter because he believes he can have a greater impact on the game.
“In the midfield, it's harder to control the flow because you're not setting up and you're not always guaranteed a block,” AJ Horin said. “I want to go from being a player who can be used in good matches to being a player who can bring good matches to that stage.”
Dave Melton is a freelance reporter.
