“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing,” Muhammad Ali once said.

That is exactly what California Lutheran University saw in the first season of men’s volleyball—impossible. With it being their first year, they knew they were going to take some losses due to their inexperience on the court.

However, Lancaster, California, native Hunter Horn has done his best to make sure the Kingsmen volleyball experience is a positive one this season.

Horn has something a lot of his teammates  do not have this year—experience.

“I first started playing when I was 10, I played at a little three-day summer camp at the local junior college and then went from there,” Horn said.

He also played all four years of volleyball at Quartz Hill High School.

However, this is not where all of his experience comes from. Horn has already graduated from Cal Lutheran.

“I came back to CLU for two reasons. One of them was for our great teaching credential program. The other was being apart of history and CLU’s first NCAA Men’s Volleyball team,” Horn said.

Coming back and being part of a team is extremely important for him as well.

“I’d be lying if I said volleyball and this school wasn’t the major factor in my decision to come back,” Horn said. 

Horn has also had experience with collegiate sports, as he played football for Cal Lutheran all four years of his undergraduate career. This is a key factor that helps his teammates because many of them have never been on a collegiate sports team.

With Horn’s experience, he helps them mold and work together. Senior middle blocker Nolan Forghani attested to the experience Horn has brought to the young team.

“We all call him dad, he got the name partly just because of his age, we like to exaggerate how old he is and poke fun at it, but also because of how he takes care of us,” Forghani said.

Forghani also said Horn is always reminding them when and where they need to be. He is always worried about how they’re feeling and making sure they are taking care of their bodies in the training room.

Junior libero Frankie Manes said Horn has gone out of his way to make sure everyone on the team improves.

“Hunter is a great mentor. He’s been around the game a long time, so he knows how to handle lots of situations during the game and with teammates,” Manes said. “He’s helped me personally improve on what I’m already good at which is taking charge on the court and being vocal like he is.”

Horn has made a lot of sacrifices to play this season and his teammates have seen that.

“I think more importantly than my experience as a volleyball player for my teammates, it’s my experience as a teammate, a hard worker and a person,” Horn said.

It sets the tone for younger teammates to have an example like this. It makes them feel that they need to keep up and that is how a team is built, through sacrifice, hard work and dedication.

“I think where his experience really comes into play is off the court. He knows how to carry himself and shows us what it means to be a student athlete here at Cal Lutheran,” Forghani said.

With recording only three wins in their total record against Moorpark College, San Diego City College and Benedictine-Mesa, the Kingsmen do not hang their heads. They know they are making Cal Lutheran history and they are ironing out the kinks for the future years to come. With that being said, Horn will definitely be a key factor to the future success.

“We were lucky to have him come back to Cal Lu, because his experience has helped us build this program and set a standard for the future,” Manes said.

“I wouldn’t have been able to do it without taking steps forward into my career as well,” Horn said. If it can work for you and make you happy, do whatever it takes to make it happen. I think that’s a good piece of advice for life.”

Chelsea Jacoby
Staff Writer
Published March 2nd, 2016