Catching Up With: Suzanne Horner

03.30.2020 | Volleyball

This is the second in a four-part series, with cyclones.com catching up with former Cyclones continuing their playing careers overseas.

The decision to play volleyball beyond college is not always straight-forward. With its wide-spread area of where players can continue to play, and how often moving or going someplace new can be, it is not an easy decision to make or go with. For Suzanne Horner, there was never a doubt that she would continue to play once her college career was over.”

“I grew up watching and being coached by the Penn State women’s volleyball team,” Horner, a native of State College, Pennsylvania reflected. “In eighth grade, I remember watching many of those same women play professionally overseas and I knew that’s what I wanted to do.”

That desire, combined with a preview of what volleyball in Europe was like when the Cyclones travelled to Europe in Summer 2014, helped affirm her decision of what would happen once her time as a Cyclone came to an end following the 2016 season.

The Cyclones in 2014 during the team's trip to Europe, a trip gave Horner a preview of what to expect when going to Europe to play professionally.

Horner in action for the Cyclones.

“I made the decision that I would try for at least one season, and if I loved it, great,” Horner stated. “If I didn’t enjoy it, at least I gave it a try. I did not want to regret not giving it a try down the road.”

That first decision took her to Finland, where she signed up to play for Liigaploki Pihtipudas, in a town in the middle of the country with about 4,000 people. It was Horner’s first professional contract offer, and she was comfortable to take it on.

“During spring of my senior year, I started working with an agency (Elite Volley), who were able to find me a job in Finland,” Horner recalled.” It was my first offer to come through, and it seemed good enough so I took it.”

Horner was already familiar with having to get used to new places and volleyball cultures, having started her college career at Mississippi State before coming to Iowa State after one season. This move added an extra layer of challenge with the language barrier.

“The language barrier was difficult, but you learn to become more comfortable with it,” Horner said. “Learning simple phrases like ‘hello’ and ‘thank you’ and feeling like you can use them is important. Practices were in Finnish, and it took lots of patience and communication to learn drills, goals, systems and plays. The translation was not always straightforward, and took some true understanding to be sure thoughts came out right.”

Horner in action for Liigapolki Pihtspudas in Finland, where she played for two seasons.

After two seasons with Liigaploki, Horner was ready for something new. That brought her to the south coast of England and Bournemouth, a city of about 180,000 people.

“After my second season in Finland, I began to consider options going forward,” Horner noted. “I had a better idea of what I wanted to do in my professional career, and knew a masters in Sports Management/Business would be the next-best step. However, while I was ready to go back to school, I was not ready to go back to the States. I wanted to stay abroad a while longer to travel and play volleyball.”

With the help of TeamGLEAS (Globalizing Education and Sports), Horner was able to find an opportunity at Bournemouth University, where she could play for the university team, TeamBU (BUCS, British Universities and Colleges Sport, is the equivalent of the NCAA in the United Kingdom and do not have eligibility restrictions) and Team Wessex, a semi-pro club team who played in the Women’s Super League, the highest level of volleyball in England.

In a way, Horner was back to being a student-athlete. However, this is a very different student-athlete experience from her time in Ames.

“My course workload is more research-focused than daily/weekly homework-based,” Horner noted. “The training schedule is about nine hours a week, plus matches on Wednesdays and Saturdays. With the lower level of commitment, and a lighter workload in the classroom, it has made this transition back into going to school easier.”

Horner (front row, left) with her Bournemouth University Sports Management Class at the 2012 Olympic sailing facility in Weymouth, UK

Beyond volleyball, Horner has become quite the world traveler, whether that be for playing volleyball, doing charity work or just personally travelling, she has made trips all over the globe.

“In summer 2019, I had the chance to go to Nairobi, Kenya with Salt Factory Sports,” “We spent time sharing stories, running P.E. classes at local schools and playing in a 6-on-6 outdoor grass tournament.”

She has also made stops throughout Europe, including Austria, Germany, Spain and Sweden among the visits and went to Australia on a trip with her sister over the summer.

Horner making a new friend during her time with Salt Factory Sports in Nairobi, Kenya.

The more I travel, the more I want to keep travelling. Travelling has helped me be more patient and understanding with individuals. Taking time to appreciate, listen and live in other cultures is a humbling and growing experience. I’ve learned more about myself and grown in confidence through the travel opportunities I have been afforded.

Suzanne Horner

Like many others, the outbreak of COVID-19 has seen her season come to an end, with Horner returning to her home in Pennsylvania a couple of weeks ago. While she was relieved to get home, it was a challenging process.

“I had to start considering my options when things started getting canceled in the U.S.” Horner said. “When classes in the UK were moved online, and it was clear I would not be training for volleyball, it made sense for me to come home. I packed up and headed back quickly. My flight into Baltimore was the last international flight for the foreseeable future, and it was surreal and eerie coming back in the middle of the pandemic. I am thankful I made the choice to come back home when I did.”

Like many of the students at Iowa State, Horner will be spending her next few weeks wrapping up her one-year Master’s Degree program virtually, and prepare for the next stage of her life.

“I have decided to wrap up my playing career after this season,” Horner concluded. “I will always have a passion for the game, and will definitely continue to play and coach. I hope to work at a collegiate institution where I can create an environment to encourage, empower and equip student-athletes to flourish while at school and in life.”