Mairen Mannon’s entire life has been centered around volleyball.
The junior middle-blocker went from a nine-year-old girl who joined her local club at her mom’s behest to a state-ranked junior with multiple Division I interests.
During that time, the court had become her safety net.
“I started volleyball in third grade for a little club team in my hometown,” Mannon said. “I did not like it initially, but my mom made me go. Since then, I’ve played year-round, and volleyball has become my escape.”
But as she entered her senior season as the 78th-ranked player in Illinois according to PrepDig, a discovery threatened to take away what she loved most.
She was pregnant.
“My junior year, I was talking to a lot of Division I’s, and I actually talked to Bradley,” Mannon said. “I was like, ‘I don’t want to stay in Illinois, I want to get out.’ Then I found out I was pregnant and plans changed.”
“I didn’t find out I was pregnant until I was 36 weeks,” Mannon added. “I had a month to plan for a child coming into my life. It was rough. There were a lot of emotions at the time.”
After the birth of her daughter, Rilynn, Mannon had a decision to make. She could give up an integral part of her identity or try to balance being a mother and a student athlete.
She chose to be brave.
“It was challenging because I had to figure out how to work being a new postpartum mom while also being a student-athlete,” Mannon said. “If I decided to play volleyball after having my daughter, it wouldn’t just impact me, but her and the rest of my family. My teammates were the ones who convinced me to at least finish my high school career.”
Saying Mannon finished her high school career would be an understatement. Six weeks after giving birth, she returned to the court and helped Illinois Valley Central (IVC) finish 37-4-1 and reach the state semi-finals.
After graduating, Mannon decided to continue playing in college.
But she couldn’t do it alone.
“She didn’t want to give up the volleyball piece of her life,” Mannon’s mom, Christel Cornell, said. “We were all fully supportive of that, because it had been such a big piece of her journey growing up, and she had so much promise. She was very determined to continue playing volleyball.”
It takes a village to raise a child
Mannon planned to continue her career at Illinois Central College (ICC), the closest junior college to where she lived in Chillicothe, but a heartwarming visit to Heartland Community College changed her plans.
“On my visit, Rilynn was probably six months old, and I was still in nursing at the time,” Mannon said. “It was an hour drive and I didn’t know how long the visit would be, so I was like, ‘hey, I’m going to sit in a car a couple more minutes and I’m going to feed Rilynn.’”
Instead of allowing her to stay in the car, Mary Frohm, Heartland’s head volleyball coach suggested she feed Rilynn in her office and begin the visit there. The gesture made Mannon feel at home.
“When my family and I left Heartland, we just knew,” Mannon said. “We were like, ‘this is where I’m supposed to be,’ and it was 100 percent the correct decision.”
That moment was the beginning of a beautiful relationship, built on transparency, understanding and a shared sense of motherhood.
“We were able to meet and connect on a human level, which led to an excellent recruiting experience and future,” Frohm said. “When she had a baby, I was very intentional about seeing her, not only as a mother, but as Mairen. I think that when anyone has a child as young as Mairen did, that kind of becomes their identity. I wanted her to know I saw her for her and not just as a mother.”
“That built our foundation, but we connect on some really deep levels of just understanding what it takes to win and how much we’re passionate about volleyball,” Frohm continued.
With help from Frohm, her family and teammates, Mairen balanced motherhood, school, a part-time job and volleyball. The star middle-blocker excelled in the classroom, finishing with a 3.5 GPA, all while dominating on the court.
“I can’t even begin to thank Mary enough for the support she gave Mairen while she was at Heartland,” Cornell said. “As her mother, I didn’t want to let her go, but I also know that she needed to grow up and make her own decisions. Mary was instrumental in Mairen thriving. She’s definitely like a second mother to her.”
In her last season as a Hawk, Mannon was named an NJCAA first-team All-American, posting career bests of 432 kills, 185 blocks and a .349 hitting percentage.
In May, she received the Lea Plarski Award, which is given to the NJCAA student athlete who best exemplifies sportsmanship, leadership, community service, academic excellence and athletic ability.
“Heartland meant the world to me,” Mannon said. “At JUCO, you get what you put into it. I went into Heartland and I was definitely not in the best shape because I was still postpartum. Mary sat down with me at the end of my first season and told me that I had a good season, but if I wanted to end at Heartland, be an all-American, accomplish everything that I did and then just end my career on a good note, then I could do that.”
“The second option she gave me was to continue to work hard, get extra reps, and just work harder than everyone else if I wanted to accomplish my goals and become D1,” Mannon finished.
Spoiler alert: she did both.
Continuing to be Brave
After two seasons at Heartland, Mannon was once again a recruit, trying to find another school that would feel like home again.
That left two options: Bradley or Illinois State.
“Her junior college coach reached out to me and told me her story and asked me if I wanted to look at her,” Bradley head volleyball coach Alicia Williams recalls. “Our first impression was that she was a pretty good player, but when we got her on campus, we realized she was an incredible human being.”
Naturally, the Braves beat the Redbirds, and Mannon chose to commit to Bradley.
“I decided I was better off staying close to home, so the only two schools that I was talking to were Bradley and ISU,” Mannon said. “The coaching staff and the environment were why I chose Bradley. This is home.”
Since arriving on the Hilltop, Mannon has not made excuses or asked for handouts. She rarely misses practice and does not want to be identified as the “volleyball player with a kid.”
The junior has displayed resilience in every turn, but it comes with struggles.
“I have a lot going on in my life, but I feel like I’m really good at turning my mom brain off while I’m on the court,” Mannon said. “It’s not always easy. Sometimes I have a lot of guilt because I can’t always be there, but when I am there, I’m there 100 percent. So I think she’ll grow up remembering Kaboom! and me playing volleyball and all the big stadiums and the fans.”
Mannon has had a tremendous effect on the team, both on and off the court.
She’s built relationships with teammates and has positively impacted the people she’s met.
“In the short time I’ve known Mairen, I feel like our friendship has grown so much on and off the court,” junior Megan DePoorter said. “She is very hard-working and always gives her best effort. She’s a good addition to our team because she brings us all down to earth.”
In the first 12 games, Mannon has been stellar.
The junior is second on the team in blocks per set, as well as fourth in points per set and kills per set. She’s shone while balancing more than most have to handle — but leaves a message to student-athletes in similar situations.
“You can do anything you put your mind to,” Mannon said.
“Obviously, a support system is very important, but initially, it’s all you and everything is in your hands. You control what you can control and let everything play out. There are going to be people who doubt you. There have been a lot of people who doubt me in my life, but I think that just pushes me to be better and stronger than anyone would have expected.”
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