chattanooga MOCS

In his now eight years as assistant coach with Chattanooga indoor volleyball, Darin has helped build UTC into a consistent contender in the Southern Conference. He works in all aspects of both programs with an emphasis on training the outside hitters and liberos, as well as defensive efforts and serving tactics.

In his initial season with the squad in 2015, Van Horn helped coach Chattanooga to its first Southern Conference regular season title since 1998. That year’s team led the league in digs (17.63 per set) and hitting percentage (.258), while Kristy Wieser, Lauren Gainer and Sarah Batterton finished in the top 10 of the conference with individual attack percentages, while Catherine Chason was second in the SoCon with 4.8 digs per set.

Since then, Chattanooga has seen an additional three winnings seasons under Van Horn’s guidance in 2016, 2022 and 2023. The Mocs have also advanced to the Southern Conference Tournament Final twice in Van Horn’s tenure in 2015 and 2016, while reaching the SoCon Semifinals two more times during the 2022 and 2023 seasons.

Over his eight year stint with the Mocs, there have been a total of four First Team All-SoCon honorees, eight Second Team All-SoCon honorees, four SoCon All-Freshman Team honorees and six SoCon All-Tournament Team selections.

Van Horn came to the Scenic City from Virginia where he served as a volunteer assistant for one season. It was his first post-graduate position after several roles during his undergraduate days at Penn State.

He was the travel manager for the Nittany Lions men’s volleyball squad from 2009-12 and the highly-regarded women’s program for two (2012-13), including the 2013 NCAA Championship run. He served as head coach for the women’s club team from 2013-14. Van Horn also played for the men’s club squad from 2009-13.

Darin earned his degree in Kinesiology from Penn State in 2013. Van Horn also serves as UTC’s head beach volleyball coach, a position he has held since the team’s inception in 2020. He currently resides in Chattanooga, Tenn., with his wife Juliana Van Horn and their children Bronko and Stetson.