Returning Home Never Felt So Good
Brun plays tour guide and reignites her volleyball flame
Mike Brohard
The time is precious because the occasions are extremely rare. Maybe a few days around Christmas; last year it was about three. Summer, but just not the entirety. A week or two, tops.
She’s the baby, so maybe a bit spoiled. And so far away, Fort Collins to Barcelona, Spain. Maria Brun cherishes those moments at home. Especially this past trip.
Because this excursion was a chance for her to open the doors and hold them ajar as she brought along her Colorado State volleyball teammates, a chance to present her entire world and upbringing to them.
“It was really special because, first of all, I was not at home maybe since January. So it was like they got home at the same time I got home,” Brun said. “So it was really special to take them home and see where I grew up, why I'm the way I am, and the culture, like how impactful it is to change culture from European to American.
“Yeah, it was amazing.”
Brun is entering her third season as a Ram. Her freshman season she was learning, on the court and about her new home. A season later, she was a consistent threat on the pin, posting 323 kills and earning all-conference honors while leading the team with 37 aces. In the locker room, she was learning about her teammates and they about her.
The locker room is a special place, where stories are shared and bonds developed. One can get an idea about why someone is the way they are based on the information shared. Their upbringing can provide insight into the whys someone reacts to situations the way they do.
Those are just words. Experiencing it in person brings all those tales to life.
“I feel like when Maria first came in, I feel like people would maybe describe her as a little bit shy, a little bit timid, and there definitely was still a bit of a language barrier there. It's really easy to think, oh, this person's kind of different than me, you know?” teammate Brooke Holman said, who grew up in Colorado. “And then when we went back to her hometown, it was just really eye-opening to see really we had so many similarities and see she had a great family life and growing up in her town and she knew where everything was.
“I think it was really connecting and just kind of being able to take a bigger look inside of her life was really eye-opening, and obviously just being able to relate to her a lot more. I feel like we all grew with our connection with her.”
The scrapbook of the program is filled with photos of trips to Europe. They were spaced out every four years, meaning anyone who played for the Rams for four seasons made one such trip. All of them played local teams, as did this current crop of Rams, which additionally visited Greece. However, the real push for the trips was team bonding. For the most part, all of them were in a foreign place, no real compass for the traditions and cultures of the places they were visiting. They were learning together all the time.
The 2026 Rams enter the Pac-12 with nine returners and six newcomers. On top of that, two new coaches are part of the staff. Forming into one in front of the opening weekend when they host UC Davis and No. 11 SMU is important.
Brun’s childhood home is in Sant Cugat, just outside of the major port city she lists as home on the roster. Many athletes do, as it’s easier to say you’re from a town most people recognize other than explaining where their hometown would be pinned on a map. When the itinerary was built, a side quest to the Brun household was immediately built into the plan.
And I think it made me realize I have this purpose of playing volleyball and my dream is here. Let's put that into this team now.Maria Brun
Her mother, Elsa Forcadell, and father, Ernest, were waiting with open arms, as were members of the extended family. A meal was shared in the backyard, the family collecting chairs from places to accommodate the volleyball team and the coaching staff.
Brun said her mother’s English is pretty good, her dad still learning. She took groups of her team on tours of her home, to her room, around the area, and they could all see the family photos around the place, a peak at Brun through the years.
When the team was in Barcelona, she became a bonus tour guide, adding bits and pieces of the country’s history and hers as they walked the streets, a task she enjoyed as much as anything. She could point out her favorite spots, even where she waited for the bus.
“It was cool to show them what younger Maria lived in her life and how I grew up and how I am right now. It's so different to like show them how I grew up because it's so impactful,” she said. “Like the difference of culture, and now I have Coach Bruno (Chateau) that he's from France and he knows about our attitude. It's different from America. We're more like strong attitude than here, and he also understands that.
“(My family) had a lot of fun. They knew some people, but they didn't know the new people. They were so grateful. All the team came and they showed our home and everything, so that was really cool.”
For Holman, it was a time when all of those conversations came to life. The pictures she’d painted in her head changed.
A lot of things did. In a good way.
“It's hard because when you hear someone talk about their hometown and their personal life, you make up a story and an image in your own mind. To really see that come to life, you just are living in it, and you definitely get to understand it a little bit more,” Holman said. “Just seeing her family … She's always talked about how her connections are really close with her family. It was really hard for her to come here at first and be so far from them. Then just really seeing how much they love her and how much they care for her in person.
“She's the baby of the family. Just really seeing how protective her family is over her and really just how much they love her, I feel like it was really important for her. It was important for us to see that as well.”
Later in the summer, the team did something similar. This time only required a bus, not multiple planes. Just a trip down to Swink where coach Emily Kohan grew up. They were there for a camp, but also visited Kohan’s home, the one her father built.
Then again, her return home was less about her but rather giving back.
“Is it quite the same as someone who came 2,000 miles away? No, probably not, but think all of these hometowns, as we are on these tours of taking kids home, have great pride in the part that the whole community played in developing them for their success in college,” Kohan said. “
And my hometown, I was astounded at the pride that they had for little Emily Hiza (her maiden name) making it out of the Arkansas Valley and doing some cool things and then giving it back to my community. That's one of our core values is to be a giver, and how can you give back to these communities that have helped build you, and these kids clinics are one way to do it. Being able to play in front of your home crowds are a big deal to these kids and these families, and so I was really grateful. I think the team, again, walked away from there being like, ‘wow, she's from a small town.’”
The trip back home for Brun was notable for another reason. When her teammates returned to Fort Collins, she stayed behind to play for Spain’s U22 national team in a tournament. Wearing the jersey of your country is always special, even more so when her squad finished fourth in the 2026 CEV European Championships.
It was an honor her older sister, Raquel, had experienced years before her. There is an age difference of 12 years between them, and the youngster looked up to both of her sisters, following them to the court to watch them play and occasionally sneak in to hit a ball.
It was impactful because she was able to play matches in front of her family and friends for the first time in a long spell. The experience hit her in a rather particular way – she came back with her flame reignited.
“It was pretty special because it's also true that I had some teammates on the national team that had been playing with them and knowing them and playing against them like six years, maybe, or seven years … A long time,” Brun said. “It was pretty special to represent my country. I think every volleyball player would like to do that.
“It's amazing to also to play against other countries. The level there in U22, it's almost like the top level, like the pro national teams, and that's really cool because you also rethink why you play volleyball, why you got to this point.”
The experience took her back to those days of following her sisters, one which fulfilled the dream of a 7-year old just starting a sport. An aspiring player with hopes further generated by watching Raquel play beach in the world championships. But even after having an excellent sophomore campaign, the spring follow up was not what she had wanted. Aches nagged, and she felt her game lagged.
All around her were teammates who were pushing. Most teams talk about outside and opposite hitters, but Kohan isn’t, at least not this year. She feels she has seven players who can match the call on either side of the court, so she simply calls them pins. They are interchangeable and versatile. They can play six rotations, and each brings a certain skillset.
Should she need more blocking against an opponent, she can lean one way. Should the matchup call for being very terminal on the attack, she can go another. A player having an off night can be switched sans hesitation due to a confidence in the depth.
Brun found her why back home.
“Going to the national team and playing, it was really meaningful because it made me realize how I used to play and what level I want to get to. Maybe this past year was kind of hard for me playing. I don't know why,” Brun said. “Going back with the national team made me remember the purpose of playing volleyball, the purpose of getting to a point where I want to get to, what was my dream. And I think it made me realize I have this purpose of playing volleyball and my dream is here. Let's put that into this team now.
“This (camp), I feel I was more consistent. Now I know I have a role where I cannot miss that much. You know, as an upperclassman, I’ve got to be more consistent and more for the team and knowing that I have some skills that I have to put into this Pac-12 conference and this team.”
Kohan has taken note. Her recollections of spring have been erased by what she has seen this summer. Not just back home, but in the gym in Moby Arena. No longer are there friends and family in the stands helping to elevate Brun’s game with cheers, there is just the silence of an empty arena filled by the talk and encouragement of coaches and teammates.
Kohan isn’t sure why. She’s not sure it matters, either.
“It's hard for me to pinpoint the why of Maria's resurgence right now, but the way Maria is practicing right now is more consistent than it has been,” Kohan said. “She's got some passion and kind of a chip on her shoulder that I'm excited to see in matches as they go on. Again, there's a lot of dynamics here of, was it the European tour? Was it her national team? Is it the competitiveness within our gym for that position that they're trying to fight between? Is it Maria just becoming an upperclassman?
“There's so many dynamics going on, but the ultimate takeaway is Maria is playing at a really high level right now, and we want an outside hitter to be able to take over matches, and she's really a consistent leadership piece in our gym right now.”
Home will always be special. For Brun, both of them. She spends so much time in Fort Collins, she misses her family in Spain but is lifted by her second clan, a group she calls teammates. A packed Moby Arena is uplifting, almost like playing in front of loved ones.
Home will always be where the heart is. Not just a place where dreams are created, but one where Brun now realizes they can be resurrected once again.
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