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There was never a love-hate relationship between Haylie Franklin and volleyball.

It was all love.

Influenced by her mother and older sister, the Muscatine senior standout has had a passion for volleyball since she was introduced to it at age seven.

Whether it was lying on the couch at home bouncing a mini-volleyball off the wall or playing “pepper” in the yard past sunset, Franklin was captivated by the sport.

“I just love the challenge,” she said. “There are so many things you can do in volleyball with digging, setting, hitting, blocking and serving. It’s just a blast to play.

“There are new challenges every time you step on the court.”

During her career at Muscatine, Franklin has excelled in almost every facet of the game.

The middle hitter was the Mississippi Athletic Conference’s leader in kills per game (4.3) and hitting efficiency (.548) this season, along with the team leader in blocks and ace serves. She was also among the MAC leaders in digs at 4.9 per game.

“Haylie is a dominant player,” Muskie head coach Laura Proffitt said. “She’s an all-around player, something kind of rare today where players are a lot more specialized. Haylie can do it all.”

Because of that, Franklin’s mailbox has become quite full.

The 6-footer, who also plays basketball, runs track and participates in softball, has received more than 50 letters from colleges to continue her volleyball career.

“It’s exciting to go home and find a new one every day,” said Franklin, whose received mail from Division I, II and III institutions along with junior colleges and NAIA schools.

Franklin is still sorting through the process, but Indiana, Kent State, Lehigh, Drake, Iowa State (as a walk-on) and several Division II schools in Minnesota and Missouri are among those showing interest.

She hopes to make a decision by January.

“It’s definitely stressful because I want to find somewhere that has what I want academically,” said Franklin, who sports a 3.9 grade-point average and has ambitions of being a physical trainer. “I need to fit in with the girls, fit in with the coaches.

“I’m trying to stay calm through it all.”

Her club coach, Scott Sanders of the Iowa Rockets, believes Franklin’s unquestioned work ethic will make her successful at the collegiate level.

“She is a coach’s dream,” Sanders said. “She is one of the hardest working athletes I’ve ever had. She will never complain or whine about anything.

“She has a lot to give any program.”

Journey to stardom

It wasn’t unusual for Franklin to be in the yard hitting the ball with her sister, Kylie, and mother, Rhonda, after the sun had gone down.

“Even though it was dark, I wanted to keep going,” Franklin said. “My mom always would have to say, ‘No, only 10 more hits.’ I’d end up bawling because I wanted to keep playing.”

Inside the house, Franklin would always carry a volleyball and bounce it off the walls or ceiling. At times, she tried to see how long she could keep it going.

“I drove my mom nuts,” she said. “She was afraid I would break stuff. I was obsessed with it.”

Kylie, three years older than Haylie, can remember the two of them playing ball in the house.

“We’d hit windows and get in lots of trouble for that,” Kylie said. “Even as we continued to get older, we still did it. We just liked having some type of ball in our hands.”

With a volleyball net in their yard, Kylie, a former setter for the Muskies and now a junior at Drake with a triple major, would set her younger sister.

“We were competitive with each other,” Kylie said. “We stayed out there for hours playing.”

Franklin played in the Youth Sports Foundation league as a fifth and sixth grader. As a sixth grader, she tried out and made the Pearl City Power - a club team she played on for four years.

“That’s when I realized I was actually pretty good,” she said. “It just grew from there.”

Franklin was on the freshman team as a ninth grader before getting moved up to the varsity as a sophomore.

“She started to come into her own in high school,” Kylie said. “It was the sport she wanted to focus on. She’s a natural athlete, but when she chose volleyball, she really devoted herself to it and made a lot of improvement.”

During her sophomore season, former varsity coach Dave Kerr pulled her aside and encouraged her to try out for the Iowa Rockets, a club team based in Iowa City.

It was an opportunity for Franklin to compete in regional and national tournaments and get her name exposed to colleges. It also let her size up her skills against other elite players.

“That was a big factor in going up there,” she said. “I knew it was going to help me to learn to hit around a 6-2 blocker instead of in the MAC where you’re hitting over a 5-6 or 5-7 blocker.”

As a junior, Franklin was one of two underclassmen to start for the Muskies. She was second on the team in kills (2.9 per game), boasted a .389 hitting efficiency and led the team in digs.

“I was definitely a lot more confident in my skills,” Franklin said. “I felt like I belonged on the court with the other girls.”

Franklin has always taken pride in her passing skills. In fact, she said she’s also wanted to be a libero, but her height prevented that in high school.

“I just love digging balls,” she said. “If I didn’t get a perfect pass, I’d get mad at myself.”

She believes those late-night “pepper” games in the back yard enhanced her passing skills.

It also has made her a more versatile player and a more attractive get for college coaches.

“Maybe she can go to a place where 6-foot isn’t that tall and she could be a libero in college,” Proffitt quipped. “She is such a great passer. It’s so rare to see for someone that tall.”

A competitive girl

Don’t let the smile fool you.

While one college praised Franklin for her “bubbly personality” in a recruiting letter, she takes losing personal.

The three-year varsity player will be remembered as one of the better players to ever play at Muscatine with more than 700 career kills and digs, 150 blocks and 100-plus aces, but she admits there’s a void in her volleyball career.

“I would give anything to go back and play (Cedar Rapids) Jefferson again in the tournament, then play City High,” Franklin said. “I would have liked to have made it to the state tournament.”

Her will to win is evident on the court. In Muscatine’s regional loss to Jefferson, Franklin nearly kept the Muskies in the match single-handedly. She had 20 kills, 15 digs and 10 service aces.

“I’m one of the most competitive girls at our school, if not the most,” she said. “I just hate losing. I hate the feeling when your team is sad. I feel like I’ve let them down personally.”

That said, Proffitt thinks Franklin has matured in how she handles defeat.

“Haylie is usually the kid sitting on the bus who’s not talking, but thinking about the game,” Proffitt said. “She loves to win, and sometimes she takes the losses a little more to heart.

“She’s done a good job this year of staying positive with her teammates.”

And with a first-year head coach and virtually an entire new starting lineup, the Muskies rattled off 29 wins this season and finished tied for fourth in the MAC.

Aside from the opening round tournament setback, Franklin was satisfied with the season.

“I don’t think anyone expected us to have this kind of year,” she said.

Personally, Franklin had more than 430 kills and 485 digs. She also served at a 95-percent clip and was named to the MAC’s first team.

Some, including her head coach, were surprised she wasn’t named the MAC’s Player of the Year. Instead, Bettendorf’s Ann Miller earned the nod.

“I think it should have been Haylie, but I’m her coach,” Proffitt said. “Ann is a good player, but I think Haylie was a more dominant player.”

Now, Franklin is turning her sights to basketball and another year with the Iowa Rockets. She was recently named to the 18R squad, the club’s elite team. Last year, Franklin’s 17R squad qualified for nationals and finished 13th in Miami, Fla.

She’s also trying to figure out where she’ll spend the next four years of her life.

“I never thought I would be playing in college,” Franklin said. “Growing up, I thought I’d play intramurals after high school.”

Kylie believes Haylie has the skill set needed to make it at the Division I level.

“She also has the drive,” she said. “She’s improved by leaps and bounds. When she gets a coach that can work with her more, she’ll progress to higher levels than she’s at now.

“She has the ability to be very successful in Division I.”

Haylie Franklin

- Year: Senior

- Position: Middle hitter

- Parents: Kurt and Rhonda Franklin

- 2009 statistical line: 431 kills (4.3 per game), .548 hitting efficiency, 485 digs (4.8 digs per game), 78 blocks, 356 of 374 serving (95 percent), 63 aces.

- Other activities: Basketball, track and field, softball, club volleyball

- Head coach Laura Proffitt on Franklin: “When it’s time to get down to business, Haylie will. She also will have a good time. When she’s playing well and the team is playing well, she gets excited.

“When the team is down, she does her best to get everyone back up.”