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Haitian Dacula's Corneille grows into top Volleyball College prospect in State of Georgia

By Will Hammock Sports Editor

will.hammock@gwinnettdailypost.com

DACULA - Even when it's not Valentine's Day, there are always at least three Roses in the Corneille house.

Dacula volleyball standout Rose Corneille said it can be confusing sometimes that her mother and younger sister, a sophomore at Dacula, all go by the name Rose. People usually find it interesting that each one is Rose, a shortened form of their real names, but she said they keep it straight at home.

"I go by my real name (Roselaure) and my little sister goes by 'Baby,'" said Dacula senior Rose Corneille, whose sister is Roseliae and her mother is Roselanne.

Corneille, the middle child of seven siblings ranging in ages from 23 to 9, is the best known of the family members now, mainly because of her abilities on the volleyball court, although her sister stars on Dacula's JV team. The 12th-grader, a Daily Post Super Six selection, is a gifted athlete who has the interest of a handful of college programs.

She has started three varsity seasons for the Falcons, and it didn't take first-year Dacula coach Kristy Dermid long to notice her in

practice.

"I will go on record as saying she is the best athlete I've ever coached," said Dermid, a longtime volleyball coach at Shiloh before this season. "All in all, there is not one single thing that she doesn't do well. She's an aggressive player. She responds well to different situations. She's just a great player."

And that transformation into a star player happened pretty

quickly.

Corneille was born in Haiti and lived there until she was in the second grade. She said she didn't play any sports there, unless playing marbles counts. She played some basketball, but didn't try volleyball until her freshman season of high school.

"I just tried out and made (the volleyball team)," Corneille said. "I just thought it would be something to do and I ended up making it."

It was a wise choice.

After a solid freshman season, she has been a three-year varsity starter at Dacula. She also has developed her game through her club team, attracting the interest of colleges like Rhodes, Alabama-Birmingham and Troy. After college, she hopes to play professionally in Europe.

In club competition, Corneille plays libero because of her tremendous passing skills. At Dacula, she has played all over the court, but appears to have settled in at setter.

"I wanted to have her assuming control of the team, being the setter, being the quarterback," Dermid said. "I had to have her in that position. We've done really well with her playing setter."

Dacula has high hopes for this season, although a drop to Class AAAA has

been a change. When the playoffs start, the Falcons will face very tough volleyball teams.

But their region isn't nearly as challenging as it was at the AAAAA level.

"I don't like the region because we play people who aren't on our level," Corneille said. "So then when we get to state we might get beat because we don't play people on our level all the time.

"But I hope we win state, that's what I really want to do.