Dalton State volleyball has signed versatile Houston County star Haley Cornett to a letter of intent to play with the Roadrunners this fall.
“Haley will be an all-around player,” said Coach Bruna Langner. “She can play really well on the front row as well as in the back row. We are excited to have her as a great new addition to our team.”
Cornett said her first experience with volleyball came by chance.
“In the winter of 2009, I went to the gym with my father too shoot some hoops,” she relates. “As I walked into the gym, I realized it was occupied by a volleyball team. Not knowing the game, I sat on the bleachers and continued to watch them practice.”
“I think I want to try a new sport,” she recalls telling her dad. She learned the fundamentals in a volleyball recreation league before playing for a volleyball organization called Strikers. “I found the love and passion for the sport,” Cornett said.
The newest Roadrunner signee has proven to be a flexible player. She has been a middle hitter, right side hitter, Libero and an outside hitter.
“I fell in love with the campus and with Coach Bruna after one visit,” she said. “I can’t wait to be a Roadrunner.”
Dalton State has also signed Germantown, Tn. native Grace Hardin to play for the Roadrunners this fall.
The 6’1 setter, right side hitter and middle blocker is a graduate of the Hutchison School in the Memphis suburb. A signing ceremony was held in the Ottinger Athletic Center on the Dalton State campus.
Hardin was a four year varsity player and MVP her senior year at Hutchison. She led the Sting’s varsity team in blocks her junior and senior years and was on the all-region team her sophomore, junior and senior seasons.
Hardin was on elite teams of Memphis Metro JVC for seven years, qualifying for USAV Nationals five of those years.
“Grace brings a lot of height and talent to our team,” said Coach Bruna Langner. “She is transferring from (NCAA Division I) Tennessee Martin after playing one season.”