BAD TO THE BONE CORNELIUS PREVAILS OVER PAIN, NEW SPOT TO STAR FOR VIKINGS.

Byline: Gideon Rubin Staff Writer

VALENCIA - Carolyn Cornelius emerged as a volleyball standout last season as a Valencia High junior, drawing the interest of several Division I programs, including perennial national power Ohio State.

Although she's just 5-foot-9, Cornelius' leaping ability allowed her to play much bigger than her size and to become one of the area's best middle blockers.

But it turned out her jumping ability was worse for her body than it was good for her volleyball career. The constant pounding caused painful stress fractures on both shins, and those injuries, combined with an ankle sprain, caused her to miss the final weeks of her junior season, including the playoffs.

Unwilling to give up the sport, she decided to try out for the teams as an outside hitter, a position that requires less jumping and more passing and defensive play.

She's made a nearly seamless transition to the new position, averaging 17 kills and 1.3 blocks to help lead the Vikings to a Foothill League title, which they clinched this week.

Valencia (11-3, 8-1) was ranked seventh in Division I-AA in the most recent Southern Section poll.

``It was hard,'' Cornelius said of the position change. ``You have to start all over again, and you don't know how good you're going to be, so you just have to come out every day and try as hard as you can to be the best. As long as you think you can do it, you can.''

Cornelius' shins have taken more of a pounding than she'd like in Valencia's triple-blocking system, which finds her jumping nearly as much as she did when she played middle blocker. Nevertheless, she believes the change in positions has been beneficial to her career.

``I could play any position now, and hopefully my legs will be healed by then (college season), and I'll have the option,'' she said.

Cornelius continues to play in pain, and it won't get better until she stops playing for a significant period. The good news is that when she stops playing for six to seven months - which she plans to do after the season - she's expected to make a full recovery.

Also, she's learned that a contributing factor in her injury is low bone density, a condition for which calcium supplements she's begun taking should correct.

Health permitting, Cornelius is hoping to play volleyball in college, but she's not sure where. She's considering Pierce College, where her older sister Catherine, a member of Valencia's 1999 league championship team, now plays.

Carolyn Cornelius has a history of playing through pain and ignoring doctors' orders in the process. Before her freshman year, she broke both arms in a trampoline accident and played part of the season before one of her arms was fully healed.

``You see that she's a strong person. She doesn't whine about it (pain), that's how she deals with it,'' said teammate Whitney Robertson, a senior opposite hitter.

Cornelius' ability to reinvent her career didn't surprise Valencia coach Ray Sanchez.

``She's shown a great amount of resiliency,'' Sanchez said. ``A lot of kids get hurt like she did last year, and they just kind of fade away, but she's very dedicated, she keeps going forward. She's very positive about everything, which is a tribute to her personality and her strength of character.

``She shows a lot of emotion on the court,'' he said. ``She likes to celebrate, and she's been doing that a lot lately because she makes a lot of good things happen.''

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Valencia's Carolyn Cornelius has fought injuries to become a solid middle blocker.

Tom Mendoza/Staff Photographer