Hughes Earns All-American Honors
    By Randy Hogan, Staff Writer ~~ The Monahans News,  January 17, 2006

Perhaps the single most celebrated volleyball player in the state of Texas, Brittany Hughes has been named as a 2005 High School All-American by PrepVolleyball.com.

John Tawa of Prep Volleyball said, "To be a High School All-American, you much have made a massive impact on your high school team.  "Massive" is subjective, but at a minimum requires that you be the best player on your team and one of the top 3-5 players in your state regardless of class, except for volleyball hotbeds like California, Texas, Indiana, and Illinois, where you must be among the 10 best High School player regardless of class."

In her senior season at Monahans she accounted for 797 kills, 151 aces, 360 digs, and 153.5 blocks, leading the Lady Loboes to their fourth consecutive state tournament appearance.

Tawa had the daunting task of narrowing a list of 400,000 girls down to 150.  Only athletes playing high school ball in the fall were eligible.

Hughes was one of the only 12 Texans to be included on the team, and the only player from Texas that did not attend a Class 5A school.

In her career at MHS, Hughes amassed 2,678 kills, 1,342 digs, 300 aces, and 511.5 blocks.

Hughes was also named as the Texas Girls Coaches Association Small School Player of the Year (Class 3A,2A,#A).

"This really a big honor for Brittany,"  MHS Coach Patty Dominguez said.  "She is being rewarded for all her hard work and dedication to the game She is well deserving of the honor."

TGCA Executive Director Same Tipton praised Hughes for her outstanding season.

"Brittany is one of those rare players to come along," Tipton said.  "It has been a pleasure to watch her grow each year.  She had an outstanding state tournament this year, and is perhaps the state's best player in all classifications."

TGCA also named Hughes as a member of the West All-Star team, and a First Team Class 3A All-State and Academic All-State selection.

The annual East-West game will be held July 12 in Fort Worth.

"The great thing is that Brittany has an incredible supporting cast," Tipton said.  "Candace Swarb and Patty Dominguez really helped her to excel and reach new heights in her game."

Hughes, a verbal commitment to Texas Tech University, is part of an outstanding recruiting class for Coach Nancy Todd's Lady Raiders.  The official NCAA signing date is in April.

In addition, Hughes has accumulated a massive collection of honors since the season ended in November.

She was named as the Small School Player of the Year (Class 1A, 2A, 3A), and also as an Honorable Mention Outstanding Hitter by LoneStarVolleyball.com.

The Texas Sportswriters Association honored her as a First Team All-State selection.

At the state finals in San Marcos, Hughes was included on the Class 3A All-Tournament team, and was presented the first-ever Region I-3A MVP award at the Region Finals in Lubbock.

Hughes was tabbed as the All-West Texas MVP, All-Permian Basin MVP, and voted the District 3-3A MVP for the third consecutive season.

In addition, The Monahans News named Hughes as the 2005 Sportswoman of the Year.

Keyed by Chino Arisaga, Senior