By Terrence Thomas, San Angelo Standard-Times ~ November 30, 2006

So often in sports, whether it's football, basketball, baseball, track and field or tennis, fans hear the rumblings and buzz about how a certain athlete is the next great thing.

They hear how this athlete is primed for stardom, how he or she will rewrite the record books, will become the face of a sport and will leave an undeniable mark.

In the end, so often, there's fizzle. No records, no greatness or impact. Just a lot of pondering of what happened, or what might have been.

When Brittany Hughes stepped onto the volleyball court at Monahans High School three years ago, this was the scenario she faced.

She was the daughter of a former all-state and collegiate volleyball player. She was playing - starting and contributing heavily - as a freshman for one of the most storied volleyball programs in Texas history. She was the leader, whether she realized it or not, of a class that was supposed to return the Lady Loboes to statewide prominence.

In 2002, Hughes was a petite freshman with reed-thin shoulders saddled with expectations that appeared so enormous that no one could - or should be asked to - carry. Now, she's known from Fort Stockton, to Luling, to Texarkana and Houston for her attacking, serving and jumping ability.

She's the player who opposing coaches have referred to as ''the best I've seen from West Texas,'' or ''one of the best players I've seen in 20 years of coaching.'' She's the player who reportedly elicited a ''wow'' from legendary San Antonio Clark coach and former Angelo State University player Kirby Jameson after Jameson watched Hughes practice prior to the 2004 state tournament.

''She exceeded (the expectations),'' said Lubbock Christian University volleyball coach Jennifer Lawrence, whose Denver City team was upended by Hughes and Monahans in the Region I-3A championship match in 2002 and 2003.

''There's no hype about her. It's all true ability. She's a great volleyball player.''

In West Texas - this year for sure, and maybe for all time - she is simply the best. Hughes, the high-flying do-it-all standout, is the Player of the Year on the 11th annual Standard-Times All-West Texas Volleyball Team.

It is the second year in a row that she has won the honor, joining former Lake View standout Jennifer Hill as the only repeat winners of the award. Hill was the player of the year in 2000 and 2001.

This season, Hughes finished with 797 kills, 151 aces, 360 digs and 153.5 blocks. For her career, she had 2,678 kills, 300 aces, 1,342 digs and 511.5 blocks.

The 2,678 kills are the most by a player in U.S. high school history, as are the 17.6 kills that Hughes averaged per match in 2004.

She is eighth nationally in career blocks (516) and 10th in single-season kills (808 in 2004).

''I had a good high school career,'' said Hughes, who has verbally committed to play at Division I Texas Tech, but will take recruiting visits to Central Arkansas and another school to be determined. ''I made it to state all four years; even won state one year. It's going to be sad (leaving high school), but I'm going to move on to bigger and better things.''

The birth of greatness

It seems as if it was yesterday that Monahans coach Patty Dominguez remembers Hughes showing up for preseason workouts in August 2002, the weight of overwhelming expectations on her shoulders.

It wasn't enough that, willingly or not, she had grown up in the shadow of her mother, Melody Holloway Hughes, who was an all-state player and two-time state champion at Monahans in the 1980s before going on to play at Texas Tech University.

But Brittany was now a freshman starter on a team with a strong core of upperclassmen that was coming off a season in which it just fell short of advancing to the regional tournament and was poised for a breakthrough.

''My biggest concern was to make sure she didn't feel the pressure from the get-go,'' Dominguez said. ''We made sure we talked to her about that.

''Melody kept her pretty grounded. She let her know that she had to keep working and never let her get a big head or anything. Her parents did a great job of that. They always told her that they expected her to be good, but they never told her how good she was.''

They really didn't have to. Her play spoke for itself - especially on a November 2002 night in Lubbock when the Lady Loboes were on the verge of advancing to the UIL Class 3A state tournament for the first time in six years.

In the regional championship match that day against Denver City, Hughes had 28 kills, including 12 in the decisive Game 3. She had eight straight kills during one stretch, helping turn a 12-5 deficit into a 12-12 tie, and sparking Monahans to a come-from-behind victory.

''I knew then that she was going to be special,'' Dominguez said. ''I knew we would never see anyone like her again.''

Lawrence, who was on the opposing sidelines that day, agreed.

''As a freshman, she pretty much took over and won that match for them,'' Lawrence said. ''She's an incredible athlete. Besides just her athleticism, she handles pressure so well. The more pressure there is, the better she plays.''

That much was displayed in August at the 29th annual Nita Vannoy Memorial Invitational Tournament in San Angelo. Playing in the championship-seeding match of the Blue Division, Monahans trailed Lubbock Trinity 15-7 in the decisive third game and appeared on the cusp of suffering its first loss of the season.

Then, Hughes took over. The 6-foot hitter had five kills, two blocks and three jump-serve aces to spark a rally that saw the Lady Loboes score 18 of the final 25 points to win 16-25, 25-17, 25-22.

''I'm one who believes that in a team sport like volleyball, you can't win with one person,'' Alpine coach Rick Keith said at the time. ''Brittany Hughes proved me wrong. She's the best volleyball player I've seen in high school.''

A Hughes impact

Monahans High School's Brittany Hughes is widely regarded as the best prep volleyball player to come out of this area. Here's how she ranks nationally in several key statistical categories, according to the 2006 National High School Sports Record Book.

Career kills
1. 2,678.

Kills per match
1. 17.6, 2004.
2. 17.5, 2005.

Career blocks
8. 516.

Single-season kills
10. 808, 2004.