Heisman contender Ricky Williams may be the best player in the history of University of Texas football. But he’s probably only the second best athlete on the Forty Acres today. Not to take any glory away from Williams, he’s great.
Then there’s Demetria Sance.
Sance, a six-foot senior, is a three-time All-American and leads the 12th-ranked Longhorn volleyball team in kills, digs, and hitting percentage. In an October 23 match against Kansas State, she had 28 kills and 20 digs. Those are truly Ruthian numbers, considering that last year’s Longhorn Volleyball star Lakisha Bledsoe hit an impressive high of 18 kills in one match last season.
While well-known Williams is a cinch to play in the National Football League, Sance will play in the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and after that, perhaps overseas. Texas volleyball coach Jim Moore gushes over Sance, “I’ve said all along that she is the best all-around player in college volleyball history.”
What makes her so spectacular? Sance can hit crushing, howitzer-like kill shots one moment and pillow-soft digs the next. She can block, serve, and set the ball. She’s an awesome mix of power, finesse, and grace. Her versatility has led to a surfeit of honors and awards. In her freshman year, she was named Volleyball Magazine’s National Freshman of the Year as well as the Sportswoman of the Year by the San Antonio Express-News. Last year, she was named the Big 12 Conference Player of the Year. Since the start of the season, she has been named the American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I National Volleyball Player of the Week and has twice been named Big 12 Conference Player of the Week.
Sance is a shoo-in to be named All-America at the end of the season. When that happens, she will become just the eighth player in NCAA Division I history to be named an All-American in each of her four years. But then, she’s used to being an All-American. At San Antonio’s John Jay High School, she was named to the high school All-America team in each of her four years.
Sance holds a clutch of records at UT, including more career kills and attacks than any other Longhorn. She also holds single season marks in kills and attacks and match records in kills and attacks. By the end of the season, she may also own the school career record in digs.
Chatting with Sance,
you’d never guess just how good she is. Shy and a bit self-effacing, Sance admits to being a bit miffed at the lack of exposure that the 12th-ranked Longhorns get here in Austin. “Some people on campus don’t even know that we have a volleyball team,” she says.
A self-described “gym rat,” Sance learned to play volleyball by hanging around with her mother, Phyllis, who coached her for two years at John Jay. Her mother now coaches at San Antonio’s Sam Houston High School. “I grew up with the sport,” says Sance. Upon finishing her career at Texas, Sance could make $100,000 per year or more by playing in Brazil or Italy. But Sance wants to play in the Olympics, and given her performance at UT she should be a shoo-in there, too. Sance’s Olympic dreams should be helped by the fact that Mick Haley, the former UT volleyball coach who recruited Sance and convinced her to attend UT, now coaches the USA women’s national volleyball team.
UT has two critical matches this weekend with Colorado (ranked 15th nationally) on Friday night and Nebraska (ranked third nationally, and unbeaten) on Saturday night. The two matches are the most important ones of the year for UT and will probably decide the Big 12 championship. These will be Sance’s last two regular season home games at Gregory Gym.
Go. Watch Demetria play.
She’s as good as Ricky.
Maybe better.
This article appears in November 20 • 1998 and November 20 • 1998 (Cover).