Nov. 8, 2007

BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- Playing through injuries takes real devotion. Samford senior middle blocker Angela Dempski has that real devotion. Eight injuries in her four years here at Samford and she has only missed seven out of 113 matches.

Her freshman year, the Round Rock, Tex., native played through an ankle sprain and a back injury. She missed one match. Her sophomore year, she suffered an Achilles tendon injury and a muscle strain in her lower back. She missed one match. In her junior season, another ankle sprain and a torn shoulder that required post-season surgery. She missed five matches. And as a senior, she has played in every match, most of the season with a fractured back.

What makes one play through such injuries?

"I think it's just a passion for the game and love for the game," says Dempski. "Coach Durban knows that I hate being out because of injuries and I've had a lot since I've been here. I played on a torn shoulder the whole season last year and I didn't even know it. I just think the love of the game and the passion and just wanting to be out there, making the team better and making myself better is what keeps me going."

Dempski comes from a very athletic family. Her father Don played baseball at Westminster College, her older sister Jenna played first base on the Samford softball team, her younger brother Chris plays soccer at Belmont and her younger Shaina is a very talented junior golfer.

"Sports have definitely always been a part of my life," Dempski said. "It started off with everything - soccer, dance, gymnastics, softball."

Softball was the first sport that Dempski was actually greatly involved with. Her father coached her and her sister when they were young, but soon Dempski realized that the sport did not really suit her. The summer before she entered eighth grade, Dempski was cut from her softball team. However, at the same time, volleyball began to appeal more to her.

"Getting cut from the softball team could have been the best thing that ever happened to me," said Dempski. "Volleyball really was the next thing in line. I was still playing volleyball when I was playing softball. I started volleyball in seventh grade, and around the same time I got cut from the softball team some of my friends told me about a club volleyball team called Austin Juniors. So I tried out and I liked it."

Volleyball led Dempski down the road to college and she chose Samford as the place to further her education. When asked how she ended up at Samford, Dempski admitted that she did not want to come to here at first.

"Obviously my sister was here," said Dempski, "but that's not the reason I came. I visited before Coach Durban was here and I absolutely hated it. It was the Fourth of July, so there were no students here, but then I came back for Fall Break to visit and I loved it. I fell in love with the campus, the students, my sister's friends and the city. I wanted to go to school in a city. That's pretty much what sold me and I knew they had great academics here as well."

As a young player at Samford, Dempski was quickly pinned as a leader on the squad. She was voted as one of the captains when she was a sophomore, and as one of three veteran players her junior year, she ended up taking on somewhat of a leadership role. This year, she was again named captain and has taken her role seriously.

"Angela told me that she had a BULLDOG ATTITUDE the first time we spoke and I think she has lived up to that tag in her four years here," Samford head coach Michelle Durban. "She has been a leader in different ways since she stepped on campus. Her hard work has paid off for her and our volleyball program."

Dempski ended both her freshman and sophomore seasons ranked third in kills. Also a freshman, she led the squad in hitting percentage and was second in solo blocks while grabbing the 11th highest single season total in school history. She recorded her first career double-double at Chattanooga on Sept. 8, 2004 with 15 kills and 23 digs. She currently ranks sixth on Samford's single-season hitting percentage list with an average of .286. She also is 10th on the all-time kills list with 867 kills and third on the all-time block assists list with 283 in her career.

Dempski, a fitness and health promotion major, says that she plans to pursue a master's degree next. She does not know exactly in what area or where from but she has aspirations of being a strength coach somewhere or to work with a company that trains athletes. The thought of coaching has even entered her mind.

She leaves her fellow teammates with this advice: "Never give up."

From being a young leader on a squad with experienced followers to being on a team with no setter last year, Dempski has learned to never give up. Hard work pays off, and tough times come and go.

Dempski credits a lot of the influence on her life to her parents.

"They've both been amazing people," said Dempski. "They are both extremely hard workers and driven in everything that they do. They do a lot for our family. They have great jobs and I just really look up to them and hope that I can be the same kind of person when I get older."