Inducted 2005. Earned 12 Varsity Letters in Volleyball, Softball & Basketball. Class of 1979.
Most high school athletes need a little extra practice and experience at the junior varsity or freshman level before they move on to play at the varsity level but not Patti Deters. Deters never played in a junior varsity game in any sport and went on to earn 12 varsity letters in volleyball, softball and basketball.
Deters, a 1979 graduate of QND, was the starting setter on the 1977 team that placed second in the state tournament and on the 1978 state championship team. Those teams lost just one game in two years. She played 115 matches, served 505 points, was a 96 percent server and had a very high service receive ratio of 71 percent. As a junior, she became the only player in school history to successfully complete all 284 of her serves.
She started at second base on the softball team for four years and pitched on occasion. She batted .300 for her career, and as the No. 2 batter in the lineup, she sacrificed many at-bats to move runners over. She also was a standout defender.
Deters played on the varsity basketball team for four years, scoring 341 points to rank among the top 40 scorers in school history.
Deters now lives in Peoria and is a board certified emergency physician at Pekin Hospital in the emergency department.
I was more than a little surprised and truly honored when I received the letter informing me I had been chosen to join this esteemed and elite group of athletes. I want to thank several people who played an important part of my life when I was at Notre Dame. Coach Bill Starkey gave me the chance to play for his team and taught me most of what I know about volleyball. Starkey coached softball, and Jim Citro and Ivan Brown taught me basketball, and they gave me the chance to do what I loved most was to play the game. My teachers were tremendous. They challenged me academically and demanded excellence. They prepared me well for college and later nursing school and medical school. My teammates were the best. They made me look good, because they were so selfless and talented. All of these people taught me how to be a successful athlete and student, and how to be a successful person personally and professionally. Finally, I need to thank my family. My brothers and sister have always loved and supported me. My parents, Barb and Jack Deters, are truly phenomenal. They are the reason I attended Notre Dame and played sports. They put in endless hours driving me to games and practices, then sat in the bleachers and cheered me on. My thanks will never adequately express my appreciation for them and all they have done.