It didn’t take long for Bri Duchemin to decide where she would like to spend the next four years playing volleyball.
The North Kitsap senior made a verbal commitment to Saint Martin’s Univeristy in Lacey in late August. Saint Martin’s is a NCAA Division II school that plays in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. The 6-foot outside hitter will sign her letter of intent for the Saints during the volleyball signing period in November.
Duchemin has been one of the best players in West Sound since her sophomore season. She was named the Olympic League 2A MVP last year and was the Kitsap Sun’s player of the year.
When drawing interest from colleges, Duchemin said she looked at three factors;
- Staying in state (it’s less expensive)
- Proximity to family and friends
- And the programs the school offered — biology or teaching.
Saint Martin’s hit on all three fronts.
“Everything seemed to fit,” Duchemin said, who went to a one-day camp and played with her future teammates.
Duchemin said she’d been thinking about what she wanted and decided to make her verbal commitment right away.
“There’s no reason to wait,” she said.
Now that her college decision has been made, Duchemin feels like it’s lightened her load.
“I think the fact that I know where I’m going took a huge stress (off me),” she said.
The Vikings (6-1 overall, 5-0 OL) are making a push for their eighth league title and another run to the state tournament. Duchemin has been an integral part of NK’s run to state, helping the Vikings place second in Class 2A in the 2013-14 season. Duchemin this week notched her 1,000 career kill, something she wanted to accomplish this season. She knew she was close heading into Tuesday’s league match with North Mason.
“I had seven in the first set and my mom was like ‘You need one more,’” Duchemin said, adding she was also fighting the flu bug and took herself out before the third set to rest. “That was pretty exciting. I really wanted my eight kills.”
