Keri Partridge signs her letter of intent with her parents, Barbara and Adrien, looking on.
Notre Dame's star middle hitter Keri Partridge signed her letter of intent Friday and will be playing volleyball for Howard University next year.
Howard is a Division I school in Washington D.C. The Lady Bison will be the number eight seed going into this year's MEAC tournament.
Notre Dame Athletic Director Howie Sompayrac opened the signing with a few words about Partridge. He pointed out that it takes a lot of character to achieve what Keri has on and off the court.
"With volleyball I am well aware of the commitment that has to be made in the offseason to be successful," Sompayrac said. "It is very diffucult to keep that kind of schedule and keep up your grades."
"Keri is a great player, but she is even a better person. It takes a lot of character," Sompayrac said, "But even more than that it stars with having good parents."
Partridge, the daughter of Adrien and Barbara Partridge, gave her parents credit too. Keri remembers well the sacrifices they have made to allow her to be competitive in volleyball.
Partridge has trained with the Velocity Fitness Center and played for the Atlanta Boom Jr. Olympic Volleyball Club for the past two years. Her parents have driven her back and forth to Atlanta for club practices and games for two years.
The hard work during offseason has paid off. Partridge has been a leader in the city in the area of kills, blocks and aces. She helped lead her high school team to the Division II state quarterfinals in 2004, the 2005 A/AA state semifinals, and topped it off with a state championship her senior year.
Partridge was also named state tournament MVP this year.
Partridge was recruited by a lengthy list of schools, but says she never really considered going anywhere else.
"I pretty much knew I wanted to go to Howard since I was a freshman," Partridge said. "The campus and the people there are warm and welcoming."
Partridge plans to pursue a degree in science and then work towards her masters to become a nurse practitioner.
Keri follows in the footsteps of two older sisters who also played volleyball. Her oldest sister Stephanie played in high school, and Anjelica graduated from Notre Dame and now plays for the University of Georgia.
When asked what her fondest memory of her high school career was she admitted the state championship was great, but said there were other memories she would carry with her for a much longer time.
"Our volleyball team always gets along. They have helped me have fun in high school," she said. "I'll always remember the bus rides with the team. I have a lot of really good memories from those. And I'll never forget everything my parents and coaches have done for me,"
Pictured left to right are Notre Dame principal Perry Storey, Barbara Partridge, Keri Partridge, Adrien Partridge and Notre Dame Athletic Director Howie Sompayrac.