Kari Gibb/MDN TGU senior Ashley Martodam signed her NLI to play volleyball at Bismarck State College this fall. She is joined by (left to right) BSC head volleyball coach Kyle Kuether, her father Jason, Ashley, her mother Crystal, her step father Kieth and her brother Lane at TGU High School on Tuesday, March 11.

“It has been a few years since we had an athlete sign [a National Letter of Intent] and move on,” said TGU athletic director Malcolm Marcus. “Ashley is the best we have seen in a dozen years for sure. She has been great to watch and we have enjoyed having her here within our sports programs.”

The senior student-athlete has spent the past six years playing basketball and has played volleyball since she was a freshman.

“I love the process of getting better each and every day both on the court as well as in the classroom,” said Martodam. “If I could pass anything on to the younger kids, learn to love the process and embrace it every single day.”

Martodam has enjoyed her time in high school with the sciences being her favorite classes. She will be studying Finance and Management at Bismarck State College (BSC).

“I am learning to love math,” said Martodam. “I have always loved the sciences but math is new to me in that way. I am looking forward to classes now.”

The volleyball team is composed of all North Dakotans with Ashley being the final one to sign.

“Her play speaks for itself,” said BSC head volleyball coach Kyle Kuether. “We really feel lucky she is headed to our team. The girls report the second Monday in August and we start the season pretty quick after that with Iowa being the first leg of play. We are very glad she is joining the team.”

When asked why BSC, Martodam was very specific.

“Every time I thought of being there, attending classes there and working out there- it made me happy and excited to envision myself there,” said the soon to be Mystic. “Usually you can always find an issue with anything that you do that gives pause or is a ‘con’ but I have yet to find anything about BSC that brings that vibe to me.”

Besides the physical move, adjusting to the new workload will take Martodam’s focus.

“It remains to be seen how labor intensive the studies and the workouts are,” said the TGU senior. “I will give classes and volleyball my full attention and focus. If I need more to do, there is always basketball – but for now, we will stick with just the volleyball team.”