Now that the longest five months of her volleyball career are in the past, the 6-foot-4 senior outside hitter is finally going to get the chance to show what she can do on the court.
Thompson sat out all of last season, the result of her transfer from Minneapolis Southwest to Edina ("Southwest wasn't a good fit for me," she said). She was able to practice with the Hornets all season, but during matches, she was relegated to a spot on the bench in street clothes.
"It was really hard to watch the team play without me," said Thompson, whose uncle is Minnesota Vikings Hall of Fame defensive end Chris Doleman. "I'm a pretty competitive person, so it was tough not being able to play when there were time when I really felt like I could help out."
We talked with Thompson about a successful summer with her club team, her hopes for this season and the unexpected advantage to being 6-4.
Q: How difficult was it to change schools?
A: I transferred in the last half of my sophomore year, so, yeah, I was a little nervous on the first day, but everyone was super nice. They asked if I needed help finding my way around the school and would walk me to class. It was a super-welcoming environment that made it pretty easy.
Q: After not playing varsity matches all fall, how much did you enjoy playing with your club team, Northern Lights 17-1s?
A: Summer [Junior Olympic volleyball] was really great. We went to Florida and won a national tournament. It was exciting because we had a season of injuries, but by the time we got to Florida, we had all gotten healthy and came together at the right time.
