UC volleyball alumna Jordan Thompson, Team USA preview

A gold medal isn't the only thing on University of Cincinnati alumna Jordan Thompson's Tokyo to-do list.

The 6-foot-4, Team USA Women's Volleyball opposite wants to make sure nobody underestimates her alumna mater.

"A lot of people don’t always look at Cincinnati as a volleyball school necessarily," Thompson said  on Tuesday. "I’m just really honored to be able to represent Cincinnati and prove that you don’t have to go to a Big Ten school to do great things in this sport."

Thompson will be the first ever former UC student-athlete to compete in an Olympic volleyball event. She will be one of three former UC female-athletes competing at the Tokyo games (Vanessa Giles, Canadian Women's Soccer and Annette Echikunwoke, Nigeria Track & Field Hammer Throw).

"It just goes to show the talent that comes out of Cincinnati, the staff that we have there and what we are capable of," Thompson said of her fellow Olympians. "I'm so excited for them and I can't wait to cheer them on...I hope that we get to cross paths because that would be very special."

As for any Olympian, Thompson's Olympic dream has been years in the making.

It all started on an outdoor volleyball court with her cousins. Thompson and her family would play all day in the sun until they went inside to watch the Olympics together.

"I would see players and say ‘I want to do that one day’ and of course I thought that probably wasn't going to happen but it’s a great dream to have," Thompson said. 

As the years went on though, that dream became more tangible. 

As a freshman in high school, Thompson made the varsity volleyball team. She remembers that milestone as the first time a coach saw her potential. It's also where she met her long-term mentor, who she remembers always brought a spark of energy to the court.

"I don’t even know if she remembers me anymore but I always just think of her and how she really helped give me confidence as a player and to believe in myself," Thompson said. "I think she was such a big cheerleader on our team and she always encouraged us, so that really stuck with me throughout my whole career.”

After graduating in 2015 from Edina High School in Edina, Minnesota, Thompson took her talent to the University of Cincinnati.

Thompson said she chose Cincinnati knowing she could have an immediate impact on the volleyball court. However, the deciding factor came when she visited campus and immediately felt a certain comfort that reminded her of home.

Volleyball head coach Molly Alvey reflected on the campus visit with Thompson and her mother, Mary. She remembered it as a nice visit, but one that left her unsure of Thompson's decision.