University of San Francisco Athletics

Born in Ridgefield, WA, Thompson was raised with two older brothers. She was a multi-sport athlete growing up and began gymnastics at an early age. However, she did not begin playing volleyball until age 14 when she attended Ridgefield High School, where she was a three-time All-League pick and was named All-American. Thompson was also on the school's track & field team, where she competed as a long jumper (top-jump of 19 ft 6 in) and triple jumper (40 ft 0 in).

Thompson played college volleyball for the Portland Pilots where she was a standout outside hitter, and was twice named to the All-Tournament team. She transferred to the University of San Francisco for her last two years of volleyball. She red-shirted her first season there, but during the next season, in a match against Pepperdine, she tore a knee ligament. After recovering, she played her senior season under a new coach, Laurie Corbelli (Fandom).