University of San Francisco Athletics

Born in Ridgefield, Washington, 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 joined 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 blew out a knee ligament. After recovering, she played her senior season under a new coach, Laurie Corbelli (Fandom).