BADGERING
DOMINIQUE THOMPSON
For Dominique Thompson, volleyball runs in the family. Her mother was an
outside hitter at Iowa while her aunt also played for the Hawkeyes. Her uncle
was a four-year starter at Pepperdine and her grandfather wrote a book on
the sport.
Thompson, a 5-foot-11 middle blocker, has aided the Badgers to an 11-1
start as they open Big Ten Conference play this weekend in the UW Field
House. The junior earned most valuable player honors last weekend, guiding
Wisconsin to the title at the NC State Invitational in Raleigh, N.C.
What was it like to earn your first tournament MVP honor at
the NC State Invitational?
"It is really cool to be able to earn MVP honors, however I don't
think that I can take all the credit for that. Lauren (Carlini) and I
have been working to connect better and the work that she puts in
allowed me to show what I can do a little more this weekend."
You had to redshirt last season due to a foot injury. How tough
was it not to play and how fun is to be back on the court this
season, especially when the team is doing so well?
"Not being able to play is not easy to handle, especially the longer
you are out. I do think that it made me hungrier to get healthy,
take care of my body and get back. I wanted nothing more than
to get on the court. I think even though it was tough it made me
an even better player mentally. Now that I'm back I enjoy it every
single day."
Your family has quite the history in the sport of volleyball.
How did it all start?
"When I was young, I tried to stay away from volleyball because it
did seem like what my family was all about. I wanted to do something different so I had a goal of playing basketball in college. I
didn't start playing volleyball for real until my freshman year of
high school. It sort of clicked for me and then with some hard work
I realized that it was the sport for me and what I'm meant to do."
The team is off to an 11-1 start but opens a tough Big Ten
Conference season this weekend. What are you most looking
forward to in conference play? How do you think the team is going to do in the league?
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"I am looking forward to every single game that we play and I will
always be most looking forward to the next game that we have.
Nothing is more important to me than the next opponent. I think
our team is going to do well. Our coaches have given us all the
tools to preform at the highest level and we will only get better as
the season progresses. I am excited to play and I believe we will be
successful if we keep working hard."
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VARSITY September 26, 2013
