As former University of Cincinnati standout Jordan Thompson reflects on helping to lead the United States women’s volleyball team to the gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, a huge smile fills her face.
"I think about just the moment of stepping onto the podium, holding hands with my teammates and then getting to place the medal on our teammates' necks," she said. "And just that feeling of like, oh my gosh, we did it."
Thompson and Team USA defeated Brazil 25-21, 25-20, 25-14 on Aug. 8 to claim gold, something the program hadn’t done in the previous 57 years volleyball had been featured at the Games.
The drought had finally ended for the Americans, but Thompson was forced to watch from the sideline.
After a dominant start to the Games, leading the team in points and wowing the world with a 34-point effort against China, Thompson landed hard on her ankle early in the second frame of a match against the Russian Olympic Committee in pool play.
Team USA fell in three sets to Russian Olympic Committee (ROC), but more importantly, Thompson, the team's breakout performer, was out for the remainder of the Games.
"That was really unfortunate," Thompson said. "But I tried to just continue to play my role on the team to the best of my abilities and try to continue to encourage and be really good eyes for my teammates who were on the court. Because I knew that even though I wasn't playing, I was a part of the team. I was still contributing in some way. I was just thankful to still have that opportunity to be with them.
"It started off really amazing and exciting, and then (I) hit a little road block. But in the end, coming out with the gold medal was obviously the best-case scenario."
With Thompson cheering on her teammates, Team USA defeated Brazil to capture the gold. One of the first people to reach out to Thompson after the win was UC women's volleyball coach Molly Alvey.
"Afterwards, I kind of shared with her like, hey, you understand Team USA is not in that gold-medal match without you," Alvey said. "They're not. I know as an athlete that's where you want to be, you want to be in that match and it's hard. But there's no way that that team is in that match without her and I think the whole world knows that."
Alvey, who is entering her 10th season at Cincinnati and coached Thompson during each of her five seasons at UC (2015-19), left a voicemail on Thompson's phone. Through the flood of calls, texts and other voicemail messages Thompson received, she was able to listen to Alvey's message.
"That was really cool," Thompson said. "Even though I didn't get to talk to her on the phone right after the game, just getting to hear her voice and hear just how proud she was really hit home for me."
Alvey and the UC volleyball team will honor Thompson on Saturday at Fifth Third Arena before the Bearcats host Pittsburgh in an exhibition. Doors open at 12 p.m., with the match starting at 1 p.m.
Thompson will host an autograph signing from 12:15 to 12:45 p.m., then at 12:55, Thompson will be recognized on the court for her accomplishments with the Bearcats and at the Olympics.
The preseason test will be a rematch of the teams' second round showdown in the 2019 NCAA tournament.
Cincinnati defeated the Panthers 3-2 to advance to the team's first-ever Sweet 16. Thompson led the team with 27 kills and had six digs.
Thompson led the nation in kills, points, kills per set and points per set that season en route to being named an American Volleyball Coaches Association first-team All-American. She finished her UC career as the school's all-time leader in kills and ranked seventh all-time in career kills in NCAA history.
"I don't think Jordan got the recognition that she should have in college," Alvey said. "... I think for her to do what she did so close to graduating puts a stamp not on her but on this program. ... For her to be able to come home and now everyone to see, wow, it is legit. Everything she did on this court here is legit."
So what was the best part about the Olympic Games for Thompson?
"Just being in the village and being surrounded by all the athletes who are at the pinnacle of their sport," she said. "I didn't necessarily spend a lot of time talking to a bunch of different athletes just because you want to be safe with COVID and everything, but just walking around and seeing these people who I don't know but I feel this really intense bond and connection to just based on the fact that we all fought through a pandemic and everything else that comes with being an athlete and trying to compete at that level.
"It felt really special because you're such a small percentage of the population that gets that opportunity and it's so special and it's so difficult to get there. I think having that bond with people was just an intense feeling for me. ... That was really cool."
As Thompson continues to soak up everything that comes with a magical run to a gold medal, there's really only one question that remains: What's next? The 2024 Olympics in Paris?
"I'm going to try for Paris. I think either way I would try for Paris, but I think especially after going down with my ankle and not being able to really come back for the rest of the tournament, It made me that much more hungry to have a more normal Olympics, Olympic experience. And also one that's not, you know, during a pandemic would be nice. So I'm going to try for Paris and hopefully have a more normal experience. Fingers crossed."