PEORIA, Ill. – Already the first individual in Bradley Volleyball history to earn AVCA All-Region honors, Hannah Thompson added another distinction to her lengthy list of awards with the senior outside hitter named a Third-Team Academic All-American according to an announcement by the College Sports Information Directors of America (CoSIDA) Monday.

Thompson is one of just three two-time CoSIDA Academic All-District honorees in program history and is the first player in program history to earn CoSIDA Academic All-America plaudits.  Bradley Athletics has produced at least one Academic All-American in seven straight years for the longest streak in school history. 

One of two individuals from the Missouri Valley Conference to be selected as Academic All-Americans, Thompson was joined by Valparaiso's Rylee Cookerly (Second Team).  The MVC's last Academic All-American was in 2018 and the Valley produced multiple Academic All-Americans for the first time since 2017.  While it is the 11^th year in which two or more Valley players were selected as Academic All-Americans, Thompson and Cookerly represent just the fourth such Valley duo over the last 17 seasons. 
 
The only player to rank in the top 10 in the MVC in both kills and digs per set, Thompson was the only player in the nation in 2020-21 to average 3.5 kills and at least 4.90 digs per set in 2020-21.  Leading Bradley in both categories, she was eighth in the MVC in kills per set (3.51) and sixth in digs (4.91). 

Thompson earned honorable mention all-region honors from the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) this past season, making her the first player in program history to take home all-region honors.  In addition, she was a First-Team All-MVC selection and is now the eighth two-time, first-team all-conference performer for the Braves.

A health science major with a perfect 4.00 cumulative grade point average, Thompson posted 14 double-doubles in her 19 contests this season and became the 15^th Bradley play with 1,000 career kills.  She is just the fourth junior in program history to reach 1,000 career kills, joining Lindsay Stalzer, Jenny Pavlas and former teammate Erica Haslag in the exclusive group. 

In addition to her offensive exploits, Thompson nearly broke the Bradley career digs record this spring; closing the season second in digs at BU with 1,418 and is 20 digs from breaking the school record of 1,437 set by Rachelle Dejean in 2011.  Thompson is the 13^th player in MVC history with 1,000 career kills and 1,400 or more digs. 

Thompson took home First-Team MVC Scholar-Athlete honors in 2020-21 after also earning the same award as a sophomore and was named to the MVC All-Tournament team after helping the Braves reach the semifinals for the first time since 2002. 
 
To be eligible for Academic All-America® consideration, a student-athlete must be a varsity starter or key reserve, maintain a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 on a scale of 4.0, have reached sophomore athletic and academic standing at their institution and be nominated by their sports information director.