Kent's Courtney Thompson, U.S. Women's Volleyball team to play for Olympic gold

Kent's Courtney Thompson and the rest of the U.S.  Olympic Women’s Volleyball team will seek its first Olympic gold medal on Saturday in the London Olympics.

The U.S. plays Brazil in the title match. Thompson, a former Kentlake High School and University of Washington star, returned to her reserve role at setter in a  25-20, 25-22, 25-22 victory over Korea Thursday in the semifinal round. She subbed in briefly during the second and third sets as part of a double switch.

Thompson started at setter in a win Tuesday over the Dominican Republic as regular setter Lindsey Berg sat out the match with an ankle injury. Berg returned to her starting role on Thursday.

At the 2008 Olympics, the Americans lost to then-top-ranked Brazil in the gold-medal match to earn its second Olympic silver medal. They earned their first in 1984 at the Los Angeles Games. Team USA also possesses a bronze from the 1992 Barcelona Olympics.

Team USA, now 7-0 at the 2012 London Games and 30-1 overall this year, defeated Korea in four sets on July 28 to open the 2012 Olympics Games. The Americans finished Pool B with wins over No. 2 Brazil (3-1), No. 3 China (3-1), No. 7 Serbia (3-0) and No. 8 Turkey (3-0).

The 5-foot-8 Thompson led Kentlake to three high school state volleyball titles from 2000 to 2002 and was the high school player of the year in the state in 2002. As a UW junior in 2005, she earned the Honda Sports Award for best volleyball player after leading the Huskies to their first national championship.

Contact Kent Reporter Courts, government reporter Steve Hunter at shunter@kentreporter.com or 253-872-6600, ext. 5052.

Comment on this story.

COMMENTING RULES: We encourage an open exchange of ideas in our online community, but we ask you to follow our guidelines for respecting community standards. In a nutshell, don't say anything you wouldn't want your mother to read. Please see our FAQ if you have questions or concerns about using Facebook to comment.