Sun - 12 Jun
Written by Sher Jasperse
Where volleyball is concerned, Brittney Thomas has had only two goals “my whole life,” she says. “I wanted to be captain of an All-Tournament team at state and I want to be an All-American in college. Fifty percent of my goals have been accomplished.”
The second goal seems attainable as well for the Mount Mercy University junior-to-be, a Marion High School grad who led her prep team to the 3A state title in 2009 and was named captain of the All-Tournament squad. Whatever happens, collegiate volleyball has already taken her to places she never imagined.
In her first season at Mount Mercy, Thomas broke the school’s single-season kills record with 504 and was named to the All-Conference team. She earned All-Conference honors again this past year and is on pace to break Mount Mercy’s career kills record of 1,283, set by Amy Osenbaugh in 1990-1993, in only her junior year next season.
At 5-foot-8, Thomas is not the tallest player on her team – or even the tallest of the three volleyball playing Thomas sisters, who include Jessica, a junior at Marion, and Alyssa, an eighth grader. Alyssa describes her oldest sister, who has been “hitting balls at my face as hard as she can since I was a little kid,” as one of her heroes.
The Thomas girls were nudged toward volleyball by their mother, Janet, who played volleyball at William Penn University. Their father, Greg, played baseball and basketball for the Statesmen. “My mom and dad are both really great athletes,” says Brittney.
The family moved to Marion when Brittney was in fourth grade after her father was named principal at Marion High School. “My mom put me in some volleyball camps and I just loved it,” she says. Thomas played club volleyball and joined the Vernon Middle School team. As a freshman at Marion, she played one game on the sophomore squad before being moved to the varsity.
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