Shannon Thompson Named Head Volleyball Coach

Canisius Director of Athletics Bill Maher announced Thursday that Shannon Thompson has been named the new head coach of the Canisius volleyball program. Thompson, the 13th head coach in program history, replaces former head coach Lenika Vazquez, who resigned her position at the College to take over the volleyball program at Northeastern in February.

"We are excited to welcome Shannon to the Canisius athletic department and the campus community," Maher said. "Shannon did a terrific job throughout our selection process and has worked her way up the coaching ladder. At each stop, she has been able to identify and develop strong recruiting classes into quality student-athletes, while helping the members of the team grow both on and off the court. I look forward to working with her and our student-athletes as we chase the goal of a MAAC Championship."

"I would just like to thank Bill Maher, associate athletic director/SWA Lisa Liotta and the rest of the search committee for trusting me to lead this great group of young women," Thompson said. "During my time with the search committee, it was very clear that there is a passion for developing student-athletes using a holistic approach, and to help create a strong student-athlete experience. Canisius volleyball has a great foundation that I am excited to build upon and continue to create a winning culture."

Thompson takes over the Golden Griffin volleyball program after spending the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Campbell University in Buies Creek, N.C. There, she helped build the Camels' program into one of the better teams in the Big South Conference, highlighted by the team's appearance in the Big South championship match last fall. In addition to her coaching responsibilities with Campbell's middle hitters, outside hitters and right-side hitters, she served as the program's camp director, travel coordinator and was the program's contact for alumni and donors.

Prior to her time at Campbell, Thompson was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She also spent three seasons as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2015-17 at her alma mater, UMass-Boston.

A native of Moorpark, Calif., Thompson started her coaching career with the club program at VC Tirol in Innsbruck, Austria. She also played professionally for VC Tirol from 2013-15, and as a team captain, helped lead the team to a third-place finish in the Austrian Division I Bundesliga.

Thompson was a four-year letterwinner and a four-time first-team all-league selection during her collegiate playing days at UMass-Boston from 2009-12. The Beacons' career leader in kills (1,803), digs (1,202) and solo blocks (120), she holds the honor of being the only volleyball player in Little East Conference history to be named the league's Offensive Player of the Year three times, in addition to being tabbed as the conference's Rookie of the Year. She closed out her college career by earning Little East Conference Tournament MVP accolades after leading the Beacons to the 2012 NCAA Division III Women's Volleyball National Championship Tournament.

The Canisius volleyball team will return nine letterwinners from last year's team that went 15-16 overall and 12-6 in MAAC action. The 12 league wins allowed Canisius to earn a berth into the 2019 MAAC Volleyball Championship, where the program made its second-straight appearance in the semifinal round.

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