Many people became accustomed to watching Makala Thompson these past four years as the starting setter for Stevenson women’s volleyball. However, few know that her origins on the court began with a basketball before a volleyball.
Thompson grew up in Mt. Airy, Maryland, where the population is just over 9,800 as of 2023. Basketball was the main sport in the family and after her mother passed on the sport to her, Thompson was making three-point shots until the age of 10.
That is when she discovered volleyball through her mother’s friend, and she was eventually signed up for a travel team. This is when she fell in love with the game of volleyball.
Thompson says that she enjoyed basketball, but she enjoyed volleyball even more.
“I loved [basketball], but I just wasn’t as in love with it,” Thompson said. “I didn’t enjoy certain parts of it where with volleyball, I enjoy every aspect of it. I want to be there all the time. I want to take free time and use it to play volleyball,” Thompson said.
Thompson, while laughing, cites the amount of running involved in basketball as a big reason why she turned away from the sport.
“In basketball, there is a lot of running and I HATED running. I was looking for a another sport that wasn’t like that,” Thompson said.
Thompson played club volleyball growing up, which only increased her passion for the sport. Eventually, she decided to extend her playing career into the collegiate level and the Middle-Atlantic Conference. Prior to the 2021 season, she committed to Stevenson University.
She became a Mustang for two specific reasons. One, she could balance her academics and athletics well at the same time at DIII Stevenson where at a D1 program, athletics would be first priority. Second, Stevenson also offers a beach volleyball team. This meant that she would be able to play on both teams year-round.
“Not many schools in the area have beach volleyball as an option, so I knew that I wanted to play both and Stevenson was the perfect fit for me in that regard,” Thompson said.
As all first-years experience, Thompson had adjustments to make in the new environment at Stevenson as she balanced a year-long schedule of school and sports. However, she credits her teammates for helping her move things along smoothly.
“They were all super welcoming,” Thompson said. “I am not the most social person, so [I loved] having a group of girls that I could hangout with and have as friends. They eventually became family. It meant so much to me and that really helped me both off the court and on the court. We all supported each other.”
After an excellent pre-season, then-head coach Dave Trumbo wasted no time in putting Thompson into action.
In her rookie season, she appeared in 105 sets, amassed 408 assists, and averaged 3.89 assists per set. Thompson followed her successful first season with a season that saw her tally 21 kills, 610 assists and 5.60 assists per set.
It did not take long for Thompson to establish herself as the Stevenson women’s volleyball’s setter of the future. As her work ethic intensified, her success took off. However, Thompson says that her early success was earned, not expected.
“I never expect anything because I always feel like it is earned,” Thompson said. “I never expected to play all four years. I came in with an open mind, wanting to be on the court. I pushed myself and competed, and that’s how I earned my spot on the court.”
With number nine on her back, Thompson was quickly one of the most successful players on the court, and there was no doubt that she would be out there every game for her team. However, the pressure was on this fall during her final season. She was the lone senior in the team’s class of 2025.
This caused mixed feelings for Thompson prior to the season.
“It’s nice to have another senior with you to lean on and go through it with,” Thompson said. She also said that as someone who does not like getting a ton of attention, she had to adjust to constantly being in a spotlight situation and receiving attention from everyone around her.
Nonetheless, she powered through and put together a final season to remember. She led the team in kills with 490 and was second on the team in digs with 206. She averaged 5.10 assists per set, totaled 22 kills, and collected 45 points. She was also named to the 2024 All-MAC sportsmanship team.
Head coach Emma Lorenzen noticed Thompson’s perseverance through her senior season, and she made sure that it did not go unrecognized.
“Being the only senior, I know a lot of frustrations appeared for Makala,” Lorenzen said. “She didn’t let that stop her from having an amazing season. She showed up every day being her authentic self and knew that even with the challenges- she was willing to work to overcome them.”
All of her worries were put aside when senior day came. Prior to their home finale on November 6 versus conference rivals Widener, Thompson was recognized as the team’s lone senior. Her parents, friends and family, and many of her former teammates were on hand to celebrate the occasion. It became even more memorable after the Mustangs completed a clean 3-0 sweep of Widener.
For Thompson, it was a reflection her journey on the court with the Mustangs. It was the big accomplishments including being selected to the NCAA Tournament. It was also the little things including dancing with her teammates before taking the court for gameday. That one night she had for herself was a steep trip down memory lane.
“It put into perspective all that has happened, all of the work I put in, and all of the support I have,” Thompson said. “It got me emotional. It was such a fun night.”
Four years have quickly passed by since she stepped onto the court in Mustang green for the first time. During her four-year career, Thompson averaged 4.98 assists per set and added 77 career kills. Perhaps her most notable accomplishment was achieving her 2,000th career assist, which she got on October 31 against Johns Hopkins University.
With a section in the bleachers filled with her friends, family, and classmates, Thompson achieved the feat during the final set of the night. Her teammates held signs spelling out “2,000” in gold, and the game briefly paused as she received a round of applause from the crowd on hand.
Through all of this, her work ethic and determination never changed. Whether it was in the gym or on the court for games and practice, she knew that there was work to be done.
As she grew older and more experienced, she eventually took it upon herself to be a leader and anchor her teammates as they pursued the MAC championship.
“[I began] shifting towards a mentor mentality,” Thompson said. “I have a lot of experience, so I feel like I could use that to help the other girls on my team get better. I had that [leadership for myself] when I was younger and coming onto this team [my first year]. It was my turn to step up and do that.”
Her presence and leadership was widely praised by her teammates and coaches. Lorenzen was impressed with Thompson’s IQ of volleyball, and having good knowledge of the game is essential for the setter position.
“Being a setter is pretty much a quarterback for our team,” Lorenzen said. “She has to know every play and set the right person during long rallies, and in transition. She made extremely smart decisions, and I can tell her knowledge of the overall game often put our team in a great spot.”
For Lorenzen, Thompson’s presence struck on a more personal level beyond the court. This was Lorenzen’s first season as the head coach for women’s volleyball as the McDaniel College alumnus succeeded Trumbo, who retired from Stevenson in June. It was a time of significant change for both the program and for Lorenzen, and she credits Thompson for assisting in the process.
“Change is hard for everyone involved, and I think Makala was the one thing I needed this season to really grasp what this program needed,” Lorenzen said. “I wanted honesty and transparency from her about the struggles this program has faced and she was quick to address anything with me. I really appreciate her efforts this season to work with me and convincing Makala of my visions was extremely easy. She was on board from day one.”
Former Mustangs libero Kayla Vaeth also complimented Thompson for her leadership and play specifically as a setter. In volleyball, the relationship between a setter and a libero highly impacts, if not completely decides, a team’s chances of winning. Vaeth emphasized that connection and remembers how her and Thompson clicked on the court.
“As the libero, if you can give your setter a good pass then it makes the game go a lot smoother and makes everyones job easier,” Vaeth said. “On the other side, the setter is there to better the ball if it isn’t a good pass for the hitter so it’s just something you work together on while you are on the court. Since Makala and I played together for so many years, we were able to work pretty well together while we were on the court.”
Vaeth, a two-time All-MAC second team selection who graduated this spring, managed to watch a few games this season from the stands and is proud of how her former teammate Thompson stepped up.
“It is always different watching from the stands than playing but you could definitely see the leadership role she took with having so many underclassman on the team,” Vaeth said.
Thompson often carried a stoic and focused demeanor on the court, perhaps intimidating for opponents on the other side of the net. People knew that there was no messing around when Thompson would dribble the ball pre-set with intensity and an unphased look on her face. Yet, all Thompson was trying to do was remain calm and loose on the court.
“I’m just a calm person,” Thompson said. “I feel like being that rock on the court can be really important as a leader. I wanted to be somone that people could look at as a reminder that everything is going to be ok, and that we just need to focus on doing our jobs on the court,” Thompson said.
Lorenzen, too, noticed Thompson’s level-headedness.
“Mentally, Makala is a very calm leader,” Lorenzen said. “During stressful games, rallies, or conversations- she remained calm and with a young team we definitely needed that.”
Vaeth echoed off of that.
“She is the person that stays calm at all times which is nice to have when things can get tense during a game, especially a close game,” Vaeth said.
Perhaps Thompson gained some leadership insight in her coursework as an education major. Thompson, who aspires to be a teacher, says that being in the education department impacts who she is as a person, and that shows on the court.
“As an education major, I work with kids everyday,” Thompson said, “so there are certain ways that you need to work with kids and there are a lot of things that I have learned from working with them. I have a lot of patience and empathy towards people from working with kids, and I think that shows on the court and how I build relationships on the team.”
Her parting message to her now-former teammates on the indoor team is to form a strong bond with one another and to cherish the chance to play the game.
“That’s who you have is each other,” she said. “Enjoy what you are doing. Love volleyball. Love being there.”
Thompson’s career in the indoor court, where she made her name known most, has concluded. However, she still has more volleyball to play.
She will complete her senior season with the beach volleyball team in the spring and attempt to play some pick up games on local club volleyball teams upon graduation. She plans on continuing on in the game as a coach, as she is ready to pass her knowledge down to a new generation of volleyball players.
That desire to coach is driven by what matters most to her, and that is her love for the game and how the game has shaped who she is. In her vision, the life of Makala Thompson must have volleyball in it.
“I learned who I am as a person and what I value,” Thompson said. “I am not a person without volleyball in my life somehow. It’s been a part of me for so long that I can’t imagine life without it. I’ll always be involved [in volleyball] in some way.”
This story was originally published on Stevenson Villager on December 2, 2024.
