Indianapolis, Ind. – Kristin Thompson, a four-year letter winner from the Robert Morris University volleyball team, has been nominated for the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year award, announced the NCAA Tuesday afternoon.

Thompson is one of 517 student-athletes up for the prestigious award. This year's pool of candidates is the largest in the 26-year history of the honor.

The NCAA Woman of the Year award honors graduating female student-athletes who have exhausted their eligibility and distinguished themselves throughout their college careers in academics, athletics, service and leadership. Thompson is among 231 Division I student-athletes in consideration for the award.

Thompson is a four-year member of the volleyball team, which captured the 2015 Northeast Conference Championship title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2003 and sixth time in program history. She was named to the 2015 All-Tournament Team in Robert Morris' active league-record 17^th consecutive appearance in the postseason. A two-time All-Tournament standout, Thompson made her first career appearance on the All-NEC First Team this season after being placed on the Second Team in 2014.

As a senior, Thompson was named the RMU volleyball Most Valuable Player. She led the NEC in overall hitting percentage (.340) in 2015, and paced the league in hitting percentage in conference action (.389) for the second consecutive season. Thompson ended her career ranked fifth all-time at Robert Morris in individual career total blocks (283), sixth in block assists (243), and 10^th in blocks per set (0.81).

Thompson graduated with Cum Laude distinction in Spring 2016 with a Bachelor's of Science degree in biology.

Each conference selects up to two women from the nominees to represent the conference. The Woman of the Year selection committee selects the top 30 honorees, 10 from each division, from the conference nominees in September 2016. From those 30 young women, the selection committee chooses the top three in each division and announces the top nine finalists in late September. The NCAA Committee on Women's Athletics then votes from among the finalists to determine the award winner.

The top 10 honorees from all three divisions, including the nine overall finalists, will be honored, and the 2016 NCAA Woman of the Year will be announced, at the annual ceremony in Indianapolis on Sunday, Oct. 16.

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