Jessie Hampson graduated as one of the most decorated volleyball players in Capital history for her numbers on and off of the court. An academic and athletic All-American, Hampson holds numerous single-season and career program records that still stand today.
Hampson came to Capital in 2004 after playing her first year at Ohio Northern University and then sitting out the mandatory year for an in-conference transfer. She began tearing it up for the Purple and White the following year. In that first year, she helped guide the Crusaders to their first OAC Tournament championship and NCAA Tournament appearance in a year which Cap set the program record for wins in a season (32). It was also a year in which she set the CU record for block assists in a season after posting 162. Hampson went on to lead the team and finish atop the conference with 378 kills and a .376 hit percentage.
The following year, Cap returned to the NCAA Tournament and won its first NCAA Tournament match while finishing the season 26-10 overall. Hampson blew out her offensive numbers after recording 447 kills and improving her efficiency with a .335 hit percentage. On the defensive end, she added another 178 blocks, 61 of those solo, to her career total.
Hampson continued to impress during her senior year after eclipsing 500 kills in a season, sharing the team lead with 28 service aces and putting forth another 188 blocks to again lead the Crusaders. Her 83 solo blocks set another single-season Capital record, and with 513 kills that placed her third in a single-season in that category.
Over the course of her career, Hampson was crowned OAC Player of the Year twice (2005 and 2007) and was named First Team All-OAC and AVCA All-Great Lakes Region all three years while at Cap. The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) tabbed Hampson with All-America status three times, twice a second team selection and a first teamer as a senior.
Her academics were just as strong as she was named Academic All-OAC in 2006 and 2007. In 2006, she was named CoSIDA Academic All-District and the following year she was honored as a Third Team ESPN the Magazine/CoSIDA Academic All-American. In the spring of 2008, Capital and the Ohio Athletic Conference recognized Hampson as the Clyde Lamb Award Winner for top female student-athlete based on citizenship, athletics and academic prowess.
In addition to multiple single-season records that still stand with her name attached, Hampson also holds the Capital career block assist (384) and total blocks (574) records. She also ranks second in solo blocks (190) and third in kills (1,338), this all just in three years.
