Sarah Sponcil
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
United StatesPhoenix, Arizona, U.S.
 | |
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sarah Marie Sponcil |
| National team | United States |
| Born | August 16, 1996 Phoenix, Arizona, U.S. |
| Height | 5 ft 9 in (175 cm) |
| Website | www |
| Sport | |
| Sport | Beach volleyball |
| University team | LMU Lions (2014-16) / UCLA Bruins (2017) |
| League | AVP |
| Turned pro | 2018[1] |
| Partner | Terese Cannon |
| Former partner | Kelly Cheng |
| Achievements and titles | |
| Olympic finals | Tokyo 2020 |
| Highest world ranking | 6[2] |
| Personal best(s) |  2021 Sochi, 2021 Ostrava 2019 The Hague, 2019 Espinho, 2022 Cape Town, 2023 Ostrava 2018 Haiyang, 2019 Qinzhou, 2022 Kuşadası, 2023 Itapema |
Sarah Marie Sponcil[3] (born August 16, 1996, in Phoenix, Arizona)[1] is an American volleyball player for the San Diego Mojo of the Pro Volleyball Federation,[4] best known for her beach volleyball career. She competed for the USA Volleyball Beach National Team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games. Sarah and partner Kelly Claes tied for 9th in their debut Olympics. At 24 and 25, Sponcil and Claes, respectively, were the youngest beach volleyball team to represent the USA since its inception as an Olympic sport in 1996.
Sponcil grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where she began playing indoor volleyball at age 6 and beach volleyball at 8.[1] She led Veritas Preparatory Academy's indoor volleyball team to three state championship titles, winning Arizona Gatorade Player of the Year honors in both 2012 and 2013.[5]
Playing for Team USA at the Four Nations U21 Tournament in Australia, Sarah and her partner Torrey Van Winden went 4–0 against Team Brazil to win Gold. In the same year, the duo finished fourth at the 2016 FIVB U21 World Championships, delivering the highest placement at the event for USA Volleyball.
College
Sponcil played three seasons of indoor volleyball at Loyola Marymount, where she was the 2016 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and the school's Female Athlete of the Year. She transferred to UCLA for her senior season, where she played both indoor and beach. She led the Bruins to their first-ever NCAA Beach Volleyball Championship in May 2018 and then again in 2019.[5]
Sponcil was a two-sport Division I Student-Athlete; she played two years of beach and three years of indoor volleyball at Loyola Marymount University where she was 2016 West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year and LMU's Female Athlete of the Year. In just three seasons at LMU, Sponcil ranks in LMU history as seventh all-time for attacks (3,063) and ninth all-time for kills (1,193) and kills per set (3.43 per set); she also had 963 digs (2.77 per set) and 76 service aces. With numerous All-American, All-Region, All-WCC, All-Freshman and All-AVCA honors, Sponcil guided the LMU Lions to the 2014 NCAA Tournament and to the 2015 NCAA Sweet Sixteen. Sponcil took a red-shirt year from LMU Beach in 2016 to represent USA Volleyball at the Four Nations U21 Tournament in Sydney, Australia, where she won Gold.
Sponcil transferred to UCLA in 2017, where she played her last season of indoor eligibility in 2017. She also played beach volleyball, and as a Junior in 2018 and Senior in 2019, she helped propel the Bruins to their first Beach National Title in 2018 and then again in 2019. Sponcil garnered numerous honors at UCLA, including First Team Pac-12, Court Two Team of the Year with Lily Justine, and AVCA Collegiate Beach Volleyball All-American.
