University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Sarah Sponcil to Transfer to UCLA
May 18, 2017 | Beach Volleyball
The junior-to-be will play the upcoming 2018 collegiate beach volleyball season at UCLA.
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LOS ANGELES -- UCLA Beach Volleyball Head Coach Stein Metzger, in concert with Women's Volleyball Head Coach Michael Sealy, announced today that Sarah Sponcil has signed a scholarship contract with UCLA to enroll in the Fall of 2017 and will transfer from Loyola Marymount. She will be a member of both teams during the 2017-18 season and will be a senior on the indoor team and a junior on the beach squad.
"We are excited to welcome Sarah Sponcil to our Bruin beach volleyball family," Metzger said. "She comes with a lot of international experience at the highest level of competition. She will certainly bolster an already talented but young Bruin squad. She is an amazing player and an even better person and will be a great addition to the culture we have built here at UCLA."
Sponcil is a two-time AVCA Collegiate Beach All-American. She partnered with Savannah Slattery at LMU this season and went 18-9 overall, including a 17-8 mark on court one, picking up honorable mention All-American accolades. She is 44-16 all-time at LMU, including sporting a 30-12 record on court one.
While she redshirted for the Lions in 2016, she did represent Team USA that year at Manly Beach, Sydney, Australia in the Four Nations U21 Tournament, partnering with current UCLA freshman Torrey Van Winden. The pair went 4-0 at the tournament to capture a gold medal, using a three-set, 21-23, 21-19, 15-13 victory against Brazil's Victoria Tosta and Ana Ramos to claim the title. They also paired together to finish fourth at the 2016 FIVB Under 21 World Championships.
As a freshman in 2015, Sponcil posted a 26-7 overall record, including going 12-3 at the top flight, earning AVCA All-American honors. She was also invited to compete in the AVCA National Pairs Championship with her partner Betsi Metter. Eight of her 12 wins on court one came against the top pairs of ranked teams.
