The next, perhaps surprising, stop on Sarah Sponcil’s volleyball career, as a highly touted player on the upstart Grand Rapids Rise in the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation, began in an unlikely spot: Kenya.
This past May, Sponcil visited Kenya, in part to see her good friend Gaudencia Makokha, whom she met competing at the 2021 Tokyo Olympic Games, in part to help a non-profit organization, World concern, “an amazing organization dedicated to serving people in extreme need because they have an extreme calling — to be the hands and feet of Jesus to a broken world,” Sponcil wrote this past May.
“They bring clean water to the thirsty, they help feed the hungry, they give comfort to the exploited, traumatized, and forgotten. They literally work with people left behind, beyond the end of the road.”
While with Makokha, Sponcil joined the Kenya indoor national team for practices as they prepared for the African Championships, rediscovering her dormant love for the indoor version of the sport she left in 2017 after starring as a setter for UCLA.
“You kind of forget about it. You forget about the memories, you forget about the people, you forget about the community,” Sponcil said on Tuesday morning. “I’m just so excited to open that door again. Going to Kenya was one of the best trips of my life. I’ll say it until I die.”
What role Sponcil will play for the Rise, she isn’t quite sure yet. Neither, for that matter, is Rise coach Cathy George, although it’s most likely she’ll be a setter and/or libero.
“Sarah is the all-around volleyball player, having played every single position except for middle blocker. She has an extensive background in beach volleyball, which may be slightly different from the indoor game, but she is a natural at whatever she does and I am sure she will be ready to play come January,” George said.
“Sarah has represented Team USA at the Olympics, and the mindset you must develop in order to compete at that level is extraordinary. Sarah has big goals, whether it’s to play in the Olympics, indoor or outdoor, and I love the confidence and mentality she brings to our club.”
The Rise are one of six teams in the PVF, which will begin its inaugural season this January. The Rise will compete against the Atlanta Vibe, Columbus Fury, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkyries, a San Diego-based…
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