Professional Experience
In 2024, Sponcil appeared in 20 matches for Grand Rapids, making 14 starts and playing in 76 sets, helping the Rise advance to the PVF Championship Final. On the year, she tallied 31 assists and 240 digs, including a Rise franchise record 26 digs against the Mojo on February 23.

Prior to joining the Rise, Sponcil was part of the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) Tour for six years and played in the Federation Internationale de Volleyball Tour (FIVB) for five seasons. Sponcil partnered with Terese Cannon and took home gold at the 2022 AVP Tour Hermosa Beach tournament and silver at the FIVB World Tour in Cape Town. In 2023, Sponcil and Cannon garnered a silver medal at the FIVB World Tour Ostrava and a bronze medal at the FIVB World Tour Itapema. Sponcil was also crowned the AVP Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 when she averaged 7.1 digs per set.

International Experience
Sponcil is a member for USA Volleyball national team was a member of Team USA Beach Volleyball for the five years (2019-24). In indoor competition, she helped USAV claim silver at the 2024 Women’s NORCECA Pan American Cup in Mexico, starting at libero for Team USA in the tournament. On the sand, she paired with Kelly Claes to earn a spot on Team USA after winning gold at the FIVB World Tour in Sochi and Ostrava in 2021. Sponcil and Claes went on to become the youngest team to ever represent the USA in beach volleyball in the Olympics, taking ninth place at the Tokyo Games.

In 2016, Sponcil captured a gold medal for Team USA Beach Volleyball at the Four Nations U21 Tournament with Torrey Van Winden. She also finished fourth at the 2016 FIVB U21 World Championships, which was the highest finish from the U.S. 

College Experience
Sponcil was a two-time national champion in beach volleyball at UCLA in 2018 and 2019, claiming the first national crown for the Bruins in the sport. In 2018, Sponcil was named to the VolleyMob All-American First Team, the VolleyMob Pair of the Year with Lily Justine, and to the AVCA All-American Honorable Mention Team. During the 2017 indoor season, she ranked third in the country with 1,325 total assists and second with 11.23 assists per set.

Before competing for UCLA, Sponcil attended Loyola Marymount University from 2014-17, she competed at Loyola Marymount University, finishing ninth in school history with 1,193 kills and 3.43 kills per set, and seventh with 3,063 attacks. In 2017, Sponcil was named West Coast Conference (WCC) Player of the Year and an All-WCC First Team selection with LMU Beach Volleyball. In indoor competition, Sponcil was a two-time AVCA All-Region and honorable mention All-American and two-time First Team All-WCC honoree (2015-16). As a freshman 2014, Sponcil was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team and earned AVCA Pacific South Region Freshman of the Year honors.

Player Details
Name: Sarah Sponcil
Pronunciation: SPAWN-suhl
Position: Setter
Height: 5-8
Date of Birth: March 18, 1998
Hometown: Phoenix, Ariz.
Country: USA