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Sarah Sponcil knew of the ghost stories that haunted Loyola Marymount Universitys Gersten Pavilion. Also known as Hanks House, the gym is said to house the spirit of Hank Gathers, the former Lions basketball star who collapsed and died during a 1990 game.Some who dare enter the gym alone late into the night have heard basketballs bouncing. Sinks rushing with water. A figure appearing in the shadows, the corners, the stairs.But Sponcil, a junior AVCA All-American honorable mention outside hitter for the Lions volleyball team, was never too creeped out to go for a late-night workout. When the clock struck midnight, Sponcil, along with setter and close friend Kristen Castellanos, often went to Gersten to serve, pass and hit in the dark, empty gym during freshman year.Once, the lights shut off on their own. Total darkness. Sponcil screamed.Was it Hank?She shook it off. She was too busy completing repetition after repetition to let fear faze her.Thats just the fun of it, Sponcil said. No one knows what youre doing and youre just getting better while everyones out doing their own thing or sleeping.Few expected her to be in the gym that late. Then again, few expected LMU to advance as far as they did last season, sweeping No. 6 Stanford in the NCAA tournament to advance to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996.Sponcil, who posted 15 kills on 27 swings to hit .444 while adding two aces, two block assists and 10 digs against Stanford, has helped LMU nourish national-championship dreams. This year, though, its been a bit of a mixed bag so far. Following a tough four-set loss to No. 5 San Diego on Thursday, the Lions are 14-7 overall and 5-4 in the West Coast Conference heading into Saturdays showdown with No. 16 BYU.I love being an underdog, Sponcil said. [Last season] we didnt care if we were No. 21, we didnt care who we were playing and that was the greatest feeling. I feel like my freshman year we were like, Oh my God, were playing Michigan or Stanford, this is crazy.Our mindset changed. It doesnt matter who it is. Every team is beatable, we just have to prepare. If were prepared, we feel we can do anything.Theres not much Sponcil cant do on the court. The versatile hitter leads LMU in kills (282), kills per set (3.76), double-doubles (12) and is second in digs (217) and tied for third in aces (16). Sponcil was recruited to LMU to play her natural position at setter. Lions coach Tom Black said he knew Sponcil was an equally talented beach player, and since his team needed an outside, he was curious if the rookie could pull off the new position.You want to play outside? Black asked her two days into practice of her college career.Sure, Sponcil said, stoked for the challenge.She was never afraid of making a mistake, said her mother, Lisa. She was like, Why not? Lets do it! Shes always been that way.Black said Sponcils versatility has transformed her into one of the nations best players.Theres very few all-around players, Black said. She can perform all the skills. Shes still working on her blocking, but her hitting, her defense, her setting, probably her serving, too, those are all on elite levels and theres just not many players that can do all that. Theres lots of players that can perform maybe one or two of the skills, but thats really what separates her.Heading into this season, Sponcil took gold in the Four Nations U21 tournament in Australia in March and finished fourth in the FIVB Under 21 World Championships in May.Now, with the 2016 season in full swing, Sponcil racked up two MVP honors in September -- the Pioneer Classic hosted by the University of Denver and the Flyer Classic hosted by the University of Dayton. The Phoenix, Arizona, native had a season-high 20 kills while hitting .600 on 30 attacks against Southern Illinois at the Flyer Classic. But she isnt satisfied.And neither is LMU.The program, which has advanced to the NCAA tournament three of the last four seasons, has a mantra: Get 2 percent better every day. Players focus on making small strides each day in order to make big leaps over time.What am I focused on today? Am I going to get better on what Im doing now? Sponcil often asks herself.She pushes herself to the point of exhaustion. (Black had to convince her to take a three-week break this summer after world championships.)Shell go until she drops dead, Black said.When Sponcil was in elementary school, she and her father, Wayne, would arrive 30 minutes before class and head to the basketball courts. The goal? Use the hoop to mimic an outside hitter by setting the ball directly into the hoop.Sarah was like, I cant get it in. It should be going in. It should be going in, Wayne said.Sponcil kept setting, ball after ball, for months, until she saw it sink through the net.It was about perfection more than anything. It was just work, work, work, Wayne said. It didnt matter where we were. She would say, Oh we have to go outside, or Oh we have to pepper. Even if we had just played a match yesterday, she would say, No we gotta go out.Is it midnight yet? Wholesale Soccer Jerseys . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. Replica Soccer Jerseys . After taking two big hits this week -- losing at home and dropping back-to-back games for the first time all season -- Indiana struck back by playing its most complete game of the year. https://www.soccerjerseyschina.us/ . They had already blown a double-digit lead, fans were hitting the exits, and a long seven-game road trip waited at the end. Soccer Jerseys China . 1 position. The Mustangs (6-0), who beat Queens 50-31 last weekend, earned 17 first-place votes and 287 points in voting by the Football Reporters of Canada. Western was last ranked first in the country in October 2011. Soccer Jerseys Outlet . -- Ryan Getzlaf grabbed the three pucks wrapped in tape and held them up to his chest in the Anaheim Ducks dressing room for a celebration nine seasons in the making. OKLAHOMA CITY -- Russell Westbrook wasnt entirely pleased with his 51-point triple-double two nights earlier, so he adjusted his approach.Westbrook still scored 33 points as part of another triple-double, but he focused more on his role as a facilitator on Sunday. He had 16 assists to go with 12 rebounds, helping the Oklahoma City Thunder beat the Los Angeles Lakers 113-96 to remain undefeated.Westbrook took a career-high 44 shots against Phoenix on Friday, and he criticized himself for it afterward. This time, he made 11 of 21 field goals.I thought we did a good job of running the offense, letting it work for us, he said. Getting better shots, easy shots, and it worked out for us.According to the Thunder, Westbrook joined Magic Johnson, Jerry Lucas and Oscar Robertson as the only players in NBA history with two triple-doubles in the first three games of a season. He now averages 38.7 points, 12.3 rebounds and 11.7 assists.He had a masterful game tonight -- the way he was getting everyone involved, shooting when the shots were there and playmaking for teammates, Lakers coach Luke Walton said. When we were aggressive on him, he showed today why hes one of the top point guards in the world.The Thunder have won 20 straight regular-season games when Westbrook registers a triple-double. He clinched this one, the 39th of his career, in the third quarter.Thats standard for him, Thunder center Steven Adams said. Hes a freak.Victor Oladipo added 20 points for the Thunder.DAngelo Russell and Julius Randle each scored 20 points for the Lakers.The Thunder led 58-46 at halftime, but the Lakers chipped away and pulled to 77-71 by the end of the third quarter.A putback dunk by Enes Kanter and a steal and dunk by Oladipo pushed Oklahoma Citys lead to 10 in the first minute of the fourth.The Lakers triied to hang tough.dddddddddddd Nick Young made a 3-pointer to trim Oklahoma Citys lead to 95-91 with just under five minutes remaining. Adams scored in close, and Westbrook followed with a fast break dunk after a steal by Adams to put the Thunder back in control for good.The biggest part was we had Russ, Adams said. Russ did an amazing job of just controlling us as players, and then we got everything we wanted because he was scoring the basket, and obviously, they had to overhelp.TIP-INSLakers: Randle made 5 of 6 shots in the first half, while the rest of the team made 13 of 39. ... Los Angeles shot 5 for 18 on 3s in the first half and finished 7 for 32 for the game. ... Walton was denied his first road win as Lakers coach.Thunder: Westbrook ranks second among active players behind LeBron James in triple doubles. James has 43. ... Oklahoma City had 17 assists on 23 baskets in the first half. ... Scored 34 points off 21 Lakers turnovers.STAT LINESWestbrook matched a career high with five made 3-pointers. He was 5 for 6 after making going 2 for 10 from beyond the arc against Phoenix.QUOTE OF THE NIGHTWestbrook, on upcoming road games against the Los Angeles Clippers and Golden State Warriors: Honestly, it dont matter who we play in a back-to-back. We could play the Globetrotters, all I care. It dont matter. Our job -- were going to go out and play one game at a time and try to get a win.UP NEXTLakers travel to Indiana to play the Paul George and the Pacers on Tuesday.Thunder head west to play the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday, then face the Golden State Warriors and former teammate Kevin Durant on Thursday.---Follow Cliff Brunt on Twitter (at)CliffBruntAP ' ' '