said.Wall had a season-high 15 assists and added three bl

The Red Zone refused to relent. Energizing its home gym in Solana Beach, California, Santa Fe Christians student section jumped and shimmied and yelled Bounce! Bounce! Bounce! before each Long Beach Poly serve in the first round of the state Open Division playoffs last month.SFCs 6-foot-2 senior outside hitter, Lexi Sun, the nations top recruit who recently signed with Texas, logged a forceful kill in the second set that landed into the Zone. Her classmates clawed to get a fingertip on the ball, fighting for position the way fans at a concert vie for a pop stars tossed hairband.Sun, the 2016 ALL-USA Player of the Year, kept her cool as Poly fought back, 24-22. Sun smiled, patted a teammate on the back and, in a blink, threw down two monster kills with ease.Its like she floats and then a cannon goes off, said Brad Sandusky, SFCs sports information coordinator, shaking his head at the scorers table.Behind Suns 25 kills and three blocks, SFC defeated Long Beach Poly 25-21, 26-24, 25-22. Sun, who has attended the school since kindergarten, looked back at the net. She has spent hours here perfecting her swing.Things arent just going to be given to you, Sun said. You have to truly work day in and day out for the things you want. You cant take days off. You cant take plays off.Grabbing the micTwo hours before the Poly match, Sun helped take down the basketball hoops from the boys practice and began dribbling a volleyball.Can you dunk? a boy asked.I havent really tried, Sun said.With a jump touch of 10 feet, 9 inches, she probably could. Her father, Conrad, played basketball for Sacramento State and for the Taiwanese national team. Her mother, Beth, was a competitive swimmer. Her brother, Marcus, played basketball for Wheaton College, and her sister, Natalie, was an NAIA All-American soccer player at Azusa Pacific.Sun, an Under Armour High School First Team All-American, was awarded the 2016 Best Spiker Award for the U.S. Junior National Team. Shes also a four-time all-tournament team honoree at the USA Junior National Championship Tournament.She can do things that very few people in the world her age can do, said Ozhan Bahrambeygui, her coach at Coast Volleyball Club. Shes explosive. She has an attacking range that very few people have. She has an elastic arm, she picks great lines of attack and shes a super-dynamic blocker.She might even be a coach.Before a league match against rival The Bishops School (La Jolla, California), Sun walked to the front of the locker room after coach Amanda Miles finished her pregame speech. Sun, hardly ever seen without a smile, grew serious. She paced back and forth in front of her teammates.When shes talking, senior Sami Shields said, everyone listens.Suns energy radiates. She relishes debates. She jumps and waves and shouts friends names when she sees them across the football field. Shes the first to break out on the dance floor at homecoming. She sings shortly after waking up at 6 every morning.Her pregame speech for Bishops started off slow. All right, guys, its game day, Sun said, raising her voice as each second passed. We can DO THIS, she said. We dont have ANYTHING to lose. Sun finally exploded. THIS IS OUR GAME!!!!SFC pulled off the upset for the first time. Everyone was asking, Wow. Where did that come from? I havent seen you play that kind of volleyball in a while, Miles said. It might have been the pregame speech.Sun asks Miles to stay after practice every day for extra serve receive. Even when Miles implemented more into practice one day, Sun still asked to stay later: Just 10 more minutes, Coach, she said. Just 10 more minutes.She wants to challenge herself, Miles said. Its her way of saying, Im not going to take the easy way out. Nothings givenEleven-year-old Sun cried, screamed and kicked in the car ride to her first-ever volleyball practice.She had been a soccer player, a forward, on a team that had won back-to-back State Cup championships. Her parents suggested she try volleyball, as she had sprouted to 5-10. If she didnt like it, she could quit.Sun hated it. Her mind understood the coachs directions, but her body couldnt translate them into movements. She huffed after every mistake, bursting into tears when her parents picked her up.Once Sun made friends, she began to have fun with the sport. Then she began to like it. Then she began to love it. Then she began to need it. The game came easy -- she was tall, she jumped high -- and she received her first college letter in sixth grade.Then, she faced women more experienced and, in some ways, more talented than her. Just a freshman, she was the youngest on the USA U-23 national team that competed at the world championships in Mexicali, Mexico. She hardly left the bench. It was a humbling experience, Sun said.When she came back from that, Conrad said, I think her experience was, In order for me to get to the next level, I need to work really hard. I want to own this. I want to do this for myself. She continued to be challenged, becoming the leading scorer on the U-18 national team that won silver in Peru in summer 2015, her junior year. Coach Jim Stone, who would make the team redo plays until they were immaculate, challenged Sun to limit her hitting errors, something she struggled with.I would always get away with making those little errors and people would just say, Oh shes young, she still has to grow, she still has time, Sun said. I think that made me realize, OK. Nows the time. There cant be any more excuses. I need to find a way to get better. Sun, who helped USAs U-20 national team earn silver at a tournament in Florida last summer, practiced religiously. She received hundreds of Division I letters, which didnt stop even after she verbally committed to Texas in April 2015. As the nations most sought-after recruit, she was constantly told how great she was.Her parents werent having it. They rarely talked about volleyball, not wanting Sun to get caught in the hype and lose her drive. It was, Get your homework done. Lets get dinner. Were going to church. Regular stuff, Beth said. Were still like that.Sun, who also considered Stanford, USC, UCLA, Washington, Penn State, Nebraska and Minnesota, said she felt a connection with Texas beyond volleyball. After staying for seven hours on her first visit, and getting to know the coaches, players and even former Longhorns, Sun felt Texas was the best fit. Texas, which already features some of the best outside hitters in the nation in sophomore Micaya White, junior Ebony Nwanebu and senior Paulina Prieto Cerame, plays Stanford Saturday (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/WatchESPN) for the national championship.Aiming to play at the U-20 world championships in Mexico this summer, Sun already is preparing for the challenge of college ball.You always have to work for something worth having, she said.Just 10 more minutes. Pete Maravich Jersey . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. John Stockton Jazz Jersey . -- Damian Lillard and LaMarcus Alrdridge were again the go-to duo for the Trail Blazers against the Kings. http://www.jazzauthentic.com/ . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. Giambi belted a two-run, pinch-hit homer with two outs in the ninth inning to give Cleveland a shocking 5-4 win over the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday night, keeping the Indians up with the lead pack in the AL wild-card race. Jeff Hornacek Jazz Jersey . Catch all the action on TSN2 at 11pm et/8pm pt. The nine-time Big 12 champion Jayhawks are positioning themselves for another title, as they have run out to a flawless 6-0 mark in conference play thus far. Dante Exum Jersey . -- The proud fathers huddled near the Dallas Stars dressing room, smiling, laughing and telling stories while wearing replica green sweaters of their sons team. WASHINGTON -- Scott Brooks is still getting to know Bradley Beal and the rest of the Washington Wizards. The teams new coach likes what he sees out of his shooting guard.In the last two games, Beal has scored 76 points -- and 30 or more in consecutive games for the first time in his five-year career.Beal had a career-high 42 points and John Wall shook off an awful shooting night with seven key points down the stretch as the Wizards beat the Phoenix Suns 106-101 on Monday night.Beal, who scored 34 points in Saturdays loss to Miami, had nine in the first quarter, seven in the second, 12 in the third and 14 in the fourth. He shot 14 for 22 and hit five of his 10 3-point attempts.He can be one of the best two-way players in the league, and my job is to continue to push him to strive for greatness, Brooks said.It takes a lot of energy. It takes a lot of inner drive and determination, but I think he has the ability to be that player.Beal said hes simplified his approach.Not thinking, not worrying about if I miss or if I make it. I just have the same mentality that its on to the next shot. That shots over, Beal said.Devin Booker had 30 points and Eric Bledsoe scored 29 for Phoenix (4-11), which has lost five of six. Booker and Bledsoe scored 18 of the teams 21 points in the fourth quarter.The Wizards improved to 4-10. All four of their wins have come at home.BEST FOR LASTWall, who also scored 34 points on Saturday, finished with 18 this time. He shot just 6 for 24 but converted a three-point play with 1:08 remaining to give Washington a 102-101 lead. Wall added a jumper with 38.1 seconds to go and two free throws with 21.dddddddddddd2 seconds left.I think I just impacted the game other ways, he said.Wall had a season-high 15 assists and added three blocked shots.ON GUARDThe Suns were impressed with Beals performance.I didnt defend him, so I dont know what was so tough, but he played really determined tonight, coach Earl Watson said.Beal and Wall combined to score 23 of the Wizards 31 fourth-quarter points.You need to shut them down, make somebody else do it, and we didnt do that today, Booker said.TIP-INSSuns: F T.J. Warren (illness) missed his second straight game. C Tyson Chandler (personal reasons) sat out for the third consecutive game. ... G Leandro Barbosa became the 11th player in franchise history to appear in 500 games.Wizards: Recalled F Danuel House Jr. from Delaware of the D-League. ... Brooks said C Ian Mahinmi, who has yet to play this season due to knee surgery, is progressing well. Brooks wasnt sure, however, when Mahinmi will be ready to play. I like what he did yesterday in practice. He really moved very well. Obviously, hes a little rusty and conditioning is going to be a factor early on, Brooks said.PORTER HURTWashingtons Otto Porter left with about 7 minutes to play in the third quarter and did not return. Porter, who finished with nine points, was diagnosed with inflammation in his right hip. Brooks said Porter was day to day.UP NEXTSuns: Visit Orlando on Wednesday.Wizards: Visit Orlando on Friday. ' ' '