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Two hours into the second practice of the season in early August, USC volleyball coach Mick Haley stopped a drill. He walked over to 5-foot-10 freshman libero Raegan LeGrand, the reigning Gatorade Nebraska volleyball player of the year.This isnt Nebraska Juniors, Haley said, flashing a wide smile, referring to LeGrands club team. LeGrand had been taught to pass to the right side of the court; Haley wanted her to pass to the middle. This is USC.LeGrand, hailing from Papillion, an Omaha suburb with a population of less than 25,000 that has produced volleyball royalty like Allison Weston, Gina Mancuso and Amber and Kadie Rolfzen, is used to the Nebraska jokes. Her classmates often ask her if she rode cows to school or grew corn in her backyard.LeGrand, a California girl at heart who loves palm trees and the ocean -- she went swimming with sharks at age 11 and dolphins at age 12 -- nodded her head four times to Haley. Youre right. Got it, coach, she said, perfecting the pass the next possession.Welcome-to-college-ball moments are rare for LeGrand, who brings skilled defense, passing and hustle to the defending co-Pac-12 champion Trojans, ranked No. 7 nationally.Shes solid as a rock, Haley said.Shell be a leader on this team way earlier than most people, Haley said. Shell fight like heck to be out there and help us win.For most of her life, LeGrand had to scratch and claw to earn roles on elite teams. Her mentality? Fate Loves the Fearless, which came from a white and blue LeBron James shirt she received when she was 12.Its almost like karma, you get what you put into it, LeGrand said of the meaning behind the quote. Fate rewards those who go through life taking risks and pursuing things.LeGrand was 5 when she began playing with 12-year-olds. She didnt blink twice; all she wanted to do was be near a net, no matter who was on the other side of it.At that point, I dont even think I understood intimidation, LeGrand said. It was just fun.When she was 12, a seventh-grader, LeGrand tried out for Nebraska Juniors 15s, a club team stacked with future Division I players.Her mother, Alyssa, kept her age a secret.Alyssa, flipping through magazines in the corner of the gym, was approached by a few of the coaches. They wanted to let me know up front: She may not make the team, she may not play, said Alyssa, a former high school coach, and a former Midland University player, who used to take 6-month-old Raegan to her practices in a carrier.I dont care, Alyssa told the club coaches. She wants to experience this. She wants to train.LeGrand became the youngest player to make the team. Though she rarely rose from the bench, she kept working. A few tournaments in, she morphed into the starting right side.She doesnt get shaken, Alyssa said. Whatever the challenge is, shes all in.The stakes rose even higher for LeGrand as a freshman on Papillion-LaVista South High Schools varsity team in 2012, then one of the top teams in the country. The loaded squad of mostly seniors, including the Rolfzen twins and Kelly Hunter, was riding a near 90-game win streak.They had high goals, said former Papillion-LaVista South coach Gwen Egbert, now coach at Doane University. Raegan had to be on point right off the bat.But the rookie found herself glued to the bench. She clapped, stomped and cheered for her teammates, but wanted more.My mom goes, Its so awesome you made varsity, LeGrand said. And Im sitting there like, No. I want to play. Because Im competitive.During the first tournament of the season, Papillion-LaVista South struggled to pass in the first set against Western Christian (Hull, Iowa). LeGrand remembers Egbert, also her long-time club coach, turning to her: Im tired of the libero not getting to the ball! Raegan, go in there! Dont mess up!LeGrand had never played libero before. She had never played in front of hundreds of people before.But she was calm.Her poised passing and defense ignited Papillion-LaVista South to victory. She earned the starting nod. The streak lived on. The team went on to win the Nebraska state championship.LeGrand morphed into an All-American at outside hitter, and she was named the Gatorade volleyball player of the year and the MaxPreps.com No. 1-ranked player from Nebraska as a senior in 2015.Though recruited by the reigning national-champion Cornhuskers, LeGrand had dreamed of playing in sunny California since she was a young girl, inspired by her cousin, Gabi Ailes, an all-conference libero for Stanford in 2010.Haley, who hadnt yet seen LeGrand play, received a phone call from Creighton volleyball coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth. She said, Theres a kid in Nebraska here that I love, Haley recalled. She cant play for me. Shes too good. You need to see her.LeGrand visited USC during spring of her sophomore year. She said she liked that Haley said he couldnt make any promises and that expectations would be high.If Haley had told her she needed to dance in a tutu in front of the entire student body while juggling five tennis balls and run 10 miles afterward for a chance to suit up for the Trojans -- she probably probably would have done it.Plus, year-round sunshine without humidity? No snow? No coat required?I told my mom, If Im not going here, Im not going to play college volleyball, LeGrand said.Returning home, LeGrand took a Sharpie and wrote on her wall aspects of her game to improve on in order to play for USC. She devoured books on mental toughness, like Mind Gym, The Hard Hat and The Energy Bus. She meditated on the floor of her room.Most in Papillion were supportive of her choice, though a few were disappointed she didnt choose Nebraska. She wanted to spread her wings, Alyssa said. She said, I gotta go do this. I gotta go try it in California. Now as a freshman at USC among a squad of 10 upperclassmen, LeGrand once again must prove herself.This is her first time playing libero since her freshman season in high school. With senior Taylor Whittingham and sophomore Victoria Garrick at her position, her goal, she said, is to contribute any way she can and continue to get better every day.Fate Loves the Fearless ... Fate Loves the Fearless ... Fate Loves the Fearless ... she often whispers to herself during practice.Shes one of those kids I think you can trust. Theyll always play as hard as they can play, Haley said. Theyll always make the people next to them better. Those kinds of people are tough to find. 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LOUIS -- Cardinals cleanup hitter Allen Craig says hes recovered from a foot injury and ready to be put on St. AMSTERDAM -- Wrapped in a Dutch flag, bedecked in orange and celebrating gold. That was Dafne Schippers at the European Championships, showing the edge that will make her a major sprint contender at the Olympics next month.Her 200 meters is so strong she didnt even test it at the continental event. In a chill, she left everyone standing in the 100 on Friday and on Sunday, the Dutch womens 4x100 relay team mixed Schippers sheer speed with clockwork orange baton exchanges for a national record of 42.04 seconds. That makes the team a medal contender in Rio de Janeiro too.Schippers leaves the Euros with 2-for-2 in gold and the knowledge that her start has improved to the extent that she can challenge the Americans and Jamaicans over 100 as well as 200, where she is already the world champion.Lets go for more, said Schippers after the championships, which ended Sunday.On Sunday, she made a huge difference on the second leg and the team sped to a Dutch and second best performance this year. It was a display good enough to make the Dutch medaal contenders in Rio, something few would have thought ahead of Sundays race.ddddddddddddchippers already won the 100 with overwhelming power. She skipped the relay heats at the last moment on Saturday because of a tight hamstring but had fully recovered with a dominating leg on Sunday.Well behind the Dutch, Britain took silver and Germany bronze.In the mens relay, Britain did one better, successfully defending its title ahead of France and Germany. For Europes fastest man, Frances Jimmy Vicaut, it concluded a disappointing championship after he slipped to bronze in the 100 meters on Thursday.Without the Russians, the big question was how other nations would profit from their absence and at the end on Sunday, Poland was top with six gold medals, driven by strong performances in the middle distance and field events.When it comes to the overall medal standings, Britain and Germany were even at 16 medals each. ' ' '