RIO DE JANEIRO -- Each night, Kayla Banwarth would pack lunch for the next day, lay out her clothes and set an alarm to be out the door by 5 a.m.The U.S. volleyball player spent about five months this year working as a volunteer assistant coach for the mens team at Pepperdine University. She worked under Karch Kiralys former Olympic coach and current confidante, Marv Dunphy, and American assistant David Hunt.The commitment made for a hectic schedule. Banwarth began her day with a 60-mile commute at the crack of dawn from Orange County to get to campus before rush hour. After Pepperdine practice, she would immediately return to Anaheim to work out with the national team -- spending up to two hours on the court with Kiraly each day and hitting the weight room afterward four times a week.As the U.S. women chase their first Olympic gold medal, Banwarth believes shes all the better for having coached. She and the top-ranked Americans defeated Serbia 25-17, 21-25, 25-18, 25-19 on Wednesday to improve to 3-0 and reach the quarterfinals. Serbia upset the U.S. in five sets at last years World Cup in Japan, forcing the Americans to qualify for the Rio de Janeiro Games in Lincoln, Nebraska, in January.I for sure think if you coach it helps you be a better player, Banwarth said. Ive been more mindful how I am technically on the court. I think its helped me be a little bit more strategic seeing it from a coachs perspective, kind of what works and what doesnt work and maybe finding more solutions in a faster way.On all those long drives, she would listen to popular podcasts like Serial. Bedtime was 8:30 most nights -- if she wasnt driving home from matches late, that is.It was very busy, for about five months, said Banwarth, the Americans starting back row specialist since 2013, when she was the U.S. womens most improved indoor player. I had it figured out after about five months.The 27-year-old Banwarth studied video, scouted other teams, helped plan practice and learned from some accomplished coaches. Dunphy guided Kiraly and the 1988 U.S. indoor team to a gold medal in Seoul.At first, Banwarth and Hunt had joked about the idea of her helping at Pepperdine. But she also stayed home from playing overseas for a second straight year so it made sense to keep her hand in volleyball while also preparing for the Rio Games.It was a growing and a process that forced her to organize her time better. Shes said shes really out of it in the mornings so she would have to really plan out her day the night before, Kiraly said. It just forced her, or coaxed her, into becoming even more professional in terms of having these other obligations, being responsible for another program, understanding the game from a coaching standpoint. There were lots of really good things she benefited from that experience. Shes become more mature.Dunphy has been around volleyball for so many decades he is a good judge of talent, and he appreciated what his college players gained from watching a woman he considers right up there with the best in the world at receiving serve.It was great for us to have somebody of her stature, Dunphy said. As Im around these Olympic Games, I hear announcers say things and coaches say things, `Oh, the best in the world every match, `that players the best server in the world. Its thrown around too loosely. But receiving serve as a passer, I dont think theres anybody better than her. Our players at Pepperdine knew that when she would say something it held water and very seldom did she demonstrate but there would be a couple times we would give her a workout, and it was like, `Oooh, shes nailing every one of those.Banwarth and Hunt have been able to draw off the things they learned in college and with the national team.It was cool to be able to coach her in this then have those same coaching conversations with her, Hunt said. Coachings more than technique. Its a lot of interpersonal, getting a vibe of how somebodys doing to help them be their best. It was cool to see that.In other Olympic volleyball matches, the Netherlands women responded from losing captain Maret Balkestein-Grothues to an ankle injury Monday to beat Italy in straight sets after China also won its second straight match 3-0.Lance Stephenson Lakers Jersey . But what about the officials? Every sport has officials and they also have stories about hard work and sacrifice but their accomplishments are seldom recognized by anyone outside their inner circle. Kobe Bryant Jersey . The mixed zone is not a place to make friends. http://www.lakersbasketballshop.com/Magic-Johnson-Jersey/ . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. James Worthy Lakers Jersey . 10 Texas A&Ms offence dominated as usual against SMU. LeBron James Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games.NEW YORK -- Mistie Bass, Kelsey Bone and their Mercury teammates met with Phoenix police a few weeks ago after practice.It was an eye-opening experience and an encouraging one for the disheartened Bass.That was such a great opportunity for us to ask some great questions. I dont think the system that is in place in Phoenix is the system in place everywhere, Bass said after practice Friday as Phoenix prepared for the second round of the WNBA playoffs. To see a model that is so crystal clear and to talk about their training and how much training they get.Bass said she learned the Phoenix police go through simulated processes for shoot or no-shoot situations. She was impressed officers have to pass those tests or return to training.Bass and Bone applaud the Phoenix police, but they also see police shootings of black men as a national problem. Bone first started kneeling during the national anthem a few weeks ago following what San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick did at a preseason game.Bass, a Duke graduate whose father is singer Chubby Checker, joined Bone on Wednesday, kneeling before the Mercurys playoff game against Indiana. The entire Fever team also knelt and locked arms that game. The pair said they will do it again Saturday night before Phoenixs game against the New York Liberty at Madison Square Garden. Bass expects many of the Liberty players to join.For me personally, my heart is too heavy to be able to stand, Bass said. The systematic reasoning of the flag in general is freedom, justice and liberty and thats not for everybody it seems.Fever player Marissa Coleman sharedd via Facebook on Thursday a lengthy post explaining her decision to protest during the anthem.ddddddddddddShe explained she has family who served in the military and her father is a retired police officer.Coleman wrote The bigger disrespect to this country and those who fight for it is staying silent on these issues that plague African-Americans and people of color.Bone had her own reason for kneeling.As someone who grew up in the South, my dads side of the family is from Birmingham, Alabama, and my grandparents on my moms side are from Louisiana, Bone said. Ive seen racism my whole life. Me kneeling isnt to call an end to racism. To me, we live in a country thats built on some form of racism. Youre not going to get rid of it.Bones dad is 6-foot-7 and 350 pounds. Her uncles are just as large.They are big black dudes, she said. Id be doing a disservice to my family and my heritage if I didnt use my platform and my voice. For the past three years of my life, I live in Turkey. Every year theres been bombing, terror and issues. The first thing I wanted to do is run home. But what is home? Am I any safer at home than a country that is terror-stricken?All three players know there is a lot of work to be done, but this is a starting place.By people seeing our protests it opens up conversations, Bass said. Conversations are always a good thing as it gets people talking and hopefully that will lead to change.---Follow Doug on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/dougfeinberg ' ' '