Tina Graudina Receives FIVB Beach Rookie of the Year Award

LUSANNE, Switzerland – USC beach volleyball All-American Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) received the FIVB (Fédération Internationale def Volleyball) Rookie of the Year award as announced by the federation on Tuesday, Sept. 4. Graudina was chosen alongside Russia's Svetlana Kholomina as winners of the prestigious award.

Representing her native Latvia, Graudina paired with Anastasija Kravcenoka to play in nine events this summer. The duo won 18 of the 33 matches they competed in and earned three ninth-place finishes and five other 17th-place finishes. The Latvian duo is currently ranked No. 28 in the world on the FIVB World Tour.

Graudina is the fourth Trojan in the last 12 years to win the FIVB's Beach Volleyball Top Rookie honor. Four-time USC All-American Sara Hughes received the award in 2017. Three-time indoor All-American April Ross was chosen in 2007 and indoor All-American Bibiana Candelas took home 2008 honors. It is the second time that Women of Troy have won the award in back-to-back years.

This past spring, the Women of Troy (27-14) finished as the runner-up at the Pac-12 Championship and were chosen as one of two at-large selections into the 2018 NCAA Championship. The Trojans advanced to the Saturday final at the championship and finished in fourth place. Seventh-year head coach Anna Collier collected her 170th victory this season. Abril Bustamante and Graudina were named AVCA All-Americans and were chosen as the Volleyball Magazine National Pair of the Year.

For more information on the three-time national champion USC beach volleyball team and a complete schedule, please visit USCTrojans.com and follow @USCBeach on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Players Mentioned

Abril Bustamante

Tina Graudina

Sara Hughes