USC Beach Volleyball All-American Megan Kraft Wins Queen of the Court in Hamburg

HAMBURG, Germany – USC beach volleyball senior All-American Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif.) teamed with partner Emily Stockman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to win the title of Queen of the Court Hamburg at Active City Arena on Sunday, May 28.

In pool play, the duo collected 22 points in the first round, 19 in the second round, and 14 points in the third round to advance out of the group stage directly into the semifinals. In the semis, Kraft-Stockman tied with Germany's Ludwig and Lippmann with 10 points in the first round and then won round two with 12 points and cruised to a third-round win with 14 points.

Kraft and Stockman topped the group of five in the first round of the finals with nine points. They then won the second round with 12 points and secured the Queen's crowns with a runaway finish for 15 points to six and two from their final two opponents.

King and Queen of the Court is played in a different format from traditional beach volleyball matches. A King of the Court match starts with five teams (or pairs). Before the match, the teams draw playing cards to determine which team may start on the side where points are scored. The remaining four teams start in order of the cards drawn. A complete match consists of three rounds of fifteen minutes. After the first round, the team with the fewest points is eliminated. The second round starts after a short break with the four remaining teams. After another fifteen minutes, the team with the fewest points is eliminated. The final round is played by three teams. Whoever has the most points after fifteen minutes, or who is the first to reach fifteen points, wins the match.

Kraft and Stockman teamed up for a fifth-place finish at the recently completed AVP Huntington Beach Open.

Under fourth-year head coach Dain Blanton, the USC beach volleyball team captured its third straight NCAA Championship (fifth NCAA title and sixth national title) in 2023. The Women of Troy finished the year ranked No. 1 and had an overall record of 32-5. USC added two more AVCA All-Americans to its history books with the third selection for Megan Kraft and the first-career honor for Delaynie Maple. Kraft was named the Pac-12's Player of the Year while she and Maple earned Pac-12 Pair of the Year laurels. Both were named to the Pac-12 All-Conference Team and were joined by Madison Shields and Madison White. Blanton finished his fourth season with a 105-15 career record and Gustavo Rocha was chosen as the AVCA National Assistant Coach of the Year.

For more information on the USC beach volleyball team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com/beach. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @USCBeach.

Players Mentioned

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Madison White