USC Beach Volleyball All-American Tina Graudina Claims Crown at Queen of the Court Luxembourg

LUXEMBOURG CITY – Four-time USC beach volleyball All-American Tina Graudina (Jurmala, Latvia) teamed with partner Anastasija Samoilova to win the titles of Queen of the Court Luxembourg at the National Sports & Cultural Center d'Coque on Saturday, July 1.

The Latvian Olympians secured their third continental title. Graudina-Samoilova also won the 2022 EuroBeachVolley championship and claimed that same title in 2019 ahead of the Tokyo Games. The duo becomes the first pair to hold both the EuroBeachVolley and Queen of the Court crowns simultaneously.

Graudina and Samoilova emerged from a field of 20 pairs with wins over duos from Germany, Poland, and Austria in the tournament's final round. They finished third through the first two rounds of play but claimed first place through the third round.

Earlier this summer, three-time USC All-American Megan Kraft (San Diego, Calif./Torrey Pines HS) teamed with Emily Stockman (Colorado Springs, Colo.) to win the Queen of the Court event in Hamburg.

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.

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

Tina Graudina

Megan Kraft

Delaynie Maple

Madison White