Many of the top female high school and college beach volleyball players will showcase their skills this weekend when the Queen of the Beach Invitational returns to Hermosa Beach.
Hosted by Mira Costa girls beach volleyball coach and Olympic gold medalist Eric Fonoimoana, the 2nd annual tournament will be played June 24-25 north of the Hermosa Beach Pier.
“Beach volleyball is the fastest growing sport for female athletes at the college and high school levels, with approximately 77 colleges fielding teams this year and the NCAA holding its 2nd national championship in 2017,” said Fonoimoana, who alongside Dain Blanton won beach volleyball gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. “I’ve always been a big supporter of helping the sport grow, and I’m very excited about bringing together the best competition in one place to highlight the top beach players during the Queen of the Beach Invitational.
“The high school players we’ll see on the court will become the stars of the college game in the coming years, and the college players at our tournament could be representing the United States in the 2020 or 2024 Olympics.”
Each player has registered as an individual and the athletes in each field will be seeded and divided into pools of four, with each team playing games to 21 and must win by two points.
The girls will have an opportunity to play with each of the other three players in her pool. The top two players in each pool, determined by their won-loss record and point differential, will advance to the next round, and play will continue in that fashion until a “Queen of the Beach” is crowned for the college field and the high school field.
“The talent and competition will be fierce this year with 64 girls competing in the High School Division and 32 in the College Division,” Fonoimoana added. “I can’t wait to see who steps up to make the big plays and earn the title of the ‘Queen.’”
Winning Queen of the Beach titles last year were Sammee Thomas, of Long Beach State, who captured the college division, and Mima Mirkovic, a senior at Woodbridge High in Irvine, who plays for T-Street Volleyball Club and has committed to UC Berkeley.
This year’s high school field includes many local girls, including seven from Mira Costa’s IBVL State Championship team.
Mustangs competing with be Rio Frohoff, Riley Hazelrigg, Alexia Inman, Piper Monk-Heidrich, Audrey Scott, Rochelle Scott and Sunny Villapando.
Also competing on the sand courts will be indoor volleyball standouts Kyla Doig (Redondo Union) and Lauren Turner (Bishop Montgomery).
On April 30, Mira Costa held its own Queen of the Beach tournament at which Inman dethroned defending champion Monk-Heidrich.
“Winning the Mira Costa Queen of the Beach tournament was incredibly special to me,” Inman said. “My dad helped start the whole tournament so winning it was really my way of repaying him for all of his hard work. This weekend’s Queen of the Beach tournament is on a much bigger platform. Winning this one, surrounded and playing with many of the best girls in the country, would really make me confident in my ability to bring out the best in every player I play with. “
Inman, who will playing at UC Berkeley next year, is anticipating another opportunity to play with a variety of partners.
“It is truly an honor and a once in a lifetime experience to be able to play with the best players in the country and I’m lucky enough to get to do it twice,” said Inman, who will be playing at UC Berkeley next year. “Last year’s tournament was like nothing I had played in before, and was for sure the best tournament I had played in all summer. Usually during the summer you only play with a couple of people, usually no more than three to five. But in this tournament, you get to play with at least five on the first day. It’s great competition because they are the best players around, but also a great test to one’s own skill. You have to see how well you can adapt and play with everyone’s style, so you always end up learning a lot.”
Monk-Heidrich, who will be entering her senior year at Mira Costa in the fall, has committed to play college beach volleyball at UCLA.
“I’m very excited to play this weekend with and against so many great players,” Monk-Heidrich said. “Last year it was a great tournament and this year I’m sure it will be the same.”
The Queen of the Beach Invitational is sponsored by Skechers, KIND, Fierce Lotus, Vertra Sunscreen, Scott Robinson Honda and Chevron. For more information, visit queenofthebeachinvitational.com.
