HOLDING COURT: Kujan chosen for Queen of the Beach

Kujan, who will be a senior at Laguna Blanca, has committed to play at the University of Southern California beginning in 2018.

"The QOTB will provide Laurel with the opportunity to play with different partners that she normally would never play with," said Eric Fonoimoana, a former Olympic gold medalist and UCSB star who is serving as host of the Queen of the Beach Invitational. "It also helps them to learn how to over communicate and play each point as if it matters. These lessons are valuable for their future in college and possibly making the Olympic team."

Kujan helped lead Laguna's indoor volleyball team into last fall's CIF-Southern Section Division 6 semifinals and to a final record of 26-3.

The Second Annual Queen of the Beach Invitational, played June 24-25 north of the Hermosa Beach Pier, will be a showcase event that allows the top college players to test themselves against the nation's best competition and the top high school players to do the same while also getting exposure to college coaches from across the country.

The Queen of the Beach Invitational will feature separate fields of 32 college players and 64 high school players. Each player will sign up as an individual. Players in each field will be seeded and divided into pools of four, with each team playing games to 21 win by 2 and she 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.