Long Beach State University Athletics
Women's Volleyball Announces Fall Signees
11/12/2014 12:00:00 AM | Women's Volleyball
 Peyton Grahovac |  Megan Kruidhof |  Zoi Konstantopoulou |
LONG BEACH, Calif. - The No. 20 Long Beach State women's volleyball team announced the signing of National Letters of Intent on Wednesday. Head coach Brian Gimmillaro has added local standouts Peyton Grahovac and Megan Kruidhof as well as Cyprus native Zoyia Konstantopoulou to his program for the 2015 season.
Grahovac, a 6-4 middle blocker, will make her way to the Beach from Villa Park High School. Grahovac has led the Spartans to back-to-back league championships and led the team to a playoff victory last night. She had 20 kills in a sweep of Buena in the first round of the CIF-SS Division 1A playoffs.
"Peyton is a strong middle blocker and is a good one-leg attacker," Gimmillaro commented. "She comes from a strong, athletic family."
Grahovac's father, Mike, was a fourth round draft pick of the San Francisco Giants in 1989 and is currently the Head Baseball Coach at Concordia University in Irvine, Calif.
Last year, Grahovac was the CO-MVP of the Century League and was selected to the All-CIF and All-Orange County teams. Similar honors would not be a reach this year as she is hitting over .500 and averaging over five kills per set. PrepVolleyball.com also named her as a Senior Ace this year.
Kruidhof, a six-foot outside hitter, has made a name for herself at nearby Lakewood High School. A four-year varsity starter for the Lancers, Kruidhof was the MVP of the Moore League last season and led her team to second consecutive Moore League title this season as well as a No. 2 seed in the CIF-SS Division 1AA playoffs. Her 11 kills last night led the Lancers in a four-set win in the first round.
"Megan is a very quick, aggressive athlete that fits right into our style at Long Beach," said Gimmillaro. "She will add to a bright future at the Beach."
In addition to her MVP honors, Kruidhof was selected to the All-CIF team as well as the Press Telegram's Dream Team First Team. In a revived local tradition, the Gazettes also named Kruidhof the All-City girls' volleyball Player of the Year. She was also highly decorated as an underclassman with All-Moore first team honors in every year of her prep career. PrepVolleyball.com recognized Kruidhof as one of the top freshmen in the country in 2011 and again as a top-ranked sophomore in 2012. She was also an Honorable Mention All-American as a junior.
Konstantopoulou, a six-foot outside hitter, will make her way to the Beach from the country of Cyprus. The left-handed Konstantopoulou is both an indoor and outdoor volleyball player in her home country. She has been a member of the Cyprus women's national team since 2012 and was on the junior national team for the two years prior. She also played for the Apollon Limassol club team as the starting right side hitter.
"Zoyia is a very good player both indoor and out," Gimmillaro commented. "As a left-hander she will give us more options in our offense. She is energetic and enthusiastic on the court and is very interested in becoming a strong international player."
She is also very accomplished on the sand as Cyprus' top-ranked beach player. Konstantopoulou placed 17th in the 2012 U19 World Championships and competed in the same U21 World Championships as current 49ers Sophie Bukovec and Anete Brinke, which were won by Bukovec's Canadian pair.
Both Grahovac and Kruidhof continue their playoff journey this weekend while the Beach returns to the Pyramid this weekend for two Big West matchups on ESPN3.
