The Big West Conference five men’s volleyball teams within the top 10 of the American Volleyball Coaches Association preseason poll Monday.

Hawai‘i finished second in the poll with 224 points, followed in succession by UC Santa Barbara in third (200) and Long Beach State in fourth (191). UC Irvine was sixth with 147 points while UC San Diego totaled 123 points to tie Pepperdine for seventh.

BYU earned the top spot in the poll with all 14 first-place votes.

The preseason poll nearly mirrored the final poll of the 2020 season, which was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In that poll, UH, UCSB and LBSU placed second, third and fourth, respectively. UCI and UC San Diego tied for sixth.

Several 2020 AVCA All-Americans will be making their return to the court for the 2021 season, which is currently on hold due to the pandemic.

Hawai‘i seniors Rado Parapunov and Gage Worsley earned AVCA first team All-American accolades in helping the Rainbow Warriors to a 15-1 record. UC Santa Barbara senior setter Casey McGarry and UC San Diego senior outside hitter Kyle McCauley joined the UH duo on the top list. McCauley also earned a program first as the AVCA National Newcomer of the Year.

UCSB had winning streaks of six and eight matches last season to end up 14-2 overall. UC San Diego’s No. 6 ranking represented the highest in program history as the Tritons finished 14-5.

Seniors Joel Schneidmiller and Scott Stadick lead UC Irvine after both players were named second team All-Americans a year ago. UCSB’s Randy DeWeese and Keenan Sanders also received second team acclaim, as did UH tandem Colton Cowell and Patrick Gasman.

Long Beach State sophomore libero Mason Briggs also captured second team All-American honors, helping the Beach go 10-1 in shortened season following two consecutive national championship campaigns.