2021 Big West Men's Volleyball Awards Release
IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West announced the 2021 Men’s Volleyball major awards recipients as voted on by the head coaches. Two repeat winners highlighted the list as Hawai‘i senior
Rado Parapunov collected Big West Player of the Year accolades and UC Santa Barbara’s
Rick McLaughlin received Coach of the Year recognition. Long Beach State outside hitter
Clarke Godbold notched the Freshman of the Year award.
RADO PARAPUNOV, HAWAI‘I
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Senior • Opposite • Sofia, Bulgaria • National High School Of Math
• First from Hawai‘i to earn two straight Player of the Year honors
• Second two-time winner in program history (Costas Theocharidis – 2001, 2003)
• Helped UH to a 10-0 Big West regular season record and an outright league championship
• Led Big West in kills per set (4.41) and points per set (5.24) for second straight season
• Ranked No. 8 in Big West in hitting percentage (.340), No. 6 in service aces per set (0.32) and No. 5 in blocks per set (0.90)
• Ranked No. 3 nationally in kills and points per set
• Notched double-digit kills in all 16 matches this season, including 15 or more on 11 occasions
• Hit .400 or better in nine contests
• Posted season-high 27 kills in five set victory over Long Beach State on Apr. 3
• Notched 20 or more kills three times
• Five-time Big West Player of the Week
• Record holder of 15 career Big West Player of the Week citations
• First player in school history to earn three AVCA National Player of the Week awards in one season
CLARKE GODBOLD, LONG BEACH STATE
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Outside Hitter • San Pedro, Calif. • Palos Verdes Peninsula HS
• Second straight Long Beach State representative to capture Freshman of the Year (Mason Briggs, 2020)
• Finished second on the team in kills (113) and digs (70), and third in total blocks (35)
• Ranked second among Beach players in kills per set (2.51) and digs per set (1.56)
• Tied his career-best with 13 kills twice – UC Santa Barbara (Mar. 21) and UC Irvine (Mar. 27)
• Had 10 or more kills in seven of 12 contests
• Posted first career double-double of 13 kills and 10 digs against UCSB (Mar. 21)
• Tallied 11 kills, seven digs and a career-high tying six blocks at No. 1 Hawai‘i (Apr. 3)
RICK MCLAUGHLIN, UC SANTA BARBARA
COACH OF THE YEAR
• Second straight Big West Coach of the Year honor
• Guided UC Santa Barbara to its first Big West Tournament title, defeating No. 3 seed Long Beach State and No. 4 seed UC San Diego
• Steered Gauchos to their first NCAA Tournament berth since 2011.
• Helped Gauchos maintain No. 3 national ranking for majority of season.
• Led UCSB to a second place finish in the Big West with a 7-3 record
• Team posted a 15-4 overall record, entering the NCAA’s on a 10-match winning streak
• Helped UCSB garner top 10 national rankings in assists per set, hitting percentage and kills per set