Cole Gillis, UC Irvine  Men's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week  Junior • Opposite Hitter • San Jose, Calif.

• After switching positions before the 2023 season, UC Irvine’s Cole Gillis earned a first career Big West Offensive Player of the Week honor after powering the then seventh-ranked Anteaters to a three-win week. 

• Over 11 sets played with victories against No. 10 USC and a pair of wins over Concordia-Irvine, Gillis hit .544 with just two attack errors (39-2-68). The junior averaged 3.55 kills, 0.91 digs, 0.55 blocks and 3.91 points per set. 

• The San Jose native started the week with 12 kills, six digs and two block assists in a five-set win over No. 10 USC before recording 11 kills on .588 hitting(11-1-17) with an ace, two digs and two block assists in a home sweep of CUI.  

• The right side hitter ended the week with a bang, hitting .800 on a season-high 16 kills on 20 swings in the return game at Concordia.  

• The .800 mark is the best in the country this season for 20 or more attempts and tied for third best overall. Gillis’ season hitting percentage stands at .532, good for second in The Big West and fourth nationally. 

Also Nominated: Nathan Merren (CSUN); Dimitrios Mouchlias (Hawai’i); Josh Schellinger (UC San Diego); Sotiris Siapanis (Long Beach State)

Mason Briggs, Long Beach State  Men's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week  Junior • Libero • Valencia, Calif.

• Mason Briggs averaged 4.17 digs per set at the East/West Coast Challenge last week en route to Big West Defensive Player of the Week. This is the third weekly defensive honor for Briggs, twice earning distinction in 2022 in back-to-back weeks (March 28, April 4). 

• Opening the weekend, Briggs and the Beach forced LIU into a negative attack percentage (-.046) in a three-setter as the junior recorded his 500th career dig, compiling 12 in total against the Sharks.   

• The following night, Briggs picked up 13 digs as George Mason was held to a .114 clip in another sweep. On the weekend, the Beach defense anchored by Briggs held their opponents to a .046 attack percentage while the product of Valencia, Calif., scooped up 4.17 digs per set. 

• Briggs currently leads The Big West and NCAA Division I with a 3.67 digs per set average, helping No. 3 Long Beach State to a 4-0 record in the young season, all in sweeping fashion. 

Also Nominated: Donovan Constable (CSUN); Doug Dahm (UC Irvine); Brett Sheward (Hawai’i)

Josh Schellinger, UC San Diego  Men's Volleyball Freshman of the Week  Redshirt Freshman • Outside Hitter • Bloomingdale, Ill.

• UC San Diego’s Josh Schellinger had a stellar week on the court, helping the Tritons go 2-1 while claiming a first career Big West weekly honor. The redshirt freshman averaged 4.4 kills per set while hitting .508, compiling a team-high 40 kills and only seven errors in 65 attack attempts. Schellinger also added 12 digs, eight assists, and two service aces in nine sets on the court.  

• In a home sweep of Emmanuel, Schellinger led all players with 14 kills while attacking at a .579 clip (14-3-19). The outside hitter followed it up with a career-best 15 kills in the sweep of Menlo, where Schellinger hit .714 with zero errors in 21 attack attempts.  

• In the team’s third match of the week, the native of BLoomingdale, Ill., totaled another 11 kills to go along with four assists and two digs in a loss at second-ranked UCLA. 

• Schellinger is hitting .398 on the year, good for tops for Big West first-year players, fifth overall in the league and 22nd nationally. He is one of two freshmen players in the category’s national top 25 (Shay Spadaro, Lincoln Memorial - .426; 13th). 

Also Nominated: Maxim Grigoriev (UC Irvine); Ryan Peluso (Long Beach State)

2023 Big West Men's Volleyball Weekly Winners