2023 Big West Men's Volleyball Schedule | Standings | Stats | Week 13 Notes (.pdf)
What 2 Watch 4
The coming week will see the six Big West teams paired up in league action on Friday and Saturday nights, with all six matches slated for 7 p.m. PT (4 p.m. HT) starts, and five of them airing on ESPN+.
Fifth-ranked leader UC Irvine, the only side still unbeaten in conference play at 4-0 (14-6 overall), contests its home-and-home set with No. 15 CSUN (12-9, 1-3 Big West), beginning inside its own Bren Events Center and concluding at Premier America Credit Union Arena in Northridge. The Anteaters enter with The Big West’s longest current win streak at four. The Matadors have dropped a season-high four straight, all at home, since winning eight in a row. UCI took both 2022 matchups.
Top-ranked Hawai’i (20-2, 3-1 Big West) remains on the mainland and plays twice at UC Santa Barbara’s (5-13, 1-4 Big West) Robertson Gym. The Rainbow Warriors swept three meetings a season ago, all on O’ahu with the last one a three-setter in The Big West Championship semifinals, and are victors of 13 straight over the Gauchos since 2016. Both matches will also have a radio broadcast back home on ESPN Honolulu. UH is 7-0 without a set defeat on the road in 2023. Saturday will mark its final road date until the conference tournament in Irvine.
Fourth-ranked Long Beach State (14-3, 3-1 Big West), tied with UH in second, awaits its home-and-home series with UC San Diego (7-12, 1-4 Big West), first at LionTree Arena on ESPN+, and then Walter Pyramid (no video). The teams split their set a year ago, with the Beach sweeping at home before the Tritons upset then-No. 2 LBSU in La Jolla in five.
Check listings to see which matches will air on ESPN+.
Last Week, Today
With UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara all in winter quarter final exams, only the other three Big West squads took the court, for a total of four contests in a light week.
Then-second-ranked Hawai’i took all six sets against No. 14 CSUN in Northridge, reaching the 20-win milestone for the 12th time in program history. On Friday night, Chaz Galloway shared the match high with 12 kills at a season-best .500 (12-2-20) attack percentage. Jakob Thelle collected 31 set assists, three digs, three block assists, two kills on three attempts and a service ace. Kyle Hobus had 12 kills for the Matadors, with Griffin Walters adding 10 kills (season-best .474) and a match-high seven digs. UH held a blocking advantage of 10.0-4.5.
Dimitrios Mouchlias was the lone player in double-digit kills on Saturday night, putting down 13 at a .522 (13-1-23) clip to go along with five total blocks (one solo) for 16.0 points. Galloway contributed seven kills and a match-best (tied) seven digs, while Spyros Chakas had six kills, four digs, four blocks and a match- and season-high four aces. Hobus and Walters had eight kills apiece for the hosts. Again it was a big advantage at the net for Hawai’i of 11.0-3.0. The Rainbow Warriors have now won eight straight overall against CSUN going back to 2018.
In the final two non-conference contests for Big West sides in the 2023 regular season, No. 4 Long Beach State swept its home-and-home series with No. 11 USC. The Big West moved to an even 4-4 versus the Trojans this year as a result, with LBSU now a winner of four straight matchups dating back to 2019. The Beach swept Friday’s meeting at the Walter Pyramid behind Sotiris Siapanis’ match-high (tied) 11 kills. Setter Aidan Knipe had 23 assists and a match-best (tied) eight digs. Simon Torwie, the nation’s blocking leader, added six more (one solo) to top all players. Siapanis, Torwie and Shane Holdaway each served a pair of aces.
At USC’s Galen Center on Saturday night, the home side leveled things at 1-1 with a 25-14 decision in the second frame, before Long Beach State grabbed the third and fourth sets. Siapanis and Clarke Godbold provided 15 kills apiece. Siapanis completed a second double-double with 10 digs, while Godbold added two solo stuffs and eight digs.
On Monday, Mouchlias and UH teammate Guilherme Voss picked up their fifth career Big West Offensive and Defensive Player of the Week awards, respectively. Long Beach State redshirt freshman Connor Bloom grabbed a first Big West Freshman of the Week honor.
All-Session Tickets Now on Sale for Championship
Championship Central >>>
All-Session tickets are now on sale for the 2023 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, to be hosted for the first time by UC Irvine inside its Bren Events Center, April 20-22. The three-day, six-team event will have reserved seating. Lower reserved seating is $50, while upper reserved is $35. An all-session ticket includes entry into all five matches. Single-session tickets will be available for purchase in April. Secure your seats today >>>
The Big West Championship Final to Air LIVE on ESPNU!
The Big West made a BIG announcement on March 21, as ESPNU will broadcast the final of the 2023 OUTRIGGER Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands, LIVE on ESPNU on Saturday, April 22, beginning at 7:30 p.m. PT (4:30 p.m. HT) from UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center. It will serve as the first and only nationally-televised collegiate men’s volleyball contest on ESPN platforms in 2023, prior to the National Collegiate Championship in May. Former Team USA Olympians Paul Sunderland and Kevin Barnett will have the call. Read the complete release >>>
Poll Position
Following just a one-week hiatus, Hawai’i was back atop Monday’s latest NVA/AVCA national poll. The Rainbow Warriors are receiving 17 of 22 first-place votes, with No. 2 UCLA getting the other five. UH had previously been No. 1 in each of the first 11 editions of this season’s listing, unanimously on six occasions, including five in a row from Feb. 6 to March 6. Long Beach State stays at No. 4, with UC Irvine up a rung to No. 5, sharing that position with Grand Canyon. CSUN is at No. 15.
Hawai’i and Long Beach State are second and fourth in the new Off the Block National Media Poll, with UH up a spot and splitting 14 first-place votes evenly with new No. 1 UCLA. UCI remains at No. 6.
Hawai'i Big Mover in Third NCAA RPI Release
In Monday’s third RPI ranking released by the NCAA, two-time reigning national champion Hawai’i was the big gainer, advancing three spots to No. 2 behind only UCLA. Long Beach State stayed put at No. 3, with UC Irvine down from No. 6 to No. 7. CSUN is up from No. 21 to No. 18, while UC Santa Barbara (26) and UC San Diego (28) remain in the top 30, out of 57 programs. The RPI is a key metric for rounding out the seven-team 2023 National Collegiate Championship field. It is calculated using a mathematical formula that includes a squad’s winning percentage, strength of schedule, and opponents’ strength of schedule.
National Statistical Leaders
Hawai’i leads the country in kills (13.29) and assists (12.61) per set, while ranking second in hitting (.369) and third in winning (.909) percentage. Long Beach State is now second in blocks per set (2.73), though middle Simon Torwie still tops the individual list for blocks at 1.50 per set, with teammate Clarke Godbold fifth (1.13). The Beach are also fifth in hitting (.342). UC Irvine is fourth in aces per set (1.91), with Hilir Henno No. 1 individually at 0.94. UH setter Jakob Thelle paces the nation at 10.62 assists per set, while LBSU libero Mason Briggs, a fellow All-American, is fifth at 2.47 digs per set. Rainbow Warrior Dimitrios Mouchlias leads the league and ranks in the top 11 nationally in kills per set (3.89), points per set (4.69) and attack rate (.397).
Single Match Superlatives
UC San Diego outside hitter Ryan Ka’s career-best 31 kills in a 3-2 home loss to Ball State on March 5 are the single-match high in The Big West in 2023 (No. 7 for Division I-II), as are the redshirt senior’s 58 attempts in that contest. Hilir Henno has twice broken the UC Irvine single-match record for aces this year, both times at home, first with eight on Feb. 10 against Pepperdine, and again with nine versus Penn State on March 5 (tied for No. 1 nationally). Long Beach State newcomer Sotiris Siapanis also has an eight-ace effort, in just three sets against LIU on Jan. 20 in Virginia. Henno in fact has set the new UCI single-season standard for aces, currently at 64 and counting.
CSUN libero Taylan Cook’s career-best 20 digs versus Stanford on Feb. 3 are tops around the league (tied for No. 6 nationally). New UC Santa Barbara setter Jack Walmer has the single-match assist mark for 2023, with 58 in a five-set loss at LBSU on March 11. Beach middle Simon Torwie had the league’s first nine-block performance on March 10 in Santa Barbara, before CSUN’s Malcolm King posted nine denials as well in a five-set home loss versus Daemen on March 18.
Matador Merren Earns Courage Award
CSUN redshirt sophomore opposite hitter Nathan Merren was named the CalHOPE Courage Award recipient for February. The monthly award honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome the stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity. Read Nathan’s story >>>
National Weekly Awards
The AVCA and Off the Block award weekly honors for key players across the country, and The Big West is already racking up national recognitions in 2023:
AVCA National Player of the Week
Jan. 10 - Hilir Henno (UC Irvine)
Jan. 17 - Spyros Chakas (Hawai'i)
Jan. 31 - Clarke Godbold (Long Beach State)
Off the Block
National Setter of the Week
Jan. 9 - Joe Karlous (UC Irvine)
March 6 - Donovan Constable (CSUN) & Jakob Thelle (Hawai'i) - co-honorees
National Opposite of the Week
Feb. 13 - Dimitrios Mouchlias (Hawai'i)
March 13 - Dimitrios Mouchlias (Hawai'i)
March 21 - Francesco Sani (UC Irvine)
National Outside Attacker of the Week
Jan. 16 - Spyros Chakas (Hawai'i)
Jan. 23 - Sotiris Siapanis (Long Beach State)
Feb. 13 - Hilir Henno (UC Irvine)
March 6 - Spyros Chakas (Hawai'i) & Hilir Henno (UC Irvine) - co-honorees
National Libero of the Week
Feb. 6 - Taylan Cook (CSUN) - co-honoree
March 6 - Cole Power (UC Irvine)
Coaches’ Corner
The Big West men’s volleyball ranks feature four former Big West Coaches of the Year alongside two new leaders in 2023. Alan Knipe is in a milestone 20th season in charge of Long Beach State, while fellow two-time Big West Coach of the Year and multiple-time AVCA National Coach of the Year Rick McLaughlin navigates a 15th campaign at UC Santa Barbara. Charlie Wade of Hawai’i and David Kniffin of UC Irvine shared the league’s top coaching honor a year ago.
Theo Edwards was promoted from associate head coach (since 2019) on Dec. 9, three days after Jeff Campbell announced his retirement after 25 seasons at CSUN. The Matadors swept Lincoln Memorial in their Asics Invitational finale on Jan. 7 in Santa Barbara to make the CSUN alum and former captain (2010) a first-time winner as a college head coach.
Like Edwards, Brad Rostratter has taken over for a coach who had been at the helm of an alma mater for a long time, as UC San Diego parted ways with Kevin Ring in July following 17 years. Rostratter directed the brand-new program at Vanguard University the past three seasons. The Tritons outlasted Lincoln Memorial in five sets in their 2023 opener on Jan. 5 at the Asics Invitational to give Rostratter a triumphant debut.
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