On the eve of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Men’s Volleyball Championship, fifteen standout student-athletes were named to the All-Big West Team as voted on by the head coaches across the conference.
The team was headlined by four selections for national No. 1 and Big West regular-season champion Long Beach State. Freshman setter Moni Nikolov's breakout freshman campaign running the Beach offense opens up the LBSU selections. Nikolov leads the country in aces average at 0.925 and is fourth in The BIg West and 18th nationally in aces per set at 9.87. The Beach offense hits a combined .399 on the year, also tops in the nation.
Alex Kandev, another impactful freshman who also hails from Sofia, Bulgaria, holds an impressive .466 hitting percentage, tallying 147 kills with just 29 errors on the year. Playing 48 sets on the season, Kandev averages 3.06 kills and 0.92 digs per frame. Both Nikolov and Kandev were also tapped to the All-Freshman Team.
LBSU veterans Skyler Varga and DiAearis McRaven also made the first team listings. McRaven, a senior middle blocker from Honolulu, denies an average of 1.00 attempts per set to lead the second-best blocking squad in national collegiate volleyball. Varga is 14th in the country in hitting percentage at .387 which leads the league for players meeting the national minimum. The redshirt junior from Muenster, Saskatchewan, also adds on 0.768 blocks and .354 aces per set, both in the conference top 10. For Varga, this is a second postseason nod, up from the honorable mention listings a season ago.
The trio of UC Irvine, Hawai’i and CSUN all place three on the All-Big West Team.
Youth is again on display on the listings for second-seeded and third-ranked Hawai’i. Freshman of the Year from a season ago, UH setter Tread Rosenthal is back as an All-Big West honoree after pacing the league with 10.69 assists per set, good for fourth in the country. The product of Austin, Texas, also adds 1.58 digs per set for the ’Bows.
International freshman tandem Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski also earned distinction on both the All-Big West and All-Freshman Team listings. From Lyon, France, Roure contributes 3.10 kills per set on 0.328 hitting with Bulgarian Titriyski leading the team and ranking seventh nationally in both kills (4.24) and points (5.05) per set on .325 hitting. As a team, the UH offense averages 13.29 kills per set to pace Division I.
UC Irvine’s Hilir Henno is now just the second four-time All-Big West selection (2022, ’23, ’24), after returning to the top squad as one of the conference’s most prolific outside hitters. The senior from Pornichet, France, leads The Big West with 4.44 kills and 5.26 points per set, both numbers ranking second in the country. Henno has also added 42 service aces to the impressive career tally of 246 and counting, best among all active national collegiate players.
Outside hitter Nolan Flexen and middle blocker Max Grigoriev also represent the Anteaters on the listings. Flexen ranks in the top 10 in the conference in blocks (0.767), kills (3.12) and points (3.81) per set along with hitting 0.301. After compiling 74.0 total denials on the season, Grigoriev is fifth in the league in blocks per set for the third-seeded and fourth-ranked Anteaters. Girigoriev is repeat selection to the All-Big West listings.
CSUN’s offensive leader in redshirt sophomore Jalen Phillips makes the listings after putting up 4.17 kills and 4.71 points per set, both figures good for eighth in national collegiate volleyball. Stilian Delibosov, a freshman middle blocker, is pacing The Big West in blocks per set with a 1.060 average which rates 13th nationally. The Razlog, Bulgaria, native also earned a place on the All-Freshman Team. Senior Setter Donovan Constable rounds out the Matador selections, making consecutive appearances. The Clovis, Calif., native heads into the postseason averaging 9.87 assists per set while also contributing .462 aces per set.
UC San Diego placed two upperclassmen on the All-Big West team in Anthony Cherfan and Bryce Dvorak. A graduate student setter, Dvorak is one of two Big West setters to average double-digit assists, coming in at 10.41, which rates seventh in the country. Cherfan leads the Tritons hitting .339 on the year, with 3.78 kills and 4.48 points per set in a senior campaign.
Other All-Freshman Team selections are Micah Goss of UC Irvine and George Bruening of UC Santa Barbara. Bruening also earned an honorable mention nod.
| All-Big West Team
|
| Student-Athlete |
Year |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| Anthony Cherfan ^ |
Sr. |
OPP |
UC San Diego |
Los Angeles, Calif. |
| Donovan Constable ^ |
Sr. |
S |
CSUN |
Clovis, Calif. |
| Stilian Delibosov |
Fr. |
MB |
CSUN |
Razlog, Bulgaria |
| Bryce Dvorak |
Gr. |
S |
UC San Diego |
Newport Beach, Calif. |
| Nolan Flexen |
Sr. |
OH |
UC Irvine |
Rio Rancho, N.M. |
| Max Grigoriev ^ |
Jr. |
MB |
UC Irvine |
Walnut Creek, Calif. |
| Hilir Henno ^#& |
Sr. |
OH |
UC Irvine |
Pornichet, France |
| Alex Kandev |
Fr. |
OH |
Long Beach State |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
| DiAeris McRaven |
Sr. |
MB |
Long Beach State |
Honolulu, O’ahu |
| Moni Nikolov |
Fr. |
S |
Long Beach State |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Jalen Phillips * |
R-So. |
OPP |
CSUN |
Anaheim, Calif. |
| Tread Rosenthal ^ |
So. |
S |
Hawai’i |
Austin, Texas |
| Adrien Roure |
Fr. |
OH |
Hawai’i |
Lyon, France |
| Kristian Titriyski |
Fr. |
OPP |
Hawai’i |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Skyler Varga * |
R-Jr. |
OPP |
Long Beach State |
Muenster, Saskatchewan |
| Honarable Mention: George Bruening (UC Santa Barbara); ‘Eleu Choy (Hawai’i); William D’Arcy (UC Irvine); Daniil Hershtynovich (Long Beach State); Kurt Nusterer (Hawai’i); Josh Schellinger (UC San Diego) |
^ - 2024 All-Big West; * - 2024 Honorable Mention; # - 2023 All-Big West; $ - 2023 Honorable Mention; & - 2022 All-Big West
| Big West All-Freshman Team
|
| Student-Athlete |
Position |
Institution |
Hometown |
| George Bruening |
OH |
UC Santa Barbara |
Newport Beach, Calif. |
| Stilian Delibosov |
MB |
CSUN |
Razlog, Bulgaria |
| Micah Goss |
MB |
UC Irvine |
Santa Barbara, Calif. |
| Riggs Guy |
OH |
UC Santa Barbara |
Newport Beach, Calif. |
| Alex Kandev |
OH |
Long Beach State |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Moni Nikolov |
S |
Long Beach State |
Sofia, Bulgaria |
| Adrien Roure |
OH |
Hawai’i |
Lyon, France |
| Kristian Titriyski |
OPP |
Hawai’i |
Sofia, Bulgaria |