What 2 Watch 4
All six Big West squads are back on the court this week with No 5 UC Irvine’s pair of matches against No. 4 Southern California headlining as a Top 5 matchup. The Anteaters (11-0) are one of the last four unbeatens in the country, along with the Trojans (7-0), No. 1 UCLA (10-0) and RV Belmont Abbey (3-0)
UCI and USC open the week at The Bren on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before the return trip to LA on Friday night. No. 17 CSUN will also be in Los Angeles on Friday against the top squad in national collegiate volleyball, taking on the Bruins.
On the road this week and back after an idle stretch since Jan. 31, No. 3 Hawai’i heads to No. 18 Stanford for two matches. Meanwhile, No. t-15 UC Santa Barbara heads down the coast to Malibu for a Saturday showdown at No. 6 Pepperdine in their lone contest of the week.
Hitting the home gym, No. 2 Long Beach State plays one against Vanguard while No. 10 UC San Diego returns to action after a week off with a home-and-home against RV CUI before hosting a Monday match against UC Merced.
Just one Big West home contest on this week’s schedule is set for broadcast on ESPN+. Check listings for additional match information.
Poll Position
The Big West sees three teams in the top five for the fourth straight week with No. 2 Long Beach State, followed by No. 3 Hawai’i and No 5 UC Irvine holding firm in the latest AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll. UC San Diego remains at 10th with UC Santa Barbara tied for 15th and CSUN checking in at No. 17. The Beach is currently receiving one first-place votes in the latest listings.
We’re No. 1
Various teams and individuals are ranked in the top 10 nationally highlighted by multiple list leaders:
• Long Beach State leads the nation in team aces per set at 2.81, with two players (Skyler Varga and Alex Kandev) in the top 10 individually.
• Along with leading the way as one of four unbeaten teams on the year, UC Irvine’s Trevor Clark paces the country with a .583 hitting percentage.
• Hawai’i setter Tread Rosenthal averages 10.36 assists per set to lead the career charts.
Weekly Winners
The Big West weekly winners went to a trio of first-time honorees in CSUN’s Jordan Lucas (offensive), and the UC Irvine duo of Andon Kiriakou (defensive) and Cameron Kosty (setter). UCI first-year player Andrej Jokanovic (freshman) was tapped for a third weekly award of the season. Lucas’ honor came after a 30-kill effort in a near upset of USC as the Matadors stretched the match to five frames.
Last Week, Today
The Big West picked up three wins in the light week of action. Some highlights included:
No. 2 Long Beach State (8-1, 0-0 BW)
The Beach battled No. 1 UCLA in Friday’s celebration of recently-retired head coach Alan Knipe, falling in five in the tight battle from the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid to register a first loss of the season. Skyler Varga led the efforts with 16.0 total points in the match notching 12 kills, seven digs, three blocks and a pair of aces. Alex Kandev closed with a double-double of 10 kills and 10 digs with three blocks against the Bruins.
No. 3 Hawai’i (10-1, 0-0 BW)
The Rainbow Warriors have been idle since Jan. 31 after the cancellation of the NIL Tournament. This week the team was busy working on the schedule, however, adding a pair of matches on O’ahu against BYU, set for Feb. 25 and 27.
No. 5 UC Irvine (11-0, 0-0 BW)
The Anteaters stayed unbeaten with a pair of neighborhood road wins at Vanguard and CUI. UCI now stands at 11-0 on the season, the most wins in the country and It’s the first time in program history UCI has started the year with 11 consecutive. The trio of Andon Kiriakou (defensive), Cameron Kosty (setter) and Andrej Jokanovic (freshman) claimed weekly honors after the pair of 3-1 victories. Kiriakou and Kosty are first-time honorees.
Jokanovic led the offense while averaging 4.38 kills and 1.50 digs per set with four blocks and three aces. Defensively, Kiriakou added 2.00 digs per set with four total blocks and two solo stuffs against CUI. Directing it all, Kosty averaged 9.25 assists, 1.00 digs and 0.63 blocks per set. The team hit .410 against Vanguard to open the week’s action.
No. 10 UC San Diego (4-4, 0-0 BW)
The Tritons were idle last week, and head into a three-match week that sees a home-and-home against CUI and a Monday afternoon President’s Day date with UC Merced.
No. t-15 UC Santa Barbara (6-4, 0-0 BW)
The Gauchos saw a split week, posting a four-set victory at Cal Lutheran before falling at Southern California on Saturday. Sophomore Riggs Guy powered down 4.17 kills per set highlighted by 14 strikes on .478 hitting with seven digs against Cal Lutheran. Ben Pearson added 2.57 kills and 1.43 digs per set totalling double-figure points in both matches for UCSB.
No. 17 CSUN (7-3, 0-0 BW)
The Matadors fell to a pair of Top 10 foes in Southern California and Pepperdine, but not without fireworks. CSUN nearly pulled off the upset of the Trojans as Jordan Lucas registered the top kill tally in the country this season with 30 strikes on .509 hitting (30-3-53) to go along with eight digs, three blocks and an ace en route to Big West Offensive Player of the Week.
Be There at the Bren
UC Irvine’s Bren Events Center is home of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship on April 23-25. All six conference members will head to Irvine to vie for The Big West’s automatic berth into the first year of a 12-team national postseason bracket. UCI will be playing host for the second time, also serving as the championship site in 2023, when the Anteaters finished as runners-up. Hawai’i reigns as Big West defending champion and has earned four total postseason crowns (2025, ’23, ’22, ’19). Long Beach State has three Big West titles to their name (2024, ’18) with UC Santa Barbara finishing atop the 2021 bracket.
All-session tickets are available for purchase today! Read more and secure your seats >>>
National Superiority
Taking home the first four national championships when The Big West began sponsoring men’s volleyball in 2018 and a fifth in 2025, the league is looking to continue its strength on the national stage in 2026. With the Beach and the ’Bows claiming back-to-back national collegiate titles around the pandemic-shortened 2024 season and LBSU reigning supreme in the latest edition, The Big West has enjoyed at least one national finalist in each of the last seven seasons. Always dominant in the sport, the league opens the season with all six teams ranked in the national listings with four squads in the Top 10.
Coaches’ Corner
The Big West coaching lineup is decorated by national champions as players and coaches, national coaches of the year, one newcomer and 855 career wins heading into the 2026 campaign. Long Beach State alumni and long-time assistant Nick MacRae took the reigns from Hall of Fame coach Alan Knipe in December ahead of the 2026 campaign. Uniquely, five of the league’s six head coaches have only been the leader of their current team, with UCSB's Rick McLaughlin the only coach to have two stops on the resume.
Preseason Prognostications
For the third straight season, defending national champion Long Beach State was voted atop the 2026 Big West Men’s Volleyball Preseason Coaches’ Poll. The Beach are coming off a Big West regular-season championship and a third national title since men’s volleyball became a conference-sponsored sport in 2018.
The Beach earned top billing with four first-place votes and 24 total points in the voting, edging out 2025 Big West champions and National Collegiate Championship semifinalists, Hawai’i. The Rainbow Warriors were just two points back with 22 total points and the remaining two first-place votes in the polling of the league’s six head coaches. UC Irvine landed in third with 17 total points. A three-way tie for fourth between CSUN, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara rounded out the polling with the Matadors, Tritons and Gauchos knotted at nine points apiece.
The preseason coaches team sees a trio of Rainbow Warriors in junior setter Tread Rosenthal and sophomore scoring duo of Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski. The Beach claimed two spots on the team with high-octane offensive players senior Skyler Varga and sophomore Alex Kandev. CSUN opposite hitter Jalen Phillips and UCSB redshirt sophomore George Bruening round our the seven-player team. Watch the preseason show >>>
2025 in Review
Long Beach State held serve in the national postseason, upholding their No. 1 ranking for much of the season by claiming the crown at the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship in Columbus, Ohio. The Beach swept through back-to-back defending champion UCLA to hoist their fourth national title trophy.
The Beach were joined by Big West champion Hawai’i on the national stage, where the Rainbow Warriors advanced to the semifinal round as the No. 2 seed in the brackets.
Long Beach State freshman phenom Moni Nikolov was named AVCA National Player of the Year, giving The Big West five straight awards. Nikolov was also named National Newcomer of the Year.
UC Irvine senior Hilir Henno earned the AVCA’s Distinction of Excellence Award whose contribution to the sport extends beyond accolades, uniting generational athletic excellence with personal integrity, academic commitment, and a long-term impact.
All six league programs were ranked in every poll throughout the season and finished up in the AVCA listings as: No. 1 Long Beach State, No.3 Hawai’i, No. 5 UC Irvine, No. 9 CSUN, No. 10 UC San Diego and No. 17 UC Santa Barbara.
Including honorable mention selections, a total of 22 Big West men’s volleyball players earned recognition on the AVCA’s All-American listings. Six men representing four member-institutions were named to the first team.
A total of six men’s volleyball student-athletes representing four member-institutions were tapped for the CSC Academic All-District listings. |
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