What 2 Watch 4
High-profile foes are on the docket in the final full week of non-conference play, with No. 1 UCLA taking on both No. 4 UC Irvine (12-1, 0-0 BW) and No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (8-5, 0-0 BW) on Big West courts. The Gauchos take on the Bruins Wednesday on ESPN+ with the Anteaters having their shot at the last undefeated team in national collegiate volleyball on Friday.
Also taking on fierce competition, No. 3 Hawai’i (12-1, 0-0 BW) is coming off a 10-day break and will host No. 6 BYU for a pair on O’ahu. No. 2 Long Beach State (9-2, 0-0 BW) is set for a home and home against CUI while No. 9 UC San Diego does the same against Vanguard. Finally, No. 17 CSUN hosts Cal Lutheran as all six Big West squads play at least one home match this weekend.
Four contests are set for broadcast on ESPN+ this week. Check listings for additional match information.
Poll Position
The Big West sees three teams in the top five for the sixth straight week with No. 2 Long Beach State, followed by No. 3 Hawai’i and No. 4 UC Irvine in the latest AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll. UC San Diego bumped up a place to ninth with UC Santa Barbara again on the move to land in 12th. CSUN checks in at No. 17 to round out the polling.
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 2.74, with Skyler Varga (.811) and Alex Kandev (.750) 1-2 nationally to pace the country. The Beach serving and digging also tops the single-game charts thus first in the regular-season.
• UC Irvine’s Trevor Clark paces the country with a .583 hitting percentage.
• Hawai’i setter Tread Rosenthal averages 10.41 assists per set to lead the career charts.
Weekly Winners
The Big West weekly winners went to pairs from CSUN and UC Santa Barbara with Matadors Jalen Phillips (offensive) and Grayson Albers (freshman) joined by Gaucho tandem George Bruening (defensive) and Cole Schobel (setter). CSUN picked up a pair of home sweeps while UCSB got two wins over ranked opponents, including a three-setter against then-No. 6 Pepperdine.
Last Week, Today
The Big West went 5-1 in the light week on the courts, with the lone blemish coming at No. 1 UCLA. Some highlights included:
No. 2 Long Beach State (9-2, 0-0 BW)
The Beach fell 3-1 at No. 1 UCLA on Friday. Skyler Varga delivered a match-high 20.0 points in the four-set battle, producing 18 kills on 36 swings while hitting .389 and add three assists and two blocks. Senior Ben Braun struck for eight kills on nine swings and no errors to hit .889 with three block assists in LBSU’s lone match of the week.
No. 3 Hawai’i (12-1, 0-0 BW)
The Rainbow Warriors were idle on the week, last taking care of then-No. 18 Stanford in a pair of road sweeps over the Valentine’s Day weekend. This week, UH welcomes No. 6 BYU for two matches that were added to the schedule midseason after the cancellation of the NIL Tournament.
No. 4 UC Irvine (12-1, 0-0 BW)
The Anteaters had a rest week, last taking to the court in a home-and-home at then No. 4 Southern California on Feb. 11-13. The teams split the matches with each taking the victory on the road. This week, UCI welcomes No. 1 UCLA to the Bren, looking for their first win over the Bruins since 2017.
No. 9 UC San Diego (8-4, 0-0 BW)
The Tritons extended the streak to four with a pair of sweeping efforts against UC Merced and Menlo. Leo Pravednikov collected 19 kills in five sets of action, hitting .667. In the home match against UC Merced, the outside hitter finished with 14 kills and no errors to hit .700 to go along with a pair of blocks and two assists. Junior Leo Wiemelt added five blocks in the match. Setter John Luers directed the efficient offensive output as UCSD reached season-high hitting percentages of .507 versus UC Merced and .534 at Menlo while also adding a career-best four aces in the win over the Oaks.
No. 12 UC Santa Barbara (8-5, 0-0 BW)
The Gauchos again took a two step up the rankings, up to No. 12 in the most recent national poll after downing then-No. 6 Pepperdine in three on the home floor. George Bruening played an all-around match against the Waves with 16 kills on .355 hitting with four digs. In their 3-1 win over then-No. 19 Lincoln Memorial, Bruening popped up a career-high 12 digs with five total blocks including one solo en route to Big West Defensive Player of the Week Honors. Cole Schobel earned Big West Setter of the Week after 33 assists against Pepperdine with six kills, a pair of ace and two blocks to highlight the week.
No. 17 CSUN (9-4, 0-0 BW)
The Matadors recorded a pair of home sweeps, taking down then-No. 19 Lincoln Memorial and UC Merced. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Jalen Phillips put down 22 total kills (4.67/set) on a combined .429 hitting. In with win over Lincoln Memorial, Phillips put down 14 kills while hitting .545 with a career-high seven blocks and seven digs. First-year player Grayson Albers finished the week with 13 kills on 16 swings and no errors with three aces, five digs and a pair of blocks to get Big West Freshman of the Week honors. Setter Owen Douphner totalled 64 assists (10.67/set) while leading the CSUN hitters to a .448 clip.
On the Watch List
The AVCA publicized its first-ever Watch List for its National Collegiate Men’s Player of the Year award to open the month of February with five of the 15 on the list coming from The Big West. The lone freshman earning a spot is UC Irvine’s Andrej Jokanovic, with CSUN represented by Jalen Phillips. Long Beach State senior Skyler Varga an to Hawai’i duo of Adrien Roure and Tread Rosenthal also see distinction.
The Big West has flexed its muscles since sport sponsorship in 2018 with seven of the last eight Players of the Year coming from the conference, including the last five. Historically, Big West schools have claimed 14 awards since 1991. Recent winners include Rado Parapunov (2021 - Hawai’i), Alex Nikolov (2022 - Long Beach State), Jakob Thelle (2023 - Hawai’i), Hilir Henno (2024 - UC Irvine) and Moni Nikolov (2025 - Long Beach State).
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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