What 2 Watch 4
This weekend sees but three matches on the schedule, as many schools are off for finals or spring break. UC Irvine, UC San Diego and UC Santa Barbara are idle with CSUN taking to the court on Thursday hosting Jessup.
Then, the weekend is set up for a marquee showdown with No. 2 Long Beach State hosting third-ranked Hawai’i at LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid. The Beach or the ’Bows hold the top line in the league statistics in multiple categories. LBSU leads The Big West - and the country - in aces (2.80 per set), while Hawai’i tops national collegiate volleyball in hitting percentage (.401) kills (14.21) and assists (13.12) per set. Individually, the Beach tandem of Alex Kandev and Skyler Varga pack a 1-2 punch from the service line nationally, combining for 1.418 aces per set.
Last year, LBSU won the regular season title and took home the national collegiate crown, while UH claimed the Big West Championship title and finished in the national semifinals. In the regular-season, the two teams split the two-game series, showing the parity between the two.
One marked difference will be the men patrolling the sidelines. Long-time head coach for Hawai’i Charlie Wade will be going up against first-year head coach and former LBSU player Nick MacRae on the Beach sideline.
All three contests are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for additional match information.
Poll Position
The Big West sees three teams in the top five for the eighth straight week with No. 2 Long Beach State, followed by No. 3 Hawai’i and No. 5 UC Irvine in the latest AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll. UC Santa Barbara jumped up to eighth after splitting with UCI to give The Big West four teams in the top 10. UC San Diego slipped to 13th as CSUN holds firm to 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 2.80, with Alex Kandev (.718) and Skyler Varga (.700) 1-2 nationally to pace the country. The Beach serving and digging also tops the single-game team and individual charts thus first in the regular-season.
• Hawai’i tops the charts in team hitting percentage at .401 with a nation’s best 14.21 kills and 13.12 assists per set, and setter Tread Rosenthal averages 10.52 assists per set to lead the career charts. The Rainbow Warriors also hold the top 15 single-game attendance figures in the country, topping out with a sellout of 10,300 fans at the March 14 match against UCLA.
• UC Irvine’s Trevor Clark paces the country with a .543 hitting percentage.
Last Week, Today
No. 2 Long Beach State (14-2, 0-0 BW)
The Beach swept through two home matches against Jessup with Skyler Varga powering the offensive attack. The senior from Muenster, Saskatchewan averaged 3.17 kills and 4.17 points per set while adding three assists, three aces, nine digs and six total blocks. Defensively, Braedon Marquardt denied nine attempts from the opponent in five sets of action for 1.80 blocks per set in the series. As a team, LBSU hit .410 with Jake Pazanti averaging 10.0 assists per set.
No. 3 Hawai’i (17-3 0-0 BW)
The Rainbow Warriors went 2-1 at the OUTRIGGER Invitational with wins over Mount Olive and Lewis bookending a loss to No. 1 UCLA. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Kristian Titriyski averaged 4.13 kills per set while hitting .411, making a return to the lineup after missing 11 matches. Big West Setter of the Week Tread Rosenthal averaged 11.50 assists per set while directing UH to .367 hitting to earn all-tournament team honors.
No. 5 UC Irvine (13-3, 1-1 BW)
The Anteaters split the weekend series with UC Santa Barbara with both squads winning on their home court. Big West Freshman of the Week Andrej Jokanovic finished with a match-high 20 kills with an ace and four digs in the four-set victory at the Bren. Libero Shane Aitken scooped up a career-high 15 digs in the match and Cameron Kosty assisted on 43 plays, or 10.75 per set.
No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (10-7, 2-1 BW)
The Gauchos pushed bumped up to No. 8 in the rankings after splitting the weekend against UC Irvine. George Bruening averaged 4.00 kills per set in the series with 20 in the five-set victory over the Anteaters. Big West Defensive Player of the Week Joe Wallace tied a career high in digs with 15 in Friday’s victorious effort.
No. 13 UC San Diego (11-7, 2-1 BW)
The Tritons fell in five to Princeton before picking up a five-set victory at CSUN on Friday. Sebastiano Sani hit .444 with 15 kills two aces and four digs in Northridge. Middle blocker Jim Garrison added 11 kills while hitting .588 while registering six blocks and an one ace.
No. 17 CSUN (11-6, 0-2 BW)
The Matadors took down Princeton in four before dropping a home contest to UC San Diego. Against the Tigers, the trio of Jalen Phillips (15), Jordan Lucas (11) and Kank Kaufman (11) all recorded double figure kill efforts. Shane Nhem added eight blocks in the match.
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 >>> |
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