What 2 Watch 4
This weekend sees all six teams back in action after half the league was idle a week ago. Big West matchups have No. 3 Long Beach State and No. 18 CSUN ready for a home-and-home and No. 13 UC San Diego and No. 5 UC Irvine set for the same. Up to No. 2 after a successful road trip to the mainland, Hawai’i hosts No. 8 UC Santa Barbara for a pair in a top 10 showdown.
In last year’s series at UCSB, the Rainbow Warriors took the opener by a score of 3-1 before falling in three to split the pair. The Gauchos win snapped a 20-match winning streak that started back on Feb. 3, 2017. The game also denied UH the opportunity to share a piece of the regular-season crown as the contest was the finale before The Big West Championship, so a bit of payback might be on the mind of the ’Bows on O’ahu.
All seven 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 ninth straight week with No. 2 Hawai’i and No. 3 Long Beach State trading places and No. 5 UC Irvine holding pat in the latest AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll. UC Santa Barbara remains in eighth to give The Big West four teams in the top 10. UC San Diego stands in 13th and CSUN slipped to No. 18 to round out the polling.
Weekly Winners
The Big West weekly winners went to Hawai’i trio Louis Sakanoko (offensive) Quintin Greenidge (defensive) and Tread Rosenthal (setter) after opening up league play with a pair of big road wins, and Long Beach State first-year player Wojciech Gajek (freshman). Sakanoko was also tapped for national honors by AVCA Volleyball on Tuesday.
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 2.58. The Beach serving also tops the single-game team and individual charts thus first in the regular-season.
• Hawai’i reigns supreme in team hitting percentage at .396 with a nation’s best 13.87 kills per set, and setter Tread Rosenthal averages 10.47 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 Hawai’i (19-3 2-0 BW)
The Rainbow Warriors enjoyed a successful trip to LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid with a pair of statement wins to open their Big West slate. The ’Bows were paced by AVCA National Collegiate and Big West Offensive Player of the Week Louis Sakanoko. The outside hitter averaged 3.83 kills per set while hitting .571 for the series with only three attack errors in six sets played after sitting out the final two of the five-setter due to cramps. In the Saturday sweep, Sakanoko pounded 15 kills on .619 hitting with three blocks and an ace to highlight the weekend. Big West Defensive Player of the Week Quintin Greenidge anchored the back row with 12 total digs, or 1.50 per set. The UH defense allowed LBSU, the nation’s No. 1 serving team, just nine aces on the weekend (1.13 per set), wll below the 2.80 average entering into the weekend. Also picking up honors while reaching the 3,000 career assists milestone, Big West Setter of the Week Tread Rosenthal guided Hawai’i to a .349 combined hitting percentage while averaging 8.50 assists, 1.25 kills and 1.13 digs per set over the weekend.
No. 3 Long Beach State (14-4, 0-2 BW)
The Beach hosted Hawai’i for their first two league matches of the season and fell in both. Big West Freshman of the Week Wojciech Gajek carried the offensive load, averaging 4.75 kills per set on .375 hitting with highs in both contests despite the team results. Braedon Marquardt held down the front line with seven total blocks including five in Saturday’s three-setter.
No. 5 UC Irvine (13-3, 1-1 BW)
The Anteaters were idle on the week after splitting their previous weekend series with UC Santa Barbara as each won on their home court.
No. 8 UC Santa Barbara (10-7, 2-1 BW)
The Gauchos remained in eighth in the rankings despite the idle week after a 1-1 showing against UC Irvine in their last outings on the floor. This week, the top 10 test will come on O’ahu against No. 2 Hawai’i.
No. 13 UC San Diego (11-7, 2-1 BW)
Last week, the Tritons were idle, and return to the court to play a home-and-home against No. 5 UC Irvine.
No. 18 CSUN (11-6, 0-2 BW)
The Matadors had one non-conference match on the docket, dispatching Jessup 3-1 on Thursday. Jalen Phillips led all hitters with 19 kills on .308 hitting with four digs and four blocks in the match. Notably, Phillips became the 16th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career kills in the contest, now standing at 1,006 career kills, sixth among active players in national collegiate volleyball. Sophomore Owen Douphner set up the scoring attack, recording a first career double-double with 46 assists and a career-best 11 digs 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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