What 2 Watch 4
All eyes are on courts in The Big West as the regular season wraps with the league champion in the balance heading into the final five matches before postseason action.
No. 2 Hawai’i is at home on O’ahu to cap the schedule against No. 18 CSUN, needing just one more win to clinch at least a share of the regular-season title. Should the ’Bows get it done, it will be a third crown, and a first since 2023 when it was shared with Long Beach State. The third-ranked Beach and No. 5 UC Irvine are also still in the hunt to claim outright or share a piece of the prize as the two face off against each other in the pivotal Black-Blue Rivalry as one game separates the two sides with UH one ahead of LBSU.
Also rounding out the schedule are No. 9 UC Santa Barbara and No. 11 UC San Diego with just a game between the two in the standings as well. The two meet back on March 6 to open league action, a feisty 3-2 affair that went the way of the host Gauchos. Now it’s the Tritons’ advantage in LionTree, looking to even the season series and also knot the conference standings to force a tie for the fourth and fifth seeds in the upcoming edition of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2026 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship, taking place on the campus of UC Irvine April 23-25.
All five of this week’s must-watch Big West men’s volleyball are set to air on ESPN+. Check listings for additional match information.
Poll Position
The Big West sees four teams in the top 10 for the fifth straight week headlined by No. 2 Hawai’i and No. 3 Long Beach State, with UC Irvine back up to fifth and UC Santa Barbara landing in ninth in the latest AVCA National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Poll. UC San Diego jumped up two spots to 11th after downing UH and CSUN remains in 18th for the fourth consecutive listing. Including the preseason poll, all 15 iterations of the 2026 poll have seen all six Big West squads in the Top 20 showcasing the overall strength of the conference.
Weekly Winners
The Big West weekly winners were first-time selection Sebastiano Sani (offensive) of UC San Diego and UC Irvine pair Andrej Jokanovic (defensive & freshman) and Cameron Kosty (setter) after big-time performances in resounding victories.
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 2.38. The Beach serving also tops the single-game team and individual performances thus far in the regular-season.
• CSUN and UC Santa Barbara also hold single-match highs, with the Matadors hitting .448 in a five-set match and the Gauchos serving up 15 aces in a five-set match.
• Hawai’i reigns supreme with a nation’s best 13.70 kills per set. In the career listings, setter Tread Rosenthal averages 10.45 assists per set and Kristian Titriyski’s 4.13 kills per set lead the charts. The Rainbow Warriors also hold the top 17 single-game attendance figures in the country - every home match of the season - topping out with a sellout of 10,300 fans at the March 14 match against UCLA.
Last Week, Today
No. 2 Hawai’i (24-4, 7-1 BW)
The Rainbow Warriors split the weekend, first extending the streak to eight before getting turned back in four at UC San Diego on Saturday, denying the ’Bows the early celebration moment on the mainland as the potential to clinch at least a portion of the regular-season crown was thwarted until the final week of action. In the split week, UH swept through UCSD on Friday with Louis Sakanoko and Kristian Titriyski both reaching double figure kill tallies with the Rainbow Warriors hitting .349 and serving up nine aces in the win.
No. 3 Long Beach State (20-4, 6-2 BW)
The Beach reached the 20-win mark for the fifth straight season, downing UC Santa Barbara in straight sets twice on the weekend. The LBSU defense was overpowering on the block combining for the 20-6 advantage over the Gauchos and holding UCSB to .092 hitting in the three-setter at the Pyramid. Ben Braun and Jackson Cryst each recorded five total blocks with Braun denying two solo attempts in the home match. LBSU is still in the mix, along with UH and UCI, for the regular-season title.
No. 5 UC Irvine (17-5, 5-3 BW)
The Anteaters dispatched CSUN twice to take the season series and remain in the mix in the top half of the conference standings, still mathematically eligible for a piece of the regular-season trophy with a pivotal two-match swing with LBSU to cap the schedule. The Anteaters were paced by freshman Andrej Jokanovic, who claimed Big West Defensive Player and Freshman of the Week honors. Jokanovic averaged 4.71 kills, 5.71 points, 2.71 digs, 0.71 blocks and 0.57 aces in the series sweep of the Matadors. The week was highlighted by a match-high and career-high tying 23 kills with a career-best 13 digs for the double-double to go along with four blocks, four assists and an ace in Thursday’s 3-1 home victory. Redshirt freshman and Big West Setter of the Week Cameron Kosty averaged 11.57 assists per set in seven sets while guiding the Anteaters to a combined .389 (99-20-203) hitting percentage on the weekend.
No. 11 UC San Diego (12-12, 3-6 BW)
Last week, the Tritons split with No. 2 Hawai’i, picking up a huge 3-1 Saturday victory. Big West Offensive Player of the Week Sebastiano Sani claimed a first weekly award after the impressive performance with a team-best 18 kills and a pair of aces while setter Cameron Wurl set up 42 scoring plays. The Tritons took the first set before Hawai’i rebounded to knot the match score. UCSD took the third and then closed with gusto hitting .550 in the fourth while holding UH to a .120 percentage in the final frame in front of 1,753 fans.
AVCA Player of the Year Hopefuls
On April 8, the AVCA publicized the list of eight semifinalists for 2026 National Collegiate Player of the Year with two representatives from The Big West in Hawai’i junior setter Tread Rosenthal and Long Beach State senior Skyler Varga. The eight will be pared down to four prior to the Championship with the winner named in Los Angeles on May 8.
Back in February, five of the 15 on the first-ever watch list came from The Big West, with lone freshman Andrej Jokanovic of UC Irvine, CSUN’s Jalen Phillips and Adrien Roure of Hawai’i also earning distinction along with Rosenthal and Varga.
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.
Historically, since becoming a conference-sponsored sport in 2018, LBSU has won six regular-season crowns with UH taking two titles. The two shared the top line in 2023.
Single- and 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. |
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