The megadeath men’s volleyball conference that used to be the 12-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation may have been halved with the creation of the Big West. But it only means that the intensity of competition for Hawaii and the other five league teams has been concentrated and increased exponentially.
The top three teams ranked nationally — and four of the top five — represent the Big West, including the lone undefeated teams in the country: No. 1 Long Beach State (13-0) and No. 2 Hawaii (10-0). Add No. 11 Cal State Northridge and a very dangerous UC San Diego to the mix and few would argue that power and parity wear BWC uniforms.
The scary part? It appears that the second-year conference is even better than in the inaugural season.
“Overall, the conference is stacked,” Alan Knipe, coach of defending national champion Long Beach State, said in a telephone call on Wednesday. “Ultimately, it shows the growth of men’s volleyball. The sport is in a healthy state, ripe for more growth, and we’re proud of what the Big West has done, being at the forefront of it.
“There is never a team that will surprise you. The way the schedule is, where you play the same team twice in the same week … is unique and you’re going to see some big movements week to week. It’s an exciting time.”
A look at the Big West based on national ranking.
No. 1 Long Beach State (13-0, 0-0)
“Stacked” could also be what Knipe calls his team, which returns three first-team All-America starters, including the national player of the year in senior setter Josh Tuaniga and senior hitter TJ DeFalco, who won the award in 2017. The 49ers didn’t lose much from their 28-1 squad whose only loss was at Hawaii in five in the final match of the regular season.
The biggest change is fifth-year senior hitter Richard Louis breaking into the starting lineup. The roster also includes sophomore hitter Ethan Siegfried (Punahou); redshirt freshman opposite Alexander Anastassiades, the younger brother of Warriors junior hitter James; and freshman libero Grant Guinasso, younger brother of former Rainbow Wahine Gianna.
Knipe is in his 16th season at his alma mater and has the rare distinction of having won NCAA titles as a player (1991) and a coach (2018). The 49ers have dropped just one set, that coming against visiting USC on Jan. 25. They put their 33-match home winning streak on the line Friday against CSUN.
No. 2 Hawaii (10-0, 0-0)
Statistically, the Warriors are dominating nationally, as a team and individually. Hawaii leads the country in hitting percentage (.482), kills (14.67 per set), blocks (2.83) and assists (13.27). Junior middle Patrick Gasman continues to be No. 1 in blocks (1.63) and sophomore libero Gage Worsley No. 2 in digs (2.70).
The Warriors have not dropped a set this season and are two off the program record of 32 consecutive sets won. With 10 victories in a row, Hawaii has tied the school record set in 2017.
The Warriors finished tied for second in the Big West last season and were second in the Big West tournament, but did not receive the NCAA at-large bid despite having the No. 1 RPI and a 2-1 head-to-head edge over UC Irvine, which was given the at-large.
Hawaii was the only team last season to defeat the NCAA finalists: Long Beach State and UCLA. The Warriors’ biggest loss from 2018 was All-America libero Larry “Tui” Tuileta. The biggest change in Hawaii’s lineup is the emergence of junior hitter Colton Cowell on the outside.
The Warriors will host the Big West tournament April 18-20. Charlie Wade is in his 10th season in Manoa.
No. 3 UC Irvine (13-2, 2-0)
The Anteaters opened conference play with two wins over UC San Diego, sweeping the Tritons in La Jolla, Calif., and needing five sets to pull out the win in the Bren Events Center after being down 2-1.
UCI’s two losses were on the road against teams Hawaii swept at home: Stanford and USC. The Anteaters won the rematches with the Cardinal and Trojans, and are riding a seven-match win streak.
Senior setter Dante Chakravorti has UCI hitting .332, fourth-best nationally. Sophomore hitter Joel Schneidmiller is averaging 3.58 kills and junior middle Scott Stadick 1.37 blocks.
The Anteaters return all but one starter from the squad that lost in five to Ohio State in the NCAA tournament first round.
The teams are playing for the Pineapple-Orange Crate, a new rivalry created last season and won by the Warriors on point differential after the teams split the two matches at the Sheriff Center.
David Kniffin is in his seventh season with the Anteaters.
No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (13-3, 1-0)
The Gauchos have won 10 in a row, including their conference opener with UCSD 3-0. UCSB’s losses have been to Pepperdine (twice) and UCLA; the Gauchos won the rematch with the Bruins in five on Feb. 13.
Senior hitter Corey Chavers leads the conference in kills (3.83) and is second in points (4.60) to Hawaii’s Rado Parapunov (4.74). Two freshmen have made immediate impacts in middle Brandon Hicks (1.11 blocks) and Punahou graduate Ryan Wilcox, a hitter (2.30 kps, 13 aces).
Rick McLaughlin is in his 11th season in Isla Vista.
No. 11 CSUN (8-6, 0-0)
The Matadors will face the 49ers on back-to-back nights, today going to the Pyramid, where they’ve lost nine straight, and hosting at the Matadome, where they last defeated The Beach in 2016.
Three of CSUN’s losses have come in five, all to Top 15 teams (Lewis, Ball State and Grand Canyon). The Matadors are struggling to replace second-team All-American Arvis Greene, who accounted for nearly a third of their offense in 2018. Back is senior hitter Dimitar Kalchev (3.20 kps), who torched Hawaii with seven aces in two sweeps of the Warriors last season, and senior libero Emmett Enriques (1.88 digs), a Kamehameha-Hawaii graduate.
Running the offense is true freshman Taylor Ittner, who has replaced senior Sam Porter. Also breaking into the lineup is freshman middle Daniel Wetter.
Jeff Campbell is in his 22nd season in the Valley.
UC San Diego (6-10, 0-3)
The Tritons continue the transition from D-II to D-I under 14th-year coach Kevin Ring, who looks for his first Big West win today at UCSB.
Half of UCSD’s 10 losses have come in straight sets, including last Friday at No. 8 Stanford. The Tritons fell short of one of the biggest wins in program history when they were unable to hold on at No. 3 UC Irvine on Feb. 14, a match UCSD led 2-1 and that was tied 14-14 in Set 5, only to lose 16-14 on a service error and a hitting error.
Kauai-raised Wyatt Harrison, a sophomore hitter and son of former Warrior Todd, leads the Tritons (3.47 kps). Freshman setter Blake Crisp has been running the offense lately, replacing junior Connor Walbrecht, and junior libero Ryan Lew ranks third in the conference in digs (2.39).
