Whether on hardwood, Taraflex or sand, Brooke Van Sickle’s dynamic skill set elevated the University of Hawaii senior to the Big West Conference’s top volleyball honors in the fall and spring.
Van Sickle capped her final indoor season with the Rainbow Wahine by earning Big West Player of the Year honors in December. This spring, she partnered with sophomore Kaylee Glagau to claim the conference’s beach volleyball Pairs Team of the Year award.
With Tuesday’s announcement, Van Sickle became the first player to pair the Big West’s indoor and beach volleyball Player of the Year awards.
“It’s a nice little surprise at the end of the season,” Van Sickle said. “Thankful for my coaches and my team for pushing us to be the pair that we are.”
Van Sickle and Glagau were named AVCA first-team All-Americans last week and enter the National Collegiate Beach Volleyball Championship at 30-9 while playing at UH’s No. 1 flight. The Big West award is UH’s fourth overall and first since Emily Maglio and Ka’iwi Schucht claimed the honor in 2018.
“I’m just very grateful for the opportunity to play with Brooke this year and to play for Hawaii,” Glagau said. “It’s just been a big improvement year for me. … I’ve grown confidence in myself, my team has grown confidence in me and my coach really believes in me, and feeling that pushing me forward is really nice.”
UH interim head coach Evan Silberman shared Coach of the Year honors with Cal Poly’s Todd Rogers.
Silberman spent seven seasons as an assistant coach under Jeff Hall and Angelica Ljungqvist and took over the program after Ljungqvist returned to Sweden last summer. He led the BeachBows to a 24-16 record, a No. 9 ranking in the AVCA poll and a return to the NCAA Tournament.
“The credit goes to the athletes, and it’s fun getting a chance to lead them,” Silberstein said.
“My predecessors definitely taught me a lot and I build upon that foundation as I go forward. … It’s such a great tradition to be a part of.”
Van Sickle and Glagau were joined on the All-Big West first team by the team of Sofia Russo and Anna Maidment. Russo and Maidment were honorable mention picks last year and enter the NCAA Tournament at 23-15. Their 39 wins together over the past two seasons is the most in program history.
The pair of Kylin Loker and Jaime Santer earned honorable mention recognition, as did the team of Ilihia Huddleston and Riley Wagoner.
The BeachBows are in Gulf Shores, Ala., for the NCAA Tournament. No. 13 seed UH faces No. 4 Loyola Marymount in an opening round match today at 6 a.m. The winner advances to the double-elimination bracket, which runs from Friday to Sunday.
Cal Poly freshman Ella Connor, a Seabury Hall graduate from Kihei, also made the All-Big West first team with Tia Miric. The Big West champion Mustangs are the No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament and face No. 5 Florida State today.
