The Big West Men’s Volleyball Notebook: Beach and ‘Bows Set for National Collegiate Championship Play

 It’s Trophy Time! 

 Let’s Get Ready to Rumble!

The Big West will begin its quest for the title on Thursday in the quarterfinals of the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship inside the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio on Thursday, May 8.  Second-seeded Big West champion Hawai’i (26-5) takes on No. 7 seed Penn State (15-15) at 10:30 a.m. PT/7:30 a.m. HT. The Nittany Lions advanced to the contest after winning their opening-round matchup last Friday, downing Daemen in three. Top-ranked and No. 1 seed Long Beach State (27-3) meets No. 8 seed Fort Valley State (16-9) at 2 p.m. PT.  

 

The Big West has been a finalist in each of the last six National Collegiate Championship brackets, claiming four of the last six national collegiate titles. Hawai’i hoisted consecutive trophies in 2021 and ’22 and Long Beach State earned the championship in both 2018 and ’19. In both 2019 and ’22, the championship finale featured both the Rainbow Warriors and the Beach in an All-Big West showdown for the title and should the bracket hold true, 2025 will see the same. 

 About the Bracket

The Big West will embark on the quest for the title owning the top two lines in the 2025 National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball Championship. A third team, UC Irvine, was listed as the first team out of the fray after the second at-large bid in the bracket went to UCLA.

The Big West victor Hawai’i occupies the No. 2 position with regular-season champion Long Beach State claiming the No. 1 seed in the bracket with games slated at the Covelli Center in Columbus, Ohio. UH enters with an overall record of 26-5 on the season and is set to take on No. 7 seed Penn State. Hawai’i owns an 18-10 all-time record over the Nittany Lions, including a straight-set victory on O’ahu on the second day of the 2025 Outrigger Invitational back in March.  

Should UH advance in the bracket, the semifinal opponent will be the victor between defending champion and No. 3 seed UCLA and Belmont Abbey. The Rainbow Warriors saw Belmont Abbey back on Feb. 20 in a 3-0 road sweep. The last time UH met up with UCLA was back in 2023, a 3-1 win in the regular season followed by a loss in the championship match in Fairfax, Va. 

Top-seeded Long Beach State earned an at-large bid into the field after a stellar 2025 campaign with just three blemishes on the record. The Beach (27-5) opens up their quest for the title against eighth-seeded Fort Valley State (16-9) as the back-to-back SIAC champions. The two teams saw each other earlier this season back on Jan. 31 as the Beach swept through The quarterfinal match is set for May 8 at 2 p.m. PT. 

LBSU’s semifinal foe will be the winner of the No. 4/5 matchup between Loyola Chicago and Pepperdine. The Beach holds a 7-0 all-time series record over Loyola with the last meeting going five in Walter Pyramid back on Feb. 5, 2023. The last clash with the Waves came on Jan. 26 in Malibu, Calif., a 3-2 win for the Beach. 

The Big West has been a mainstay on the national stage since sport-sponsorship and 2025 is sure to be no exception. The league has combined for four national titles with both Long Beach State (2018, ’19) and Hawai’i (2021, ’22) going back-to-back for the crown. Two of those iterations were between the Beach and the ’Bows, one of the fiercest men’s volleyball rivalries around. At least one league team has been a national finalist in each of the last six seasons. 

UH won its first national title in 2021 at the Covelli Center, defeating BYU in straight sets with the 2022 title defense captured in Los Angeles against LBSU. The Warriors return to the national tournament after making four consecutive title match appearances from 2019-23.  

For Long Beach State, the championship victories came in consecutive seasons as well with one coming in an all Big West finale in 2019 as the Beach played host. All told, LBSU has been on the national postseason stage 15 times, with six appearances and two titles in The Big West era (2018, ’19, ’22, ’23, ’24) and another championship hoisting moment back in 1991. 

 League Superiority

The Big West has dominated the collegiate men’s volleyball landscape since the league began its sponsorship of the sport ahead of the 2018 campaign, laying claim to four of the last six national titles, with at least one national finalist in each season. 

Long Beach State went back-to-back in 2018 and ’19, first rallying past host UCLA, 3-2, and then Hawai’i, 3-1, at its own Walter Pyramid. After the COVID-19 pandemic wiped out the 2020 installment, Hawai’i claimed the crown in 2021 and ’22, both in straight sets, over BYU in Columbus, Ohio, followed by a rematch with the Beach at UCLA in ’22. In 2023’s installment, UH was vying for a three-peat, but fell just short with UCLA earning the title at George Mason in Fairfax, Va., defeating The Big West champions in four in the finale. Last season, UCLA was able to secure the repeat, with Long Beach State closing as national runners-up after hosting the Championship at Walter Pyramid.

 Real Recognize Real

The AVCA National Player of the Year has gone to a Big West player in each of the last four seasons and six of the seven years since the league began sponsoring men’s volleyball. Reigning award winner Hilir Henno is a senior at UC Irvine in 2025.

This year’s Player of the Year is set to be announced Friday evening from Columbus after the banquet. Big West Player of the Year and AVCA Newcomer of the Year Moni Nikolov is a prime candidate for selection. 

All-American Heroes

 After yet another stellar year on courts across the league, five programs from The Big West are represented in the American Volleyball Coaches Association’s (AVCA) 35th National Collegiate Men’s Volleyball All-America Team, unveiled on Monday. All told, the league boasts 10 on the first and second teams, over 40 percent of all honorees, and another 12 on the honorable mention listings.  

 

The 24 first- and second-team players sees representatives from 11 schools across the country, including five Big West member-institutions. League champion Hawai’i and national No. 1 Long Beach State each see a pair of players on the first team, and three total All-Americans. UC Irvine sports two honorees on the main listings with CSUN and UC San Diego claiming one apiece.  

 

The Big West comprises half of the first-team selections, headlined by 2025 Big West Player and Freshman of the Year Moni Nikolov. The setter from Long Beach State earns the first-team nod as well as AVCA Newcomer of the Year honors after an impeccable first season on the court. Nikolov is joined by Skyler Varga on the first-team listings with middle blocker DiAeris McRaven earning the second-team nod.

 

Hawai’i also claims a trio of selections with sophomore setter Tread Rosenthal up from the honorable mention listings last season. The international freshman attacking tandem of Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski made the first and second team listings, respectively. Heading into the Championship on a high from The Big West title, Roure was named the Most Valuable Player of The Hawaiian Islands presents the 2025 Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship to get his first postseason started.

Honorable mention All-American players primed for the national postseason include ‘Eleu Choy (UH libero), Daniil Hershtynovich (LBSU RS), Kellen Larson (LBSU libero) and Nurt Nusterer (UH MB).