
Tread Rosenthal has been named Big West Player of the Year in men's volleyball, making him one of only three Rainbow Warriors to earn this honor. His sister, Tanon, also won a major award in beach volleyball on the same day.
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Life in the Rosenthal family household is so competitive, Tread Rosenthal couldnāt even gloat about winning the Big West Player of the Year honor in menās volleyball on Tuesday.
On the same day the Hawaii junior setter joined Jakob Thelle and Rado Parapunov as the only Rainbow Warriors ever to earn the Big Westās top honor, his sister, Tanon, earned the West Coast Conference Pair of the Year honor in beach volleyball with teammate Anna Pelloia at Loyola Marymount.
Two major college awards earned in the same day by one family perfectly encapsulates the competitive nature of a household with father Mike, a nine-year veteran of the NFL, and mom Lindsay, who was a volleyball standout at Notre Dame.
āI think weāre all kind of studs,ā Rosenthal said before practice Tuesday as the Hawaii menās volleyball team gets ready to play in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday against the winner of Fridayās match between Belmont Abbey and Southern California at Bankoh Arena at Stan Sheriff Center. āItās not super crazy in our family to have success, but we all kind of come together and celebrate together.ā
All three Big West teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament were represented among the three major conference awards handed out Tuesday as voted on by the leagueās six head coaches.
Long Beach State coach Nick MacRae, in his first season in charge after replacing Alan Knipe, earned Coach of the Year honors after the Beach defeated Hawaii in five sets to win the conference title on Saturday.
UC Irvineās Andrej Jokanovic, whose team will play in the UCLA Regional on Friday against Penn State, was named the Big West Freshman of the Year.
Rosenthal, who won that award two years ago, is a three-time, All-Big West first-team selection and can become the third player in conference history to earn that honor a fourth time next season.
He led the Big West averaging 10.63 assists per set and is one of eight semifinalists for the AVCA National Player of the Year award.
āIt is pretty cool. Itās good to see recognition, but thatās about it,ā Rosenthal said.
Rosenthalās numbers are pretty similar to last seasonās, with one big jump in his blocking statistics.
Heās already surpassed last seasonās total with 90 total blocks and is averaging 0.86 blocks per set compared to 0.65 a year ago.
More importantly, Rosenthal said his biggest improvement has come in how he handles late-set and late-match situations.
āI think just being calm in the big moments and I think just understanding that Iāve put in the work throughout the last three years and even the years before that,ā Rosenthal said. āJust understanding what to do in the big moments has definitely been a big change.ā
Rosenthal, who has won 16 Big West Setter of the Week awards, is already sixth on the schoolās career assists list and tied for fifth in aces with Parapunov with 114.
Tread Rosenthal is a junior setter for the Hawaii men's volleyball team, and he was named Big West Player of the Year.
On the same day, Tread's sister, Tanon Rosenthal, won the West Coast Conference Pair of the Year honor in beach volleyball.
Tread Rosenthal is one of only three Rainbow Warriors to have ever won the Big West Player of the Year award.
The Hawaii men's volleyball team is preparing to play in the NCAA Tournament on Saturday.
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He can shatter the schoolās career mark of 122 aces set by Thelle and also has a chance to break Kimo Tuyayās school record with 4,591 assists.
āI know I havenāt done what theyāve did necessarily for this program,ā Rosenthal said, specifically referring to Thelle and Parapunov. āBut itās a big step for not only me, but this team, and itās super cool to be a part of this team.ā
Rosenthal said heās been in frequent contact with Thelle via text since last year.
Head coach Charlie Wade referenced Rosenthal earlier this year as one of those special players that you already begin to miss in his junior season.
Rosenthal agreed itās hard to believe heās almost three full years into this four-year run at UH.
āI didnāt think it was going to go this fast, but weāre coming up on my last year here,ā Rosenthal said. āItās definitely been a long ride but a quick ride and Iāve loved it all. Iāve talked to some of the younger guys about just enjoying it and understanding the little things and kind of taking it all in as you go.ā
Hawaii received the No. 2 overall seed in the first 12-team NCAA Tournament in menās volleyball and will play Saturday at 4 p.m.
The Trojans and Crusaders play on Friday in the first round at 5 p.m.
Single-game tickets will be available to purchase today at 9 a.m.
Both matches will be streamed live on NCAA.com and can also be found on ESPN+. It will not be blacked out in Hawaii on ESPN+.