Rosenthal, 4 other Warriors on first team as UH dominates BWC awards

IRVINE, Calif. — The No. 1 seed in the Outrigger Big West Men’s Volleyball Championship earned the most first-team, all-conference selections on Wednesday.

Five Rainbow Warriors were named to the 14-player, All-Big West first team, headlined by third-year selection Tread Rosenthal at setter.

Rosenthal, one of eight semifinalists for the AVCA National Player of the Year honor, is a major contender for the Big West Player of the Year award, which will be announced next week, along with the Coach of the Year and Freshman of the Year winners.

Joining Rosenthal on the first team were repeat selections, sophomores Adrien Roure and Kristian Titriyski, and first-time winners Louis Sakanoko at outside hitter and Quintin Greenidge at libero.

No school other than UH has had five or more players selected to a Big West first team. Hawaii had five honorees in 2019 and a record six in 2023.

“I look at it two-fold,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said. “Disappointed that the middles didn’t get any recognition and there was only one middle on the list, but you’re in a league with a lot of really good players and you’re on a team with a lot of good players.

“Individual awards come when your team does well.”

The team was comprised of five outside hitters, four opposites, two setters, two liberos and one middle.

No liberos made the team last year.

Greenidge, in his first season after transferring from the University of Windsor in Canada, has started 28 matches at libero and leads the Big West with 2.11 digs per set.

“I was happy about it and I was happy to see the rest of the guys get their awards as well,” Greenidge said. “I think they all make my job easy with their blocking and their ability to score. I think it’s all a team effort.”

Rosenthal, who has won 11 of the 16 BWC Setter of the Week awards this year, leads the conference and is second nationally averaging 10.66 assists per set.

Roure is averaging 2.91 kills per set while hitting .325 and leads Hawaii with 34 aces. He also averaged 1.39 digs per set.

Titriyski, who missed nearly two months of the season, returned to the starting lineup in Hawaii’s conference opener and averaged 3.90 kills per set in conference play.

Overall he leads UH in kills per set at 3.98 while hitting .328.

Sakanoko, honored for the first time in his junior season, is averaging career highs across the board with 3.18 kills, 1.37 digs and 0.61 blocks per set while hitting .358.

His previous best hitting percentage in a season was .259.

“Of course it’s really, really, really nice, but at the same time, happy for the team too,” Sakanoko said. “We’ve just proved that we’re a really complete team and that everyone plays a really special role.”

Long Beach State and UC Irvine had three players named to the team and UC Santa Barbara had two. UC Irvine opposite William D’Arcy and Long Beach State opposite Skyler Varga were the only seniors listed.