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The postseason will get underway in the Big West with a spot in the NCAA Tournament on the line.
The conference tournament opens with two quarterfinal matches on Thursday. Check out the matchups and the historical tidbits to know before filling out your Big West Tournament bracket.
No. 3 seed Hawai’i (22-6, 5-5 Big West) vs. No. 6 seed UC Santa Barbara (9-17, 2-8 Big West)
Match vitals: 4:30 p.m. Thursday in Honolulu
Season series: Hawai’i defeated UC Santa Barbara in three games and in five games in March
All-time series: Hawai’i leads 62-37
Big West Tournament titles: Hawai’i (2019, 2022, 2023); UC Santa Barbara (2021)
NCAA Tournament championships: Hawai’i (2002, 2021, 2022); UC Santa Barbara (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to play UC Irvine in the semifinals.
Hawai’i player to know: Freshman setter Tread Rosenthal is second in the Big West with a 0.44 aces per game average and has guided the offense to the second-best attack percentage in the nation at .355.
UC Santa Barbara player to know: Geste Bianchi leads the nation with a 4.73 kills per game average, including having a season-high 32 kills in the most recent meeting against Hawai’i.
Stats to know: This is the first time Hawai’i has competed in the conference tournament quarterfinals since the Big West started sponsoring volleyball in 2018. The Rainbow Warriors before this season had always finished in the top two of the Big West regular season to receive a bye to the Big West Tournament semifinals. UC Santa Barbara is not only attempting to become the first No. 6 seed to win a match in the Big West Tournament, but also trying to become the first No. 6 seed to win a set in the tournament.
No. 4 seed UC San Diego (12-14, 4-6 Big West) vs. No. 5 seed CSUN (12-15, 3-7 Big West)
Match vitals: 7 p.m. Thursday in Honolulu
Season series: UC San Diego beat CSUN in four games and five games in March.
All-time series: CSUN leads 80-15
Big West Tournament titles: UC San Diego (none); CSUN (none)
NCAA Tournament championships: UC San Diego (none); CSUN (none)
Next up on the bracket: The winner of this match will advance to play Long Beach State in the semifinals.
UC San Diego player to know: Anthony Cherfan is in the conference’s top 10 with both a 3.04 kills per game average and a 0.41 aces per game average.
CSUN player to know: Kyle Hobus is in the nation’s top 20 with a 3.67 kills per game average, including a combined 42 kills in the two matches against UC San Diego.
Stats to know: This is the first time UC San Diego and CSUN have met in the postseason since 2021. The Tritons defeated the Matadors in that quarterfinals match en route to advancing to the Big West Tournament finals. CSUN has won one postseason match since reaching the NCAA Tournament semifinals in 2010.
Byes to the semifinals
No. 1 seed Long Beach State (23-2, 9-1 Big West)
Big West Tournament titles: Long Beach State (2018)
NCAA Tournament championships: Long Beach State (1991, 2018, 2019)
Next up on the bracket: Long Beach State will play the winner of the quarterfinals match between UC San Diego and CSUN.
Long Beach State player to know: Mason Briggs, who spent the offseason playing with the U.S. Men’s National Team, leads the Big West with a 2.41 digs per game average.
No. 2 seed UC Irvine (18-9, 7-3 Big West)
Big West Tournament titles: UC Irvine (none)
NCAA Tournament championships: UC Irvine (2007, 2019, 2012, 2013)
Next up on the bracket: UC Irvine will play the winner of the quarterfinals match between Hawai’i and UC Santa Barbara.
UC Irvine player to know: Hilir Henno is second in the nation with a 4.73 kills per game average and leads the conference averaging 0.49 aces per game.