There will be plenty of stars on the court for the NCAA Tournament semifinals.
Check out the 30 players to know for both semifinal matches on Saturday.
Shane Aitken, UC Irvine libero
Accolades: First-Team All-American, All-Big West Honorable Mention
Aitken is second in the Big West with a 1.97 digs per game average, including having a season-high 15 digs in a victory against UC Santa Barbara in March. The libero also had double-digit digs in eight matches against nationally ranked teams.
Wil Bassilio, Ball State outside attacker
Accolades: All-American Honorable Mention
Bassilio is in the top 10 of the MIVA with a .308 attack percentage and has double-digit kills in four matches this season. The outside attacker also leads Ball State with 529 service receptions and has a 94 percent successful passing rating.
Connor Bloom, Long Beach State outside attacker
Bloom has 12 kills on a .435 attack percentage against Loyola in the NCAA Tournament regional finals. The outside attacker also leads Long Beach State and is in the nation’s top 25 with a .337 attack percentage.
Ben Braun, Long Beach State middle attacker
Accolades: All-American Honorable Mention
Braun leads the Big West and is seventh in the nation with a 1.11 blocks per game average, including a season-high 10 blocks against UC Irvine in the regular season. The middle attacker also has a .520 attack percentage – the third consecutive season Braun has hit at least .500.
Andreas Brinck, UC Irvine outside attacker
Brinck had a team-high 17 kills on a .483 attack percentage in a five-game victory against UCLA in the NCAA Tournament regional finals. This was the third time in the last four postseason matches that Brinck had double-digit kills.
Trevor Clark, UC Irvine pin-hitter
Accolades: Second-Team All-American, All-Big West Honorable Mention
Clark had double-digit kills and hit at least .400 in each of UC Irvine’s NCAA Tournament matches last week. In addition, Clark is second in the nation with a .501 attack percentage.
Jackson Cryst, Long Beach State middle attacker
Accolades: Second–Team All-American First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team
Cryst is in the nation’s top 10 with a 1.10 blocks per game average. The middle attacker also is in the nation’s top 20 with a 0.46 aces per game average, including having a match-high three aces against Loyola in the regional finals.
Will D’Arcy, UC Irvine opposite
Accolades: First-Team All-Big West, All-American Honorable Mention
Opposite Will D’Arcy is in the top 10 of the Big West with both a 2.86 kills per game average and a .280 attack percentage. The senior also had a season-high 22 kills in a road victory against BYU in January.
Wojciech Gajek, Long Beach State opposite
Accolades: Second-Team All-American, Big West All-Freshman Team
Gajek had a season-high 27 kills on a .489 attack percentage as Long Beach State defeated Hawai’i in five games in the Big West Tournament finals. The freshman had more than 15 kills and hit more .350 in all three of the Beach’s matches against Hawai’i this season.
MIcah Goss, UC Irvine middle attacker
Accolades: All-American Honorable Mention
Goss had 10 kills on a .692 attack percentage in a NCAA Tournament opening-round five-game victory. Goss has a .353 attack percentage – the second consecutive season the middle attacker has hit more than .350.
Quintin Greenidge, Hawai’i libero
Accolades: First-Team All-Big West, All-American Honorable Mention
Greenidge leads the Big West and is among the national leaders averaging 2.07 digs per game. The libero has double-digit digs in eight matches, including a season-high 15 digs against Pepperdine March.
Andrej Jokanovic, UC Irvine outside attacker
Accolades: National Newcomer of the Year, Second-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West, Big West All-Freshman Team
Outside attacker Andrej Jokanovic is in the top five of the Big West averaging both a 3.37 kills per game and a 0.43 aces per game. The freshman also had 14 kills against UCLA in the regional finals.
Trevell Jordan, Hawai’i middle attacker
Jordan has a .500 attack percentage and has committed two attack errors in the last month. The offseason transfer from Grand Canyon is in the top 10 of the Big West with a 0.84 blocks per game average.
Cameron Kotsy, UC Irvine setter
Accolades: Big West All-Freshman Team, All-American Honorable Mention
Kosty as a freshman has helped guide the Anteaters offense to .301 attack percentage. In addition, Kosty had a team-high six blocks and helped UC Irvine hit .292 in the team’s regional finals victory against UCLA.
Kellen Larson, Long Beach State libero
Accolades: Second-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West
Larson leads Long Beach State with 548 service receptions and has a 96 percent successful passing rating. The libero also is third in the Big West with a 1.80 digs per game average.
Ryan Louis, Ball State opposite
Accolades: Second-Team All-MIVA, All-American Honorable Mention
Louis is in the top five of the MIVA and among the national leaders with both a 3.25 kills per game average and a .328 attack percentage. Louis also had a team-high 16 kills and hit .324 against Pepperdine in the NCAA Tournament regional finals.
Lucas Machado, Ball State setter
Accolades: Second-Team All-American, First-Team All-MIVA
Machado is in the nation’s top 10 with a 9.96 assists per game average and has guided the offense to a nation-best .385 attack percentage. The Cardinals enter the NCAA Tournament semifinals having hit more than .300 in 11 consecutive matches.
Will Patterson, Ball State middle attacker
Patterson had 11 blocks against Pepperdine in the regional finals – the second-most blocks in a NCAA Tournament match during the 25-point rally scoring era. In addition, Patterson had 12 kills and zero errors on a .667 attack percentage in the five-game victory.
Jake Pazanti, Long Beach State setter
Accolades: Big West All-Freshman Team, All-American Honorable Mention
Pazanti has a 9.19 assists per game average and has guided the Beach offense to the six-best attack percentage in the nation at .347. The setter also had an ace and led Long Beach State to a .369 attack percentage in its regional finals sweep against Loyola.
Patrick Rogers, Ball State outside attacker
Accolades: MIVA Player of the Year, First-Team All-American, First-Team All-MIVA
Rogers leads the MIVA and is in the nation’s top 10 with both a 3.94 kills per game average and a .405 attack percentage. The senior also is in the nation’s top 15 with a 0.47 aces per game average, including having back-to-back aces in the fifth-game overtime to cap off Ball State’s victory against Pepperdine in the regional finals.
Tread Rosenthal, Hawai’i setter
Accolades: First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West
Rosenthal is second in the nation with a 10.75 assists per game average and has guided the offense to the fourth-best attack percentage in the nation at .366. The setter also is in the top 10 of the Big West and among the national leaders with a 0.85 blocks per game average.
Adrien Roure, Hawai’i outside attacker
Accolades: Second-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West
Roure is in the top 10 of the Big West with both a 2.91 kills per game average and a .319 attack percentage. The outside attacker also is in the top five of the Big West and among the national leaders with a 0.40 aces per game average.
Louis Sakanoko, Hawai’i outside attacker
Accolades: First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West
Sakanoko leads Hawai’i with a 3.18 kills per game average and is in the nation’s top 20 hitting .351. In addition, Sakanoko has double-digit kills in all three of the Rainbow Warriors. postseason matches
Braydon Savitaski-Lynde, Ball State middle attacker
Accolades: Second-Team All-MIVA, All-American Honorable Mention
Savitaski-Lynde has a .500 attack percentage and leads Ball State and is fifth in the MIVA with a 0.86 blocks per game average. The middle attacker, though, suffered a late-season injury and has missed the last five matches.
Victor Scherer, Ball State libero
Scherer is third on the team with 447 service receptions and has a 96 percent successful passing rating. The offseason transfer from Quincy also has not committed a service error in four of Ball State’s last five matches.
Jacob Surrette, Ball State middle attacker
Surrette has a .591 attack percentage and has committed six attack errors the entire season. The middle attacker also has a 0.87 blocks per game average, including three blocks in the regional finals against Pepperdine.
Kristian Titriyski, Hawai’i opposite
Accolades: First-Team All-Big West
Titriyski had match-high 19 kills in a four-game victory against USC in the NCAA Tournament regional finals. The opposite has a .301 attack percentage and during the second half of the season has at least 15 kills in six matches.
Justin Todd, Hawai’i middle attacker
Accolades: All-American Honorable Mention
Todd is in the nation’s top 20 with a 1.06 blocks per game average. The middle attacker also has a .421 attack percentage and is in the top 10 of the Big West with a 0.31 aces per game average.
Skyler Varga, Long Beach State
Accolades: First-Team All-American, First-Team All-Big West
Varga is in the top five of the Big West with a 3.20 kills per game average on a .322 attack percentage. The senior also leads the Big West and is in the nation’s top 15 with a 0.48 aces per game average.
Kainoa Wade, Hawai’i opposite
Wade has 27 aces and has primarily come off the bench as a serving specialist during the last two months of the season. The freshman also has a .411 attack percentage and has double-digit kills in 11 matches.