IRVINE, Calif. – University of Hawai'i senior opposite
Rado Parapunov was selected as the Big West Conference's Player of the Year while he and three other Rainbow Warriors were named to the all-Big West first team as voted by the league's six head coaches.
Middle blocker
Patrick Gasman, libero
Gage Worsley, and outside hitter
Colton Cowell were picked to the first team as Hawai'i led all Big West teams with four first-team honorees among the 14 selections. Gasman is the conference's first three-time first-team honoree while Worsley and Parapunov each picked up their second award. Parapunov is UH's first conference player of the year since Costas Theocharidis won Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors in 2001 and '03.
In addition, setter
Brett Sheward, middle blocker
Guilherme Voss, and outside hitter
Chaz Galloway were selected to the seven-member all-freshman team.
Parapunov led the Big West and ranked No. 2 nationally in kills per set (4.47) while hitting .377, which ranked No. 15 nationally. The Sofia, Bulgaria native posted career-high averages in kills and digs per set (1.44) while also averaging 0.84 blocks per set along with 16 service aces. He tallied a career-high 30 kills in five-set, come-from-behind victory over No. 2 BYU in what turned out to be the final match of the season before the cancellation of the season.
For the third consecutive year, Gasman ranked among the nation's blocking leaders, averaging 1.20 per set, which ranked No. 2 in the Big West and No. 7 nationally. The Clovis, Calif., native was having the best season of his career with career-highs of 1.84 kills per set and a team-high 18 service aces. He had a career-high five aces against BYU, including the match-clincher in UH's reverse sweep.
In his second year as the team's starting libero, Worsley ranked No. 3 in the Big West and No. 18 nationally in digs per set (2.10). The Moraga, Calif., native recorded only 11 reception errors in 283 receive attempts for a team-leading .961 percentage. He posted five matches with double-digit dig totals.
Cowell ranked among the Big West leaders in three categories – kills per set (3.77; 3rd), aces per set (0.40; 3rd), and hitting percentage (.362; 9th). The Makawao, Maui native was posting career-high averages in kills, aces, and digs per set (1.51) and tallied 10+ kills in 8-of-12 matches played, including career-high 19 in four-win at Loyola.
In his first season in Mānoa, Voss started 14 matches at middle blocker and ranked No. 4 in the Big West and No. 10 nationally in blocks per set (1.13). The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native also averaged 1.37 kills per set while hitting at a .477 clip and was a three-time Big West Freshman of the Week award winner.
Sheward started eight of the team's final nine matches at setter and ranked No. 2 in the Big West Conference in assists per set (10.30). The Newport Beach, Calif., native led team to a hitting percentage of .400 or better four times.
Galloway made four starts at outside hitter in his rookie season. In eight matches played, the San Diego, Calif., native averaged 2.29 kills per set, hitting .378 along with 1.24 digs per set and 0.52 blocks per set.
UC Santa Barbara's Rick McLaughlin was the Coach of the Year while Long Beach State's Mason Briggs and CSUN's Kyle Hobus shared Freshman of the Year honors.
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