IRVINE, Calif. – For the second consecutive year, University of Hawai'i's Jakob Thelle and Charlie Wade were named Big West Men's Volleyball Player and Coach of the Year, respectively.
 
The Player of the Year award is the fourth consecutive for a Rainbow Warrior and second straight for Thelle. He is the UH's second straight two-time winner joining Rado Parapunov (2020-21). The award comes just days after the Tonsberg, Norway native repeated as Big West Championship Most Outstanding Player after helping to Hawai'i to its second straight title.
 
For Wade, the award marks his second conference coach of the year award in 14 seasons as head coach. He has guided Hawai'i to two national titles (2021, '22), three Big West championships (2019, '22, '23), two Big West regular season titles (2021, '23), and six NCAA Tournament appearances (2015, '17, '19, '21, '22, '23).
 
The Big West Freshman of the Year went to UC Irvine's Maxim Grigoriev.
 
Thelle, who helped UH to its third overall Big West title with a four-set win over UC Irvine last week, leads the nation in assists per set (10.73) while directing the nation's second-best offense (.373). He is also tied for the program's all-time service ace record (121).
 
Last week, Thelle was one of six Rainbow Warriors named to the all-Big West first team. It marked his second straight first-team honor and third all-conference selection.
 
UH became just the second Big West team to win both the regular season and tournament titles in the same year, joining Long Beach State in 2018. Hawai'i will be making its fourth straight NCAA Tournament appearance and sixth in the last eight years.
 
Big West Award Winners
Player of the Year - Jakob Thelle, Hawai'i
Freshman of the Year - Maxim Grigoriev, UC Irvine
Coach of the Year - Charlie Wade, Hawai'i