IRVINE, Calif. – Hawai'i men's volleyball player Jakob Thelle and Rainbow Wahine track and field athlete Lilian Turban were named the school's Big West Scholar-Athletes of the Year Tuesday for their outstanding athletic and academic achievements.
 
The only student-athlete in school history to earn first-team Academic All-America status twice, Thelle finished with a 4.00 GPA and earned his graduate degree in urban and regional planning. The 2023 AVCA National Player of the Year led the Rainbow Warriors to a national runner-up finish after guiding UH to back-to-back NCAA titles in 2021 and 2022.
 
Thelle also earned Big West Player of the Year recognition and was named a first-team AVCA All-American for the second straight year after leading the nation with 10.67 assists per set. The Tonsberg, Norway native finished his time at UH as the program's all-time leader in service aces with 122.
 
Turban earned All-America status in the high jump after finishing fourth at the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, reaching a mark of 1.87m. She is the program's first All-American since 2010, when Amber Kauffman won the national title, and the sixth student-athlete in program history to achieve the honor.
 
The sophomore earned CSC Academic All-District recognition and was named to the Big West Spring All-Academic team. Turban also took home the Big West title in the high jump to cap off a perfect outdoor season, winning the event at all six meets she competed in.