IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced its all-conference awards for beach volleyball on Thursday as voted by the league coaches. The University of Hawai'i claimed a top honor and four Rainbow Wahine pairs earned recognition.
For the second time in three seasons, UH head coach
Evan Silberstein was tabbed Co-Coach of the Year. The UH pairs of
Jaime Santer-
Alana Embry and
Riley Wagoner-
Sydney Amiatu were named to the all-conference first-team. Meanwhile the duos of
Kaylee Glagau-
Pani Napoleon and
Anna Maidment-
Sydney Miller garnered honorable mention.
Silberstein, who last earned Co-Coach of the Year accolades in 2022, shares the honor with Cal Poly's Todd Rogers. He also joins former UH skipper Jeff Hall (2016, '18) as a two-time winner of the award. The third-year head coach helped lead the Rainbow Wahine to its fourth conference title and first since 2018 after UH went a perfect 4-0 at last week's Big West Championship in Long Beach. Sliberstein has also guided UH to its third straight NCAA Championship appearance under his helm.
A day after being named second-team All-Americans, Santer and Embry earned a spot on the all-Big West first team. The duo has gone 24-11 overall and 8-2 against Big West competition, including three key wins during the team's Big West title run. Amiatu and Wagoner gained first-team honors after going 22-11 on the season, including 21-6 at the No. 4 spot. The duo also won three matches during the Big West Championship and secured the clinching point in UH's dramatic win over Long Beach State in the title match.
Honorable mention pair Maidment and Miller has sported UH's best overall win percentage (22-7, .759) playing at the No. 3, 4 and 5 flights, while the newly formed pair of Glagau and Napoleon have found instant success with eight wins in 10 matches together at the No. 2 court.
Both Santer and Glagau have now gained all-Big West recognition in each of their four seasons at UH. Maidment, Napoleon, and Wagoner are three-time Big West honorees, while Miller earned the nod for a second straight year. Amiatu and Embry gained all-Big West honors in each of their first year of competition at UH.
The BeachBows are currently in Gulf Shores, Ala., readying for their NCAA opening-round matchup against Loyola Marymount on Friday, May 3. First serve is 12:00 p.m. CDT/7:00 a.m. HT and the match will air live on ESPNU and will be streamed on ESPN+.
