2024 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball
2024 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball
Big West Tournament, Finals
NCAA Tournament, Final Four
Conference	Big West Conference
Ranking
Coaches	No. 4
Record	20–11 (7–3 Big West)
Head coach	David Kniffin (12th season);
Assistant coaches	Ron Larsen (1st season); Michael Brinkley (1st season); Scott Stadick (1st season);
MVP	Hilir Henno
Home stadium	Bren Events Center ; Crawford Hall

The 2024 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team was the varsity intercollegiate volleyball program of the University of California, Irvine. The team's home venue is Bren Events Center located on campus in Irvine, California. They also play at Crawford Hall for smaller games. UCI has been a member of the Big West Conference since the 2017–18 season, when the league began sponsoring the sport.^[1] UC Irvine received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament following a run to the Big West Finals, where they lost to Long Beach State.^[2] They ended the season falling 2–3 against eventual NCAA champion UCLA.^[3]

2024 Big West Conference men's volleyball standings
	Conf.				Overall
Team	W		L	PCT	W		L	PCT
No. 2 Long Beach State ‍†‍‡‍^y	9	–	1	.900	27	–	3	.900
No. 4 UC Irvine ‍‍‍^y	7	–	3	.700	20	–	11	.645
No. 5 Hawaii ‍‍‍	5	–	5	.500	23	–	7	.767
No. 20 UC San Diego ‍‍‍	4	–	6	.400	12	–	15	.444
No. 14 Cal State Northridge ‍‍‍	3	–	7	.300	13	–	16	.448
UC Santa Barbara ‍‍‍	2	–	8	.200	9	–	18	.333

† – Conference champion ‡ – Big West tournament champion y – Invited to the NCAA tournament Rankings from AVCA

Previous season

Last season, UC Irvine finished with a 18–11 record, going 6–4 in the Big West, and finishing third in the conference. They did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. The Anteaters ended their season losing 1–3 against Hawai'i in the Big West Tournament Finals.^[4]

Preseason

Preseason All-Big West Team

Source:^[5]

Both the preseason All-Big West team, and the Big West Coaches' Poll were released on December 19, 2024.

Player	No.	Position	Class
Preseason All-Big West Team
Hilir Henno	20	Outside Hitter	Junior

Big West Coaches' Poll

Coaches' Poll
Pos.	Team	Points
1	Long Beach State	23 (3)
2	Hawai'i	21 (2)
3	UC Irvine	19 (1)
4	UC Santa Barbara	11
T-5	CSUN	8
T-5	UC San Diego	8

Roster

Source:^[6]

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters Roster

Libero/Defensive Specialists

1 Davis Lau - Graduate Student
3 Cole Power - Graduate Student
8 Gustavo Gomes - RS Junior
30 Shane Aitken - Freshman

Setters

4 Brett Sheward - Graduate Student
7 Aidan Rigg – Freshman (also listed as an opposite hitter)
12 Joe Karlous - RS Senior
22 Aidan Schulten - RS Freshman

Middle Blockers

13 Beck Weber - RS Freshman
17 Connor Campbell - Senior
18 Nicolas Restrepo - Freshman
23 Maxim Grigoriev - Sophomore

Outside Hitters

2 Akhil Tangutur – Graduate Student
9 Nolan Flexen – Junior
10 Conner Dahm – RS Junior
20 Hilir Henno - Junior

Opposite Hitters

5 William D'Arcy – Sophomore
11 Kobe Brown - Freshman
14 Andon Kiriakou – Freshman

Coaches

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters Coaching Staff
David Kniffin – head coach – 12th year Ron Larsen – assistant coach – 1st year Michael Brinkley – assistant coach – 1st year Scott Stadick – assistant coach – 1st year

Schedule

Source:^[7]

Legend
	Anteaters win
	Anteaters loss
	Postponement
*	Non-Conference Game

2024 UC Irvine Anteaters Men's Volleyball Game Log (20–11)

Regular Season (18–9)

January (5–2)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Overall	BWC
January 9	ESPN+	No. 19 George Mason*	No. 3	Crawford Hall Irvine, California	2–3	(25–21, 22–25, 25–21, 23–25, 12–15)	409	0–1	–
January 10	ESPN+	St. Francis*	No. 3	Crawford Hall	3–0	(25–21, 25–23, 25–22)	400	1–1	—
January 13	ESPN+	No. 15 Princeton*	No. 3	Crawford Hall	3–1	(20–25, 25–17, 25–19, 25–18)	697	2–1	—
January 17	ESPN+	McKendree*	No. 6	Crawford Hall	3–0	(25–17, 25–19, 25–16)	424	3–1	—
January 26	BYUtv	at No. 8 BYU*	No. 7	Smith Fieldhouse Provo, Utah	3–1	(22–25, 27–25, 25–18, 25–20)	3,662	4–1	—
January 27	BYUtv	at No. 8 BYU*	No. 7	Smith Fieldhouse	3–2	(23–25, 26–24, 25–18, 23–25, 15–13)	3,880	5–1	—
January 31	ESPN+	No. 5 UCLA*	No. 7	Bren Events Center Irvine, California	2–3	(18–25, 15–25, 25–23, 25–21, 9–15)	2,644	5–2	—

February (5–2)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Overall	BWC
February 2	Pac-12.com	at No. 5 UCLA*	No. 7	Pauley Pavilion Los Angeles, California	1–3	(23–25, 25–23, 26–28, 22–25)	1,917	5–3	—
February 7	ESPN+	No. 15 USC*	No. 7	Bren Events Center	3–1	(19–25, 25–22, 30–28, 27–25)	1,419	6–3	—
February 10	Pac-12.com	at No. 15 USC*	No. 7	Galen Center Los Angeles, California	1–3	(25–12, 22–25, 23–25, 14–25)	580	6–4	—
February 16	Pac-12.com	at No. 5 Stanford*	No. 7	Burnham Pavilion Stanford, California	3–1	(28–26, 22–25, 25–19, 25–19)	615	7–4	—
February 17	Pac-12 Network	at No. 5 Stanford*	No. 7	Burnham Pavilion	3–1	(25–22, 25–22, 20–25, 25–21)	957	8–4	—
February 23	ESPN+	CUI*	No. 5	Crawford Hall	3–0	(25–22, 25–11, 25–21)	603	9–4	—
February 24	CUI Website	at CUI*	No. 5	CU Arena Irvine, California	3–0	(25–20, 25–16, 25–20)	176	10–4	–

March (6–3)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Overall	BWC
March 1	ESPN+	at No. 18 UC San Diego	No. 5	LionTree Arena La Jolla, California	3–0	(25–19, 25–19, 25–19)	810	11–4	1–0
March 3	ESPN+	No. 18 UC San Diego	No. 5	Crawford Hall	3–0	(25–20, 25–23, 25–19)	690	12–4	2–0
Outrigger Invitational
March 7	–	vs. No. 1 Grand Canyon*	No. 5	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, Hawaii	3–2	(25–21, 19–25, 24–26, 29–27, 15–6)	–	13–4	—
March 8	–	vs. No. 14 Lewis*	No. 5	Stan Sheriff Center	2–3	(25–22, 19–25, 25–18, 20–25, 11–15)	–	13–5	—
March 10	ESPN+	vs. No. 3 Hawai'i*	No. 5	Stan Sheriff Center	2–3	(25–23, 19–25, 22–25, 25–17, 13–15)	7,558	13–6	—

March 13	ESPN+	No. 19 UC Santa Barbara	No. 5	Bren Events Center	3–0	(25–14, 25–22, 25–20)	843	14–6	3–0
March 15	–	at No. 19 UC Santa Barbara	No. 5	The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California	3–0	(25–20, 25–15, 25–22)	873	15–6	4–0
March 29	ESPN+	at No. 16 CSUN	No. 3	The Matadome Northridge, California	1–3	(21–25, 21–25, 26–24, 18–25)	221	15–7	4–1
March 30	ESPN+	No. 16 CSUN	No. 3	Bren Events Center	3–0	(25–22, 25–21, 30–28)	758	16–7	5–1

April (2–2)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Overall	BWC
April 5	ESPN+	No. 4 Hawai'i	No. 5	Bren Events Center	3–0	(25–20, 25–19, 25–21)	2,058	17–7	6–1
April 6	ESPN+	No. 4 Hawai'i	No. 5	Bren Events Center	1–3	(25–22, 25–27, 18–25, 18–25)	2,600	17–8	6–2
April 12	ESPN+	No. 1 Long Beach State	No. 4	Bren Events Center	3–0	(25–17, 25–21, 25–21)	2,364	18–8	7–2
April 13	ESPN+	at No. 1 Long Beach State	No. 4	Walter Pyramid Long Beach, California	0–3	(25–27, 21–25, 17–25)	4,006	18–9	7–3

Postseason (2–2)

2024 Big West Conference men's volleyball tournament (1–1)^[8]
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Record	Postseason Record
April 19	ESPN+	vs. No. 5 Hawai'i (3) Semifinals	No. 3 (2)	Stan Sheriff Center Honolulu, Hawai'i	3–0	(26–24, 36–34, 25–15)	6,400	19–9	1–0
April 20	ESPN+	vs. No. 2 Long Beach State (1) Finals	No. 3 (2)	Stan Sheriff Center	1–3	(23–25, 25–21, 16–25, 15–25)	2,334	19–10	1–1

2024 NCAA men's volleyball tournament (1–1)
Date	TV	Opponent	Rank	Stadium	Score	Sets	Attendance	Record	Postseason Record
April 30	NCAA.com	vs. No. 8 Penn State (5) First Round	No. 4 (4)	Walter Pyramid Long Beach, California	3–0	(26–24, 25–16, 25–19)	3,024	20–10	1–0
May 2	NCAA.com	vs. No. 2 UCLA (1) Semifinals	No. 4 (4)	Walter Pyramid	2–3	(25–22, 20–25, 16–25, 25–18, 12–15)	3,786	20–11	1–1
*Non-conference game. ^#Rankings from AVCA Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific.

Awards and honors

Postseason

AVCA National Player of the Year^[9]
Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded
Player of the Year	Hilir Henno	Outside Hitter	April 28, 2024

AVCA All-Americans^[9]
Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded
First Team	Hilir Henno	Outside Hitter	April 28, 2024
Second Team	Cole Power	Libero
Second Team	Brett Sheward	Setter
Honorable Mention	Connor Campbell	Middle Blocker
Honorable Mention	Maxim Grigoriev	Middle Blocker

All-Big West Team^[10]
Honors	Player	Position	Date awarded
First Team	Maxim Grigoriev	Middle Blocker	April 17, 2025
	Hilir Henno	Outside Hitter
	Cole Power	Libero
	Brett Sheward	Setter

Rankings

Ranking movements
**Legend:** ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
	Week
Poll	Pre	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15	16	Final
AVCA	4	3	6	7	7	7	7	5	5	5	5	4	3	5	4	3	4	4

References

^ vinnielopes (June 1, 2016). "Big West conference to add men's volleyball starting in 2018 - Off the Block". www.offtheblockblog.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.
^ Guardabascio, Mike (April 21, 2024). "Long Beach State Beats Irvine For Big West Volleyball Championship, Awaits NCAA Fate". The562.org. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "UCI MVB falls to UCLA in Five Set Thriller at NCAA Semifinals | New University | UC Irvine". May 4, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "UC Irvine falls to Hawaii in Big West men's volleyball title match". Orange County Register. April 23, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "Big West Releases Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll". UC San Diego. December 21, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "2024 Men's Volleyball Roster". UCI Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "2024 Men's Volleyball Schedule". UCI Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ https://bigwest.org/tournaments/?id=108
^ ^a ^b "2024 AVCA National Collegiate Men's All-America Teams". AVCA. April 28, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.
^ "All-Big West Men's Volleyball Team Announced on Eve of Championship". Big West Conference. April 17, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[1] vinnielopes (June 1, 2016). "Big West conference to add men's volleyball starting in 2018 - Off the Block". www.offtheblockblog.com. Retrieved April 3, 2025.

[2] Guardabascio, Mike (April 21, 2024). "Long Beach State Beats Irvine For Big West Volleyball Championship, Awaits NCAA Fate". The562.org. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[3] "UCI MVB falls to UCLA in Five Set Thriller at NCAA Semifinals | New University | UC Irvine". May 4, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[4] "UC Irvine falls to Hawaii in Big West men's volleyball title match". Orange County Register. April 23, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[5] "Big West Releases Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Poll". UC San Diego. December 21, 2023. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[6] "2024 Men's Volleyball Roster". UCI Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[7] "2024 Men's Volleyball Schedule". UCI Athletics. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[8] ttps://bigwest.org/tournaments/?id=108

[AVCA-9] "2024 AVCA National Collegiate Men's All-America Teams". AVCA. April 28, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

[10] "All-Big West Men's Volleyball Team Announced on Eve of Championship". Big West Conference. April 17, 2024. Retrieved January 10, 2026.

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UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball
Venues	Bren Events Center Crawford Hall
Seasons	1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
National championship seasons in bold