2025 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team

The 2025 UC Irvine Anteaters men's volleyball team is 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. Despite finishing the regular season ranked 4th in the nation, 4th in RPI, 4th in KPI, and 1st in strength of schedule, UC Irvine did not receive an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. They end the season falling 1-3 against eventual conference tournament champion Hawai'i, and dropping to 5th in the nation having not played in the tournament.

Previous season

Last season, UC Irvine finished with a 20–11 record, going 7–3 in the Big West, and finishing second in the conference. They received an at-large bid to the 2024 NCAA men's volleyball tournament, along with conference champion Long Beach State. The Anteaters took 5 sets and lost 3, falling to the eventual champion, the UCLA Bruins in the semifinals 2–3. UC Irvine finished the season ranked 4th in the nation.

Preseason

Preseason All-Big West Team Source:

Both the preseason All-Big West team, and the Big West Coaches' Poll were released on December 19, 2024. Preseason All-Big West Team Player No. Position Class Maxim Grigoriev 23 Middle Blocker Junior Hilir Henno 20 Outside Hitter Senior

Big West Coaches' Poll Coaches' Poll 1 Long Beach State 24 (4) 2 UC Irvine 21 (2) 3 Hawai'i 18 4 UC Santa Barbara 12 5 CSUN 8 6 UC San Diego 7

Roster Source:  Libero/Defensive Specialists 1 Shane Atiken - RS Freshman

Setters 2 Micah Tumas - Freshman 12 Joe Karlous – Graduate Student 15 Cameron Kosty - Freshman (also listed as an opposite hitter) 22 Aidan Schulten - RS Sophomore 24 Aidan Rigg - RS Freshman Middle Blockers 7 Micah Goss - Freshman 8 Lukas Winn – Freshman 10 Nicolas Restrepo – RS Freshman 11 Kobe Brown – RS Freshman 13 Beck Weber - RS Sophomore 19 Alec Apelian - Freshman 23 Maxim Grigoriev - Junior Outside Hitters 6 Tim Ennis – Freshman 9 Nolan Flexen – Senior 16 Aidan Cuppett – Freshman 20 Hilir Henno - Senior

Opposite Hitters 5 William D'Arcy – Junior 14 Andon Kiriakou – Sophomore

Coaches

David Kniffin – head coach – 13th year Ron Larsen – assistant coach – 2nd year Michael Brinkley – assistant coach – 2nd year Marty Ross – assistant coach – 1st year

Schedule Source:https://ucirvinesports.com/sports/mens-volleyball/schedule

Legend Anteaters win Anteaters loss Postponement*Non-Conference Game

{| class="toccolours" width=95% style="clear:both; margin:1.5em auto; text-align:center;" |- ! colspan=2 style="" | 2025 UC Irvine Anteaters Men's Volleyball Game Log (21-7) |- ! colspan=2 style="" | Regular season (20–6) |- valign="top" | January (6–0) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Sets Attendance Overall BWC UC Santa Barbara Invitational January 9 - vs. Menlo* No. 3 The ThunderdomeSanta Barbara, California 3-0 (25–14, 25–10, 25–21) 100 1–0 – January 10 - vs. Tusculum* No. 3 The Thunderdome 3-0 (25–12, 25–14, 25–14) 221 2–0 — January 11 - vs. Missouri S&T* No. 3 The Thunderdome 3-0 (25–18, 25–21, 25–14) 157 3-0 — January 22 ESPN+ No. 5 BYU* No. 2 Bren Events CenterIrvine, California 3-2 (25–17, 21–25, 25–23, 24–26, 15–12) 1,518 4-0 — January 24 ESPN+ No. 5 BYU* No. 2 Bren Events Center 3-0 (25–21, 25–12, 25–19) 2,823 5-0 — January 31 ESPN+ at No. 9 Stanford* No. 2 Burnham PavilionStanford, California 3-0 (25–19, 25–20, 25–23) 824 6-0 —

February (4–3) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Sets Attendance Overall BWC February 1 ESPN+ at No. 9 Stanford* No. 2 Burnham Pavilion Stanford, California 3-0 (25–23, 25–18, 33–31) 1,423 7-0 — February 8 ESPN+ at Concordia Irvine* No. 2 CU Arena Irvine, California 3-1 (28–26, 25–17, 26–28, 25–15) 273 8-0 — February 12 ESPN+ No. 5 USC* No. 2 Bren Events Center 3-2 (25–20, 26–28, 25–21, 18–25, 26–24) 2,199 9-0 — February 14 ESPN+ & B1G+ at No. 5 USC* No. 2 Galen CenterLos Angeles, California 3-0 (25–18, 25–22, 25–21) 1,058 10-0 — February 19 ESPN+ No. 3 UCLA* No. 2 Bren Events Center 0-3 (22–25, 17–25, 23–25) 2,927 10-1 — February 22 B1G+ at No. 3 UCLA* No. 2 Pauley PavilionLos Angeles, California 2-3 (25–21, 21–25, 25–20, 14–25, 10–15) 2,512 10-2 — February 28 ESPN+ at No. 4 Hawai'i No. 3 Stan Sheriff CenterHonolulu, Hawai'i 0-3 (21–25, 24–26, 22–25) 7,849 10-3 0–1

March (5–2) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Sets Attendance Overall BWC March 2 ESPN+ at No. 4 Hawai'i No. 3 Stan Sheriff CenterHonolulu, Hawai'i 0-3 (22–25, 19–25, 20–25) 8,087 10-4 0–2 March 7 ESPN+ Pepperdine* No. 4 Bren Events Center 3-0 (25–17, 25–21, 25–19) 1,380 11-4 — March 8 ESPN+ Sacred Heart* No. 4 Bren Events Center 3-0 (25–17, 25–16, 25–13) 632 12-4 — March 21 ESPN+ Daemen* No. 5 Recreation Athletic ComplexFairfax, Virginia 3-0 (25-18, 25-18, 25-14 0 13-4 — March 22 ESPN+ George Mason* No. 5 Recreation Athletic ComplexFairfax, Virginia 3-0 (25–21, 25–17, 25–18) 875 14-4 — March 28 ESPN+ at No. 1 Long Beach State No. 5 Walter PyramidLong Beach, California 3-0 (27–25, 25–19, 25–19) 4,676 15-4 1–2 March 29 ESPN+ No. 1 Long Beach State No. 5 Bren Events Center 0-3 (23–25, 19–25, 27–29) 4,758 15-5 1–3

April (5-1) Date TV Opponent Rank Stadium Score Sets Attendance Overall BWC April 4 ESPN+ at No. 10 UC San Diego No. 4 Lion Tree ArenaLa Jolla, California 1-3 (25-23, 17-25, 22-25, 22-25) 1,195 15-6 1-4 April 5 ESPN+ No. 10 UC San Diego No. 4 Bren Events Center 3-0 (27-25, 25-21, 25-16) 1,581 16-6 2-4 April 10 ESPN+ at No. 18 UC Santa Barbara No. 5 The Thunderdome Santa Barbara, California 3-2 (25-19, 17-25, 19-25, 30-28, 15-12) 751 17-6 3-4 April 12 ESPN+ No. 18 UC Santa Barbara No. 5 Bren Events Center 3-0 (25-19, 25-17, 25-17) 1,612 18-6 4-4 April 17 ESPN+ No. 9 CSUN No. 4 Bren Events Center 3-0 (25-14, 25-16, 25-18) 1,843 19-6 5-4 April 19 ESPN+ at No. 9 CSUN No. 4 The MatadomeNorthridge, California 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 22-25, 25-18, 15-13) 362 20-6 6-4 |- ! colspan=2 style="" | Postseason (1–1)

{| class="wikitable collapsible collapsed" style="margin:auto; width:100%; text-align:center; font-size:95%" ! colspan=14 style="padding-left:4em;" | (1–1)https://bigwest.org/tournaments/?id=126 |- ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Date ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | TV ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Opponent ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Rank ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Stadium ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Score ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Sets ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Attendance ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Record ! bgcolor="#DDDDFF" | Postseason Record |-bgcolor="bbffbb" | April 24 || ESPN+ || vs. No. 9 CSUN (6) First Round || No. 4 (3) || Stan Sheriff CenterHonolulu, Hawai'i || 3-2 || (22-25, 25-18, 16-25, 25-23, 19-17) || 4,649 || 21-6 || 1-0 |-bgcolor="ffbbbb" | April 25 || ESPN+ || vs. No. 3 Hawai'i (2) Semifinals || No. 4 (3) || Stan Sheriff CenterHonolulu, Hawai'i || 1-3 || (21-25, 25-15, 21-25, 23-25) || 7,209 || 21-7 || 1-1

Awards and honors Regular season Source: All-Big West Team Honors Player Position Date awarded Offensive Player of the Week Hilir Henno Outside Hitter January 13, 2025 Offensive Player of the Week Nolan Flexen Outside Hitter January 27, 2025 Defensive Player of the Week & Freshman of the Week Micah Goss Middle Blocker January 27, 2025 Setter of the Week Joe Karlous Outside Hitter January 27, 2025 Offensive Player of the Week Hilir Henno Outside Hitter February 3, 2025 Setter of the Week Joe Karlous Outside Hitter February 3, 2025 Offensive Player of the Week Nolan Flexen Outside Hitter February 17, 2025 Defensive Player of the Week Maxim Grigoriev Middle Blocker February 17, 2025 Offensive Player of the Week Hilir Henno Outside Hitter March 10, 2025 Offensive Player of the Week Hilir Henno Outside Hitter March 24, 2025 Defensive Player of the Week Shane Aitken Libero April 14, 2025

Postseason

AVCA All-Americans Honors Player Position Date awarded First Team Hilir Henno Outside Hitter May 05, 2025 Second Team Nolan Flexen Outside Hitter May 05, 2025 Honorable Mention Shane Aitken Libero May 05, 2025 Honorable Mention William D'Arcy Outside Hitter May 05, 2025 Honorable Mention Micah Goss Middle Blocker May 05, 2025 Honorable Mention Maxim Grigoriev Middle Blocker May 05, 2025

All-Big West Team Honors Player Position Date awarded First Team Nolan Flexen Outside Hitter April 23, 2025 First Team Maxim Grigoriev Middle Blocker April 23, 2025 First Team Hilir Henno Outside Hitter April 23, 2025 Honorable Mention William D'Arcy Opposite Hitter April 23, 2025

Big West All-Freshman Team Honors Player Position Date awarded First Team Micah Goss Middle Blocker April 23, 2025

Rankings

References