Hawaii beach volleyball team gets AVCA, Big West postseason awards

The Hawaii beach volleyball team has been fully furnished with conference and national postseason awards heading into the NCAA Tournament.

On the eve of their first-round matchup against Loyola Marymount in Gulf Shores, Ala., the Rainbow Wahine received a haul of American Volleyball Coaches Association and Big West Conference honors.

UH’s top pair of Jaime Santer and Alana Embry was named to the AVCA All-America second team after going 24-11 in 2024. Santer, of Toronto, and Embry, of Poway, Calif., became the 13^th and 14^th All-Americans in program history. The most recent were Brooke Van Sickle and Kaylee Glagau.

In addition, UH’s pairs at the No. 4 and 5 courts, Riley Wagoner/Sydney Amiatu and Anna Maidment/Sydney Miller received AVCA Top Flight status. To be eligible, a pair has to compete in at least 15 dual matches at that flight and win 75% of its matches at that flight.

Wagoner, of Dublin, Ohio, and Amiatu, of Oceanside, Calif., went 21-6 at the fourth flight, including the match against Long Beach State for the Big West championship.

Maidment, of Winnipeg, Canada, and Miller, of San Diego, Calif., went 16-4 at the fifth flight and have lined up at the third flight in recent weeks.

The Big West’s postseason awards were also announced Thursday, with third-year program leader Evan Silberstein named BWC Co-Coach of the Year for the second time.

Silberstein encouraged a mantra of “fail fast, fail forward” during the season so the team could grow from its early setbacks. UH started 0-5 with a winless weekend at the Outrigger Duke Kahanamoku Beach Classic in February, a sequence that included a loss to LMU.

“Even all the way up until the Big West (championships), we were talking to them about three things,” Silberstein said. “Connection … composed … and stay curious. I think that element of curiosity and adaptability has been really helpful for us. Living those in the high-pressure moments has really panned out and put us in a position of success. We’re just stoked for everything that has happened up ‘til now.”

Santer/Embry and Wagoner/Amiatu were named to the All-BWC first team, while Maidment/Miller and Pani Napoleon/Glagau were named honorable mentions.

Cal Poly’s Todd Rogers was the BWC’s other Co-Coach of the Year.

Ninth-seeded UH (24-11) faces eighth-seeded LMU (27-13) for the third straight NCAA Tournament starting 7 a.m. Hawaii time Friday.

“We’re prepared, we’re hungry,” Napoleon told Hawaii media before the team departed for Alabama this week. “Honestly, we’re glad that we’re playing against them again because it gives us another opportunity to get our revenge.”

Evan Silberstein, middle, was named a Big West Coach of the Year for the second time. (Spectrum News/Brian McInnis)

Brian McInnis covers the state’s sports scene for Spectrum News Hawaii. He can be reached at brian.mcinnis@charter.com.