2023 Highlights

UCI ended the year 18-11 overall and 6-4 in The Big West, good for third place.
 
The Anteaters were ranked fifth nationally in the final poll.
 
The Anteaters ended the season beating CSUN and upending No. 4 Long Beach State, 3-0 to advance to the Big West Championship match. UCI would end up falling to then-No. 1 Hawaii, 3-1.
 
UCI ranked fourth in the country in aces with a 1.80 per set average. They were also 12th in hitting percentage (.313), ninth in assists (11.84), 13th in kills (12.38) and 14^th in blocks (2.20).

The Anteaters owned two of the top three hitting percentages in the Big West, including the top mark of .592 at Concordia and third with a .542 performance at UC San Diego.

UCI shared the top spot for most digs in a match with 61 and in aces, firing 13 three times, against Pepperdine, Penn State and UC Santa Barbara.
 
HIGHLIGHTING HENNO
Sophomore Hilir Henno had a record-breaking season from the service line, now sitting on top of the season and match records for aces for not only UCI but the Big West.  
 
He ended the year with 87 aces, a new record and the second most in the NCAA all-time for a single season. The outside hitter fired a career-high nine aces against Penn State, which was tied for the most in the country this year.
 
In his short two-year career, he has accumulated 132 aces, good for third at UCI all-time and just two off of UCSB's Ryan Wilcox's Big West all-time mark of 135.
 
The outside hitter led the nation in ace average (.880) and ended the season ranked ninth in the country in points (4.56) and 30^th in kills (3.46).
 
Henno was named first team All-America and first team All-Big West. Henno is the first Anteater to be honored on the All-American first team since 2015.
 
SOMETHING ABOUT SANI
Opposite Francesco Sani was honored as a second team All-American and first team All-Big West selection.
 
He ranked eighth in points per set (4.72), 13^th in kills (3.9) and 14^th in aces (.444) nationally. The junior recorded double-figure kills in all but three matches this season, including 20 or more seven times. He posted a season-best 26 kills, while his 23 kills against CSUN were the second most in the country this season in a three-set match.
 
Sani has recorded 965 kills in his career which ranks 13^th among NCAA players.

GRIGORIEV PICKS UP TOP HONOR
Middle blocker Maxim Grigoriev was named the Big West Freshman of the Year, becoming the fifth conference Newcomer of the Year in program history (Carson Clark, Brent Asuka, Scott Stadick, Joel Schneidmiller).

He was named to the Big West All-Freshman Team after averaging 1.03 kills and 1.02 blocks over 60 sets. He was ranked fourth among Big West players in blocking, recording at least one block in all but one match he played in. Grigoriev totaled a career-high seven block assists versus BYU then had a season-best eight total blocks with one solo and seven assisted in Big West Championship match against Hawaii.

Offensively, Grigoriev had a career-best 10 kills at Concordia and hit a season-best .727, going errorless with eight kills on 11 swings at UC San Diego. He hit an efficient .463 (62-12-108) in his first collegiate season.
 
SENIOR SALUTE
Outside hitter Cole Gillis and middle blocker Doug Dahm rounded out their Anteater careers with another impressive year of contributions.
 
Gillis ranked third in the Big West and 31st nationally in hitting percentage (.326). The outside hitter owned the top hitting mark in the NCAA with a minimum of 20 attempts, knocking down an .800 (16-0-20) clip at Concordia. He hit over .500 six times this season. Gillis, who ranked 14^th in kills (2.53) and 13^th in points (3.07) among Big West players, totaled a season-high 16 kills against Concordia, recording double-figure kills 13 times in 2023. He was third on the team with 26 aces. He graduated with a degree in political science, earning CSC Academic All-District Team, Dean's List, Big West All-Academic and Scholar-Athlete distinction. 
 
Dahm, who played outside and in the middle throughout his career, averaged 0.95 blocks this season. He rejected a career-high seven block assists three times in his career, including this season against Pepperdine. He posted a personal-best eight total blocks versus George Mason in 2022 and a career-high 14 kills versus Long Beach State in 2021. Doug will graduate in June with a degree in mechanical engineering, joining Gillis on the CSC Academic All-District Team, Dean's List, Big West All-Academic and Scholar-Athlete lists, while also earning the Dean's Choice Award. 
 
UCI also honored Patrick Vorenkamp, a valuable member of the Anteater team, who did not compete in 2023.
 
KARLOUS EFFECT
Setter Joe Karlous had an immediate impact this season, guiding UCI to a .313 team hitting percentage, the best for the Anteaters since 2019. The team had a .400 or better hitting percentage six times, including a .592 clip versus Concordia, the second best mark in the country and tops for a Big West team this season.

The junior was fifth in the Big West, averaging 9.21 set assists per set as well as sixth in digs with a 1.83 mark. He had five double-doubles, including a career-high 16 digs against Penn State and was named All-Big West honorable mention.

POWER-FUL
Libero Cole Power was fourth in the Big West in dig average with a 2.01 mark. He had eight double-digit dig performances in 2023, including a career-high 18 versus Penn State which were the second most by a Big West player this season.

The 18 digs were also tied for 14th best among NCAA players this season.

AWARDS CENTRAL
Hilir Henno was named AVCA National Player of the Week on Jan. 10 and Big West Offensive Player of the Week twice on Jan. 9 and Mar. 20.
 
Francesco Sani was honored as AVCA National Player of the Week on (Apr. 3) and joined Cole Gillis (Jan. 23) being named Big West Offensive Player of the Week this season.
 
Cole Power (Jan. 9) and Joe Karlous (Mar. 20) were tabbed Big West Defensive Player of the Week.
 
UCI claimed five of the 15 Big West Freshman of the Week honors. Maxim Grigoriev garnered the award three times (Mar. 13, Mar. 20, Apr. 3) and William D'Arcy twice (Jan. 16, Feb. 13).
 
Off The Block honored Karlous as National Setter of the Week (Jan. 9), Sani as Opposite of the Week (Mar. 21), Henno as National Attacker of the Week twice (Feb. 13, Mar. 6) and Power as National Libero of the Week (Mar. 6).
 
Henno and Sani were selected to the Big West Men's Volleyball Preseason Coaches' Team.
 
Henno was recently named the Off The Block National Server of the Year. He received 102 votes – more than double of the combined vote total of the other two finalists. Penn State opposite Cal Fisher, the 2021 National Server of the Year, finished in second with 23 votes, and Princeton outside attacker Ben Harrington garnered 16 votes. He was also a finalists for OTB's 2023 Nicolas Szerszen Award given to the top international player with Hawaii's Dimitrios Mouchlias and Jakob Thelle.