Sakanoko leads UH’s Big West awards haul
Louis Sakanoko cramped up so bad in Friday’s five-set win over Long Beach State, he had to sub out in the third set and didn’t come back. Tread Rosenthal hit the floor multiple times dealing with a cramp and was effectively playing on one leg to end the match. It didn’t keep either player from picking up conference awards on Monday as the Rainbow Warriors were rewarded after picking up their first two wins over Long Beach State in the Pyramid in more than a decade.
Sakanoko, a junior outside hitter from Paris, was named the Big West Offensive Player of the Week. Rosenthal earned his 13th career Big West Setter of the Week award and junior libero Quintin Greenidge earned his third Big West Defensive Player of the Week nod. Sakanoko hit .
571 for the series and averaged 3. 83 kills per set with only four hitting errors in 35 attempts. He also had four blocks and two aces.
Sakanoko was especially impressive in Saturday’s sweep of the Beach, with 15 kills in 19 swings with only one error. He increased his hitting percentage to . 376 for the season, which ranks third in the Big West and 14th nationally.
Defensively, he successfully passed all 17 serves he received against the No. 1 team in the country in aces per set coming in. “The serve receive was really good,” Hawaii coach Charlie Wade said after the win.