For the second consecutive week, a University of Hawaiʻi men’s volleyball player earned the Big West’s Freshman of the Week award after Louis Sakanoko received the honor following UH‘s two-match series sweep of Emannuel.
The Paris, France native made his UH debut in the series and tied the program’s single-match record with nine aces in the team’s straight-set win in the series finale. He tied the mark held by Costas Theocharidis in 2002. Sakanoko made his first career start in the match against Emannuel and also recorded eight kills, two digs, and one block, while hitting .385.
In the series opener, the opposite tallied two kills, three aces, and three digs in two sets played. For the series, he totaled 12 aces in five sets (2.40/set) and also averaged 2.00 kills and 1.00 digs per set.
Sakanoko joined the team one week prior to the start of the season and in time for the spring semester. The rising star has been a member of France’s national program including the U22 National Team which recently qualified for the European Championship.
Last week, setter Tread Rosenthal received Freshman of the Week honors following UH‘s series split with No. 10 ranked Loyola Chicago. The Rainbow Warriors return to action next week with three road matches in four days at Purdue, Fort Wayne (January 25–26) and at Ball State (January 28).
For more visit HawaiiAthletics.com.
