259 days later, University of Hawaii’s Charlie Wade gets coach of the year honor

STEVEN ERLER / SPECIAL TO THE STAR-ADVERTISER

The AVCA announced on Wednesday that University of Hawaii’s Charlie Wade was 2019 coach of the year

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There was an elephant in the room last May 1 at the Long Beach Convention Center.

Long Beach State’s TJ DeFalco was recognized as the national player of the year and all the other All-Americans in attendance — including five from Hawaii — were recognized.

Normally, the national coach and assistant coach also would be honored but the American Volleyball Coaches Association had announced earlier in the week that the two awards would be given out at a later date. It was apparent to most that both awards were going to go to Hawaii head coach Charlie Wade and Rainbow Warrior assistant Josh Walker, the delay due to an ongoing investigation into Wade by the U.S. Center for SafeSport over a sexual misconduct allegation while he was a club coach in the 1990s.

On Monday, SafeSport announced that its 17-month investigation had concluded with no finding, closing the case, and USA Volleyball removed Wade from its interim-measure suspension list. On Wednesday, some 259 days after that banquet in Long Beach, Calif., the AVCA announced that Wade was the 2019 coach of the year.

Walker’s award was announced Sept. 18 and he was able to receive it at the national coaches convention last month in Pittsburgh. It was a first for the Warrior program.

It is the third time that a Hawaii head coach received the top award. Mike Wilton won it in 1995 and 2002. The top-ranked Warriors (5-0) are in Illinois, where they will play No. 5 Lewis on Friday.

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Last season — Wade’s 10th — Hawaii went 28-3, losing in the NCAA title match to Long Beach State. The Warriors set NCAA records for consecutive sets won (74) and hitting percentage (.435) while winning a program record 25 matches in a row. Wade was unavailable for comment.

Hawaii had a record four players named to the 2019 All-American first team in senior hitter Stijn van Tilburg, setter Joe Worsley, junior opposite Rado Parapunov and sophomore libero Gage Worsley. Junior middle Patrick Gasman was named to the second team.