Long Beach State's Bulgarian setter, Moni Nikolov, achieved an unprecedented feat in US collegiate volleyball! On Tuesday, the Big West conference individual awards were announced, andNikolov was simultaneously named Player of the Year and Freshman of the Year!
This makes Moni Nikolov the first freshman in history to win the Player of the Year award in Big West Conference men's volleyball.
"Receiving either of these individual awards is a huge honor and very difficult to achieve," said Long Beach State head coach Alan Knipe. "To be recognized with both in the same year is rare. Moni is a very unique volleyball player and competitor."
The 208 cm tall setter had an outstanding debut season, which also earned him a spot on the Big West First All-Star Team. With his 9.99 assists per game, which ranks him 14th in the country, he led the No. 1 Long Beach State offense to a nation-leading .396 hitting percentage before the start of the NCAA tournament.
In addition to orchestrating the offense, the Sofia native is phenomenal from the service line. Moni Nikolov set new Long Beach State and Big West Conference records for aces in a single season with 94. With this achievement, he is only seven aces away from setting the all-time NCAA record! His 0.94 aces per game make him No. 1 in the nation, and his team also leads the country in aces per game with 2.21. Long Beach State set a program record with 221 aces this season.
Nikolov is also a very strong all-around player, averaging 1.53 points from attack, 1.48 digs, and 0.77 blocks per game, with a .396 hitting percentage. His dig and block stats place him in the conference's Top 10.
He was named Big West Setter of the Week three times and Freshman of the Week seven times. He led the team in digs nine times and in blocks three times, and also had three "double-doubles" during the season. His personal records include 51 assists, 16 digs, 8 aces (the second-best achievement in club history), 10 points from attack, and 7 blocks.
Moni Nikolov will lead No. 1 Long Beach State in the NCAA tournament on Thursday, May 8, at 2:00 PM Pacific Time (Friday, May 9, at 12:00 AM Bulgarian Time), when "The Beach" will face No. 8 Fort Valley State in the quarterfinals.
