Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Sweeps Big West Men’s Volleyball Weekly Awards
1/24/2022 3:22:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
Alex Nikolov is named Offensive and Freshman Player of the Week, while Clarke Godbold earns Defensive Player of the Week honors
IRVINE, Calif. – The No. 3 Long Beach State Men's Volleyball team went 3-0 last week and swept the Big West Conference Weekly Awards as freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov was named Offensive Player of the Week as well as Freshman of the Week, and sophomore opposite Clarke Godbold claimed Defensive Player of the Week accolades.
Nikolov, a true freshman, led the Beach to three victories last week against Erskine (3-0), No. 7 Lewis (3-1), and No. 9 Loyola Chicago (3-0) en route to claiming his first set of Big West weekly awards. The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria finished the week averaging 3.90 kills per set on a .417 attack percentage to go along with 1.20 digs per set and 0.40 aces per set.
He kicked off the week with an 11-kill performance against Erskine at home in which he hit .500 (11-2-18), while adding six digs and two aces. Nikolov continued his hot hitting on the road as he led the Beach with 16 kills on a .364 clip (16-4-33) in a four-set battle with Lewis. He finished the week with 12 kills on .429 hitting (12-2-21) at Loyola Chicago, while also adding five digs and an ace.
Godbold was named Defensive Player of the Week as he was a force at the net with a total of 13 blocks to average 1.30 blocks per set, while also adding 1.40 digs per set. Godbold played well on both sides of the ball averaging 3.40 kills per set on a .406 attack percentage.
The sophomore opposite posted five blocks against Erskine, four at Lewis, and another four at Loyola Chicago. With Godbold patrolling the net, the Beach kept their opponents off balance all week as they were only able to muster a combined .159 hitting percentage.
This is Godbold's first career Defensive Player of the Week award. Last season, he was named Big West Freshman of the Week on two separate occasions.
Nikolov, Godbold, and the Beach will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 28 when they host No. 9 Ohio State at 6 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
Nikolov, a true freshman, led the Beach to three victories last week against Erskine (3-0), No. 7 Lewis (3-1), and No. 9 Loyola Chicago (3-0) en route to claiming his first set of Big West weekly awards. The product out of Sofia, Bulgaria finished the week averaging 3.90 kills per set on a .417 attack percentage to go along with 1.20 digs per set and 0.40 aces per set.
He kicked off the week with an 11-kill performance against Erskine at home in which he hit .500 (11-2-18), while adding six digs and two aces. Nikolov continued his hot hitting on the road as he led the Beach with 16 kills on a .364 clip (16-4-33) in a four-set battle with Lewis. He finished the week with 12 kills on .429 hitting (12-2-21) at Loyola Chicago, while also adding five digs and an ace.
Set 3 | Alex Nikolov knocks down his 10th kill of the match! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/hTeKG6K0Qo
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 18, 2022
Godbold was named Defensive Player of the Week as he was a force at the net with a total of 13 blocks to average 1.30 blocks per set, while also adding 1.40 digs per set. Godbold played well on both sides of the ball averaging 3.40 kills per set on a .406 attack percentage.
The sophomore opposite posted five blocks against Erskine, four at Lewis, and another four at Loyola Chicago. With Godbold patrolling the net, the Beach kept their opponents off balance all week as they were only able to muster a combined .159 hitting percentage.
Set 2 | ROOF! Marc Moody and Clarke Godbold team up for the block #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/2Z0dM7LLl7
— Long Beach State Men's VB (@lbsumvb) January 18, 2022
This is Godbold's first career Defensive Player of the Week award. Last season, he was named Big West Freshman of the Week on two separate occasions.
Nikolov, Godbold, and the Beach will be back in action on Friday, Jan. 28 when they host No. 9 Ohio State at 6 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.
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