Alex Nikolov Named Big West Freshman of the Year

4/26/2022 11:34:00 AM | Men's Volleyball

Nikolov’s outstanding rookie season has earned him Long Beach State’s third consecutive Big West Freshman of the Year award

By: Lindy Zamora, Associate Athletic Communications Director

IRVINE, Calif. – The Big West Conference announced the winners of its three major awards on Tuesday morning, and Long Beach State's Alex Nikolov took home Conference Freshman of the Year.

Long Beach State has now had a player named Big West Freshman of the Year in each of the last three seasons. Overall, the Beach have had seven players earn conference Freshman of the Year honors with four MPSF honorees and three Big West selections.

Nikolov, a true freshman outside hitter, has had a phenomenal freshman campaign thus far that, just last week, earned him Big West All-First Team accolades as well as a nod to the All-Freshman Team. He leads the nation in service aces per set as he averages 0.61 with a total of 57 aces this season which is the most aces ever tallied by a freshman at Long Beach State. Nikolov served up a career-high six aces in a single match at then-No. 10 UC San Diego. That total is tied for third most in LBSU single-match history.

The Sofia, Bulgaria native has dominated offensively as his 4.60 kills per set leads the Big West and ranks third in the nation. Last week at the Big West Conference Tournament, Nikolov slammed a career-high 28 kills in a four-set win over then-No. 14 UC Irvine. He has now recorded seven 20-plus kill performances this season.

Additionally, his hitting percentage of .385 also leads the Beach, while ranking second in the league and 16th in the country. Through 25 matches, Nikolov has hit .300 or higher in 20 contests this season with his highest output of .667 coming against then-No. 10 UC San Diego as he knocked down 13 kills on 18 swings, while committing just one attack error.

Nikolov's efficiency this season has been outstanding as he also leads the conference in attacks per set, with 8.81, while ranking in the Top 10 in the nation. Furthermore, his points per sets average of 5.56 tops the Big West and is good for second in the NCAA.

The 6-foot-8 Nikolov has led Long Beach State in kills in 22-of-25 matches, while recording double-figure kills on 23 occasions. Nikolov has also recorded a pair of double-doubles in his rookie season as he recorded 14 kills and 11 digs against Concordia, before logging 18 kills and a career-best 12 digs against then-No. 4 Hawaii.

Nikolov dominated the Big West Conference Freshman of the Week awards, collecting the honors an unprecedented eight times. He also took home the Conference Player of the Week honor twice (Jan. 24 and April 4) as he was just one of four players to win that award multiple times in 2022 and the only freshman to do so on more than one occasion. Lastly, Nikolov garnered national honors taking home the AVCA Player of the Week award on Jan. 25, just two weeks after his collegiate debut.

Nikolov joins the likes of previous Long Beach State conference Freshman of the Year honorees Scott Touzinsky (MPSF Co-Freshman of the Year in 2001), Tyler Hildebrand (MPSF Freshman of the Year in 2003), Mike Klipsch (MPSF Freshman of the Year in 2008), TJ DeFalco (MPSF Freshman of the Year in 2016), Mason Briggs (Co-Big West Freshman of the Year in 2020), and Clarke Godbold (Big West Freshman of the Year in 2021).