Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Garners Five NVA/AVCA All-American Honors, Nikolov Named Newcomer of the Year
5/2/2022 8:30:00 AM | Men's Volleyball
Alex Nikolov and Mason Briggs earn First Team All-American accolades, while Clarke Godbold collects Second Team honors, and Aidan Knipe and Spencer Olivier garner Honorable Mention status
LONG BEACH, Calif. – The American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) announced the 2022 NVAAVCA Division I-II Men's Volleyball All-America Teams on Monday, and Long Beach State earned five selections. Freshman Alex Nikolov was named Newcomer of the Year, as well as to the All-America First Team along with sophomore Mason Briggs, while Clarke Godbold earned All-America Second Team Honors. Rounding out the group, Aidan Knipe and Spencer Olivier garnered All-America Honorable Mention status.
Nikolov, a true freshman, continues to rake in the awards. After having been named Big West Freshman of the Year as well as to the All-Big West First Team and All-Freshman Team, Nikolov can now add AVCA Newcomer of the Year and NVA/AVCA First Team All-American to his resume. The 6-foot-8 outside hitter has had an outstanding rookie season that has led Long Beach State into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
The Sofia, Bulgaria native leads the nation in service aces per set as he averages 0.61 with a total of 57 aces this season, marking the most aces ever recorded by a freshman at Long Beach State and just three shy of the program single-season record. Additionally, Nikolov has dominated offensively with 4.60 kills per set which leads the Big West and ranks him third in the nation. He owns a hitting percentage of .385, which also leads the Beach, while ranking him second in the league, and 16th in the country. He has led the Beach in kills 22 times, while recording double-figure kills on 23 occasions, and has registered seven 20-plus kill performances. Nikolov has recorded a pair of double-doubles as he tallied 14 kills and 11 digs against Concordia, before logging 18 kills and a career-best 12 digs against then-No. 4 Hawaii.
Briggs joins Nikolov on the AVCA All-American First Team as the sophomore libero was also named to the Big West All-First Team. The product out of Valencia, Calif., has been a key component to Long Beach State's success as he paces the defense with 2.63 digs per set, which leads the Big West and ranks him in the Top 5 in the country. Briggs has led the Beach in digs 19 times this season and has logged 12 double-digit dig performances.
Godbold collected AVCA All-American Second Team accolades as he turned in a solid sophomore campaign that saw him named to the Big West All-First Team. The 6-foot-5 opposite has been a stalwart at the net this season leading the squad in blocks with 0.93 per set, which ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West and in the Top 25 in the nation. In addition to his strong blocking defense, Godbold has also contributed offensively as he ranks third on the team in kills per set (2.84) and hitting percentage (.288). He has led LBSU in blocking eight times this season, while leading the Beach in kills twice. He has recorded 15 double-figure kill performances, including a career-high 17 kills in a sweep of then-No. 2 UCLA.
Knipe earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention status after posting an outstanding sophomore season in which he has piloted Long Beach State to a .351 team attack percentage, which leads the Big West and ranks second in the NCAA. Knipe has done an excellent job distributing the ball as he has registered 11.08 assists per set to lead the league and rank third in the country. With Knipe leading the way, Long Beach State has hit .300 or higher in 18-of-24 matches. When hitting over .300, the Beach are a perfect 18-0 on the year. Earlier this season, Knipe dished out a career-high 58 assists against then-No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. He recorded a double-double, the first of his collegiate career, against Concordia with 42 assists and 10 digs.
Rounding out the Long Beach All-Americans is Olivier who garnered an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selection. He was also named All-Big West Honorable Mention this season as well. The junior outside hitter is the Beach's second leading scorer as he averages 3.31 kills per set, which ranks him eighth in the conference and 35th in the nation. His attack percentage of .331 is good for eighth in the Big West and 27th in the country, while he ranks in the Top 10 in the conference with 3.79 points per set. Olivier has led the Beach in kills four times this season, while recording 17 double-digit kill performances, and one 20-plus kill showing. He has recorded a double-double on two separate occasions, first, against then-No. 7 USC with 12 kills and 10 digs, then against NJIT with 14 kills and 14 digs.
Long Beach State will take on the winner of the UCLA/Pepperdine match in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 5 at 5 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
Nikolov, a true freshman, continues to rake in the awards. After having been named Big West Freshman of the Year as well as to the All-Big West First Team and All-Freshman Team, Nikolov can now add AVCA Newcomer of the Year and NVA/AVCA First Team All-American to his resume. The 6-foot-8 outside hitter has had an outstanding rookie season that has led Long Beach State into the NCAA Tournament as the No. 1 overall seed.
The Sofia, Bulgaria native leads the nation in service aces per set as he averages 0.61 with a total of 57 aces this season, marking the most aces ever recorded by a freshman at Long Beach State and just three shy of the program single-season record. Additionally, Nikolov has dominated offensively with 4.60 kills per set which leads the Big West and ranks him third in the nation. He owns a hitting percentage of .385, which also leads the Beach, while ranking him second in the league, and 16th in the country. He has led the Beach in kills 22 times, while recording double-figure kills on 23 occasions, and has registered seven 20-plus kill performances. Nikolov has recorded a pair of double-doubles as he tallied 14 kills and 11 digs against Concordia, before logging 18 kills and a career-best 12 digs against then-No. 4 Hawaii.
Briggs joins Nikolov on the AVCA All-American First Team as the sophomore libero was also named to the Big West All-First Team. The product out of Valencia, Calif., has been a key component to Long Beach State's success as he paces the defense with 2.63 digs per set, which leads the Big West and ranks him in the Top 5 in the country. Briggs has led the Beach in digs 19 times this season and has logged 12 double-digit dig performances.
Godbold collected AVCA All-American Second Team accolades as he turned in a solid sophomore campaign that saw him named to the Big West All-First Team. The 6-foot-5 opposite has been a stalwart at the net this season leading the squad in blocks with 0.93 per set, which ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West and in the Top 25 in the nation. In addition to his strong blocking defense, Godbold has also contributed offensively as he ranks third on the team in kills per set (2.84) and hitting percentage (.288). He has led LBSU in blocking eight times this season, while leading the Beach in kills twice. He has recorded 15 double-figure kill performances, including a career-high 17 kills in a sweep of then-No. 2 UCLA.
Knipe earned AVCA All-American Honorable Mention status after posting an outstanding sophomore season in which he has piloted Long Beach State to a .351 team attack percentage, which leads the Big West and ranks second in the NCAA. Knipe has done an excellent job distributing the ball as he has registered 11.08 assists per set to lead the league and rank third in the country. With Knipe leading the way, Long Beach State has hit .300 or higher in 18-of-24 matches. When hitting over .300, the Beach are a perfect 18-0 on the year. Earlier this season, Knipe dished out a career-high 58 assists against then-No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. He recorded a double-double, the first of his collegiate career, against Concordia with 42 assists and 10 digs.
Rounding out the Long Beach All-Americans is Olivier who garnered an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selection. He was also named All-Big West Honorable Mention this season as well. The junior outside hitter is the Beach's second leading scorer as he averages 3.31 kills per set, which ranks him eighth in the conference and 35th in the nation. His attack percentage of .331 is good for eighth in the Big West and 27th in the country, while he ranks in the Top 10 in the conference with 3.79 points per set. Olivier has led the Beach in kills four times this season, while recording 17 double-digit kill performances, and one 20-plus kill showing. He has recorded a double-double on two separate occasions, first, against then-No. 7 USC with 12 kills and 10 digs, then against NJIT with 14 kills and 14 digs.
Long Beach State will take on the winner of the UCLA/Pepperdine match in the NCAA Semifinals on Thursday, May 5 at 5 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.
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