Long Beach State University
20-0,2-0Big West
NJIT
7-12,2-2EIVA
Moni Nikolov Leads No. 1 Men’s Volleyball To Sweep Over NJIT
3/22/2025 9:07:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
The freshman setter had another outstanding all-around night with eight kills, five aces and four blocks to go with 28 assists.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman Moni Nikolov had another stellar night to keep No. 1 Long Beach State undefeated as the Beach swept NJIT in the second match with the Highlanders, a 25-18, 25-13, 25-20 victory.
Nikolov guided Long Beach State to .382 hitting with 28 assists while making eight kills of his own on .636 hitting, adding five aces and four blocks to total a team high 15 points on the night. Skyler Varga was the team leader with 10 kills while Daniil Hershtynovich was second with nine on the night. Defensively, the Beach finished with 12.5 blocks as a team, holding NJIT to .044 hitting while making 25 digs, with Hershtynovich and Sebastian Rodriguez each making six to lead LBSU.
Long Beach State (20-0, 2-0 Big West) went on a 3-0 run keyed by a block from Nikolov and Ben Braun to open up an 11-8 lead over NJIT (7-12) in the first set. A kill from DiAeris McRaven extended the lead to 18-12, and the Beach closed out the first set 25-18 with a Varga kill, one of five for the junior in the set.
The Highlanders took the early lead on the second set before Ben Braun's block put the Beach ahead 4-2. Back-to-back aces by Nikolov forced a timeout by NJIT as LBSU opened a seven-point lead, 10-3. The Beach continued to push as Nikolov hit a kill on an overpass extending the lead, 18-8. Varga's service ace gave the Beach the set point, 24-12. Daniil Hershtynovich's block closed the second set with the Beach winning 25-13 as Long Beach State made seven blocks in the set while giving up just four kills in a dominant second.
Nikolov continued to impress on the service line getting his fourth ace of the match to help the Beach open a 6-3 lead early on the third set. NJIT was able to tie the set at 11-11, but two kills from Nikolov helped Long Beach State open up a four-point cushion at 20-16, and the Beach finished off the match with the fifth ace of the night from Nikolov.
With the sweep against NJIT, the Beach improved to 20-0 on the year. The Beach is back at the Walter Pyramid to host No. 5 UC Irvine for conference play Friday night. The match is schedule for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.
