Nikolov, Varga Claim Weekly Big West Honors
3/24/2025 3:45:00 PM | Men's Volleyball
No. 1 Long Beach State takes three of four Big West awards heading into Black and Blue Rivalry matches this weekend.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman Moni Nikolov and junior Skyler Varga were once again honored with weekly Big West Awards as the conference office announced the winners for March 24.
No. 1 Long Beach State improved to 20-0 with a pair of wins over NJIT last weekend, and freshman setter Moni Nikolov once again proved to be a big reason why, earning Big West Freshman of the Week and Big West Setter of the Week. Leading Long Beach State to .380 hitting as a team, Nikolov made 63 assists while also contributing on his own to the offense, finishing with five aces in each match as well as making 15 total kills on .619 hitting.
Skyler Varga highlighted Long Beach State's defensive effort, as the Beach held NJIT to .054 hitting across seven total sets. Over two matches, Long Beach State finished with 34.5 total blocks with Varga playing a part in 14 of them, averaging 2.00 blocks per set at the net. The junior also finished with 13 total digs over the two matches, averaging just under 2.00 digs per set as well, sharing in the team lead in the opening match against the Highlanders.
Varga, last week's Offensive Player of the Week collects his second award of the season while Nikolov is named the Setter of the Week for the third time and the Freshman of the week for the fifth time this season.
Big West action truly begins to heat up this weekend, as the Black and Blue Rivalry takes center stage of the weekend's action for the conference. No. 1 Long Beach State will host No. 5 UC Irvine Friday, March 28 in the Walter Pyramid before heading to the Bren Events Center on Saturday, March 29.
No. 1 Long Beach State improved to 20-0 with a pair of wins over NJIT last weekend, and freshman setter Moni Nikolov once again proved to be a big reason why, earning Big West Freshman of the Week and Big West Setter of the Week. Leading Long Beach State to .380 hitting as a team, Nikolov made 63 assists while also contributing on his own to the offense, finishing with five aces in each match as well as making 15 total kills on .619 hitting.
Skyler Varga highlighted Long Beach State's defensive effort, as the Beach held NJIT to .054 hitting across seven total sets. Over two matches, Long Beach State finished with 34.5 total blocks with Varga playing a part in 14 of them, averaging 2.00 blocks per set at the net. The junior also finished with 13 total digs over the two matches, averaging just under 2.00 digs per set as well, sharing in the team lead in the opening match against the Highlanders.
Varga, last week's Offensive Player of the Week collects his second award of the season while Nikolov is named the Setter of the Week for the third time and the Freshman of the week for the fifth time this season.
Big West action truly begins to heat up this weekend, as the Black and Blue Rivalry takes center stage of the weekend's action for the conference. No. 1 Long Beach State will host No. 5 UC Irvine Friday, March 28 in the Walter Pyramid before heading to the Bren Events Center on Saturday, March 29.
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