Alex Nikolov Award Freshman of the Week Week Of 3/21/2022 Sport Men's Volleyball School Long Beach State Year Freshman Position Outside Hitter Hometown Sofia, Bulgaria High School Vasil Levski Sport School Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov joined his setter, Aidan Knipe, in producing his first collegiate double-double during No. 3 Long Beach State’s home sweep over Concordia Irvine last Friday night. Nikolov put down 14 kills on .250 (14-6-32) hitting with match highs of 11 digs, five service aces, three block assists (tied) and 20.5 total points. He reached double digits in digs for the first time, with the five aces equalling his season best. Nikolov, like Spencer Olivier, is one of three Beach players to start all 15 contests. He has registered double-figure kill totals in 13 of them, and leads his team in both kills (231) and aces (37), with 21 of those aces coming over the past six matches. The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, is now a five-time Big West Freshman of the Week, having earned three prior awards consecutively beginning Jan. 24, and another on March 7. Nikolov was also the Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 21.