Alex Nikolov, Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week Freshman • Outside Hitter • Sofia, Bulgaria

• True freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led No. 5 Long Beach State to a 3-0 record last week with wins over Erskine (3-0), No. 7 Lewis (3-1), and No. 9 Loyola-Chicago (3-0) to claim his first set of Big West weekly awards.  

• The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, finished the week averaging 3.90 kills per set on a .417 attack percentage to go along with 1.20 digs and 0.40 aces per set.  

• Nikolov kicked off the week with an 11-kill performance against Erskine in which he hit .500 (11-2-18) and added six digs and two aces. He continued his hot hitting on the road when he led the Beach with 16 kills on a .364 hitting (16-4-33) in a top-10 battle Lewis. Nikolov finished the week with 12 kills on a .429 clip (12-2-21) at Loyola-Chicago, while adding five digs and an ace.
• He was also named AVCA National Player of the Week for his efforts.

Also nominated: Kyle McCauley (UC San Diego), Francesco Sani (UC Irvine), Haotian Xia (UC Santa Barbara)

Clarke Godbold, Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week Sophomore • Opposite Hitter • San Pedro, Calif.

• Long Beach State’s Clarke Godbold earned Defensive Player of the Week as he helped guide the Beach to a 3-0 record against Erskine, No. 7 Lewis, and No. 9 Loyola-Chicago.  

• He was a force at the net with a total of 13 blocks to average 1.30 blocks per set, while also adding 1.40 digs per set. Solid on the attack as well, Godbold averaged 3.40 kills per set on .406 hitting.  

• The sophomore opposite hitter’s blocking defense was huge for the Beach as he posted five blocks against Erskine, four at Lewis, and four at Loyola-Chicago. Godbold’s efforts helped keep Long Beach State’s opponents off balance all week as they hit a combined .159 in the three matches. 

• Godbold was twice named Big West Freshman of the Week in 2021 (April 5, April 12). This is his first career defensive weekly nod. 

Also nominated: Connor Campbell (UC Irvine), Donovan Todorov (UC Santa Barbara)

Alex Nikolov, Long Beach State Men’s Volleyball Freshman of the Week Freshman • Outside Hitter • Sofia, Bulgaria

• True freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led No. 5 Long Beach State to a 3-0 record last week with wins over Erskine (3-0), No. 7 Lewis (3-1), and No. 9 Loyola-Chicago (3-0) to claim his first set of Big West weekly awards.  

• The native of Sofia, Bulgaria, finished the week averaging 3.90 kills per set on a .417 attack percentage to go along with 1.20 digs and 0.40 aces per set.  

• Nikolov kicked off the week with an 11-kill performance against Erskine in which he hit .500 (11-2-18) and added six digs and two aces. He continued his hot hitting on the road when he led the Beach with 16 kills on a .364 hitting (16-4-33) in a top-10 battle Lewis. Nikolov finished the week with 12 kills on a .429 clip (12-2-21) at Loyola-Chicago, while adding five digs and an ace.

• He was also named AVCA National Player of the Week for his efforts.

Also nominated: GHilir Henno (UC Irvine)

2022 Big West Weekly Award Winners