Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego  Men's Volleyball Offensive Player of the Week  Senior • Outside Hitter • Huntington Beach, Calif.

• Senior outside hitter Kyle McCauley was spectacular in leading ninth-ranked UC San Diego to a home-and-home sweep of then-13th-ranked UC Irvine, averaging 6.06 points and 5.22 kills with a .407 (47-14-81) hitting percentage, six aces and 14 digs.
• In Friday night’s four-setter in La Jolla, McCauley put down a match-high 26 kills, one off his career best, at a season-best .465 (26-6-43) clip. He added six digs and a pair of aces for a career-high-tying 28 points. The Huntington Beach product then compiled a team-high 21 kills on .342 (21-8-38) hitting during Saturday’s five-set thriller in Irvine, to go alongside eight more digs, three blocks and a match-high four aces.
• McCauley has now reached the 20-kill mark five times this season, including in each of his last three matches. He has started all 17 contests he has appeared in, missing just one, and registered double-figure kill totals in every one.
• This is McCauley’s third Big West weekly recognition this year, having also been named Offensive Player of the Week on Feb. 14 and March 7, and fifth for his career, with two awards during the 2020 campaign.

Also nominated: Spyros Chakas (Hawai’i), Aidan Knipe (Long Beach State), Francesco Sani (UC Irvine)

Mason Briggs, Long Beach State  Men's Volleyball Defensive Player of the Week  Sophomore • Libero • Valencia, Calif.

• Mason Briggs anchored the defense from his libero position during then-third-ranked Long Beach State’s weekend sweep over No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, collecting 27 digs for an average of 3.86 per set.
• The Valencia product recorded a match-high 13 digs in Friday night’s four-set home victory, and added another match-best 14 in Saturday’s straight-set triumph in Santa Barbara. In addition, Briggs picked up 30 errorless receptions in the back row for the weekend, and four set assists.
• Briggs now has eight double-digit dig efforts this season, and 20 for his college career.
• Briggs is a first-time Big West weekly honoree. Long Beach State is 14-3 on the season with four consecutive wins, and tied atop The Big West standings with Hawai’i, each at 3-1.

Also nominated: Shane Benetz (UC San Diego), Cole Power (UC Irvine), Guilherme Voss (Hawai’i)

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

• Freshman outside hitter Alex Nikolov led then-third-ranked Long Beach State to a weekend sweep of No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, tallying a remarkable 40 kills over seven frames for an average of 5.71 per set. He attacked at a .359 (40-12-78) rate and added 11 digs, three block assists and three set assists.
• The native of Sofia, Bulgaria first produced a match-high 23 kills, one shy of his career best, and hit .450 (23-5-40) with five digs and three blocks at home on Friday. The next night in Santa Barbara, Nikolov contributed another match high of 17 kills, six digs and three assists.
• Nikolov is one of three Beach players to start all 17 matches, and has registered double-figure kill totals in 15 of them. He leads his team in both kills (271) and aces (37).
• Nikolov is a six-time Big West Freshman of the Week, having earned three prior awards consecutively beginning Jan. 24, another on March 7, and now two more in a row. He was also the Offensive Player of the Week on Jan. 24.

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Also nominated: Bianchi Geste (UC Santa Barbara), Hilir Henno (UC Irvine)

2022 Big West Weekly Award Winners