The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The Long Beach State men’s volleyball team had just finished sweeping UC Irvine on the Anteaters’ home floor. As game officials and other personnel filtered away from the court, something unique happened: fans streamed down the stairs and formed a ring around the entire court, five rows deep. They jostled against each other, their phones out looking for a selfie; others held Sharpies and tried to get better position for an autograph.
No, there wasn’t a pop star or actor on hand. This crowd was there hoping for an up-close glimpse of an NCAA men’s volleyball player.
Longtime LBSU assistant coach Andy Read shook his head with a wry smile. “Moni Mania,” he said with a chuckle.
Indeed, even though the Beach was playing on the road, hundreds of fans were hoping to get a second of face time with Long Beach State’s freshman setter, the Bulgarian sensation Moni Nikolov.
“I’ve never seen anything like it in men’s volleyball, or really even honestly at Long Beach State,” said LBSU head coach Alan Knipe.
Nikolov is arguably the best player in the nation despite being 18 years old. Standing at 6-foot-8, he’s a rare athletic specimen for a setter. Think Magic Johnson as a tall point guard or Shohei Ohtani as a power-hitting pitcher. That’s how rare of an athlete Nikolov is–with soft hands able to set the ball incredibly well, but the imposing height and physicality of an outside hitter.
The stats tell the story. Nikolov is capable of hitting serves in the 80-miles per hour range, speeds never before hit from a collegiate end-line. He has a nation-best 86 aces this year, with .925 aces per set (which would be an NCAA record). The 86 aces are 21 more than second-best Hilir Henno, the reigning National Player of the Year and a senior for the Anteaters.
Nikolov’s 86 aces is even more ridiculous considering that that the 26-2 Beach have swept 23 of their 28 matches, limiting his opportunities to score from the service line.
He’s just as good as a setter, sitting at No. 9 in the nation with 917 assists despite all those sweeps–only two players above him have a higher assist per set number. And he’s guided the unanimous No. 1 Beach squad to a nation-best .399 hitting percentage on the year, with the second-fewest hitting errors of any team in the nation.
Nikolov is also a threat to get a kill or a block himself because of his size, his vertical leap, and his physicality.
“He’s just something that you’ve never really seen in our sport,” said Knipe. “I hope it’s showing everyone how special this game is and how fast it’s evolving worldwide.”
The stats are one reason the crowd is there to see Nikolov every time–with road matches selling out in Irvine, Chicago, Hawaii, and just about everywhere else the Beach has traveled in addition to several program-record sellouts at home this year in the Walter Pyramid. But his older brother, Alex Nikolov, also had dominant stats during his National Player of the Year campaign for the Beach a few seasons ago, when he became the first freshman to be named NPOY in men’s volleyball history.
What Moni has that Alex didn’t is true star power, with millions of followers on social media and viral clips breaking out of nearly every match. During a match in Chicago earlier this year, Nikolov hit a serve over 80 mph for an ace, and a clip went viral of the opposing team looking at each other astounded after it hit the floor. Following the match, a mob of fans pressed to meet Nikolov, who happily signed autographs and took pictures for a long while until finally giving a nod to assistant coach McKay Smith that it was time to go.
“Part of my job this year is just making sure we can get him out when he’s ready to go,” said Smith. “It’s pretty cool for men’s volleyball–I’ve never seen anything like it.”
Smith isn’t the only LBSU employee that’s been conscripted into Moni security duty. Associate AD Roger Kirk normally has a pretty relaxed job escorting players to the post-match press conferences. This year he’s had to physically remove Tik Tokers from Nikolov a few times in order to usher the star player of the court at the Pyramid.
How is Nikolov handling being at the center of this whirlwind? He acknowledged that it’s been difficult to adjust to at times, but also welcomed it.
“Man it’s crazy, but it’s what sports is about. If you’re a great player people enjoy watching you, and I want to thank everybody that comes out and supports us. It really means a lot–it feels good and it helps motivate me to play harder.”
There are a few more chances for Nikolov to play during this sensational freshman season. The Beach are in Hawaii this week for the Big West Tournament on Friday and Saturday before hopefully advancing to the NCAA Tournament in Columbus, OH in two weeks.
