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Add one more award to the freshman campaign of Long Beach State outside attacker Alex Nikolov.
Off the Block announced Monday that a nationwide voting committee selected Nikolov as the 2022 Off the Block National Server of the Year.
The Off the Block National Server of the Year is an annual award that recognizes the top individual serving performance from a NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball player during the regular season.
Nikolov finished the season second in the nation with a 0.58 aces per game average and set a single-season school record during the 25-point rally scoring era with 59 aces. The freshman had multiple aces in 17 matches, including a season-high six aces in a road conference match against UC San Diego.
The voting committee for the National Server of the Year was comprised of about 20 members. The top three vote-getters were named finalists for the National Server of the Year.
Nikolov received 49 votes and edged out Hawai’i setter Jakob Thelle by 12 votes for this regular season award. Penn State opposite Cal Fisher, the 2021 National Server of the Year, finished in third place with eight votes.
This is the 10th year that Off the Block has presented the National Server of the Year.
Off the Block is a national award winning website that launched in 2011 and is the nation’s leader in college men’s volleyball coverage.
2022 National Server of the Year voting results
1. Alex Nikolov, Long Beach State – 49 votes
2. Jakob Thelle, Hawai’i – 27 votes
3. Cal Fisher, Penn State – 8 votes
4. Quinn Isaacson, Ball State – 4 votes
T-5. Camden Gianni, Grand Canyon – 3 votes
T-5. Kyle McCauley, UC San Diego – 3 votes
7. Shaun Kampshoff, Tusculum – 2 votes