Audio By Carbonatix
Long Beach State setter Simeon ‘Moni’ Nikolov is the fastest-rising star in college volleyball this season— if not the biggest star, period. The true freshman recently broke the record for fastest serve in NCAA history and it looks like an absolute nightmare to try and receive.
To make it even cooler, he broke his own record from earlier this year by four miles per hour!
Nikolov is likely going to be named as the Freshman of the Year in college volleyball. It would be shocking if he does not win the award. The Bulgaria-native joined the Long Beach program during the offseason as one of the biggest phenoms in the sport on an international level and continues to live up to the hype. His father played professionally until 2016. His older brother plays for the Bulgarian National Team as a former AVCA National Player of the Year at the same school.
Moni Nikolov is a beast!
There is a high probability that Nikolov will turn pro after this season as a one-and-done college athlete with clubs from Russia, Italy and Poland already showing interest. We must appreciate his greatness while he is here. I have never seen a more dominant 18-year-old!
Long Beach State currently ranks as one of the top-three teams in the country. Moni Nikolov is a big reason why. He has a natural-born ability to see the court as a distributor, gets up above the block as a hitter when called upon, and provides a huge boost to the front row on defense at 6-foot-8.
Most setters are not typically as athletic in terms of their all-around skills but Nikolov is the complete package in all five facets of the game: pass, set, serve, hit and block. His biggest weapon is his serve.
Nikolov broke the NCAA record for fastest in-game serve against Lewis last month at 80 miles per hour.
He bested his own record at the Walter Pyramid against Vanguard last week. Moni Nikolov hit 84 miles per hour on the gun!
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Here’s another angle:
Even though the defense picked up Nikolov’s serve with an extremely impressive receive, the sheer speed behind his swing cannot be understated. The fastest serve in volleyball history — on any level — was clocked at 86 miles per hour. Long Beach State’s 18-year-old freshman is already right there.