It didn’t take long for Long Beach State freshman setter Moni Nikolov to become the top setter in college men’s volleyball.
Off the Block announced Friday that a nationwide voting committee selected Nikolov as the recipient of the 2025 Lloy Ball Award.
The Lloy Ball Award, which is named after the former Purdue Fort Wayne All-American and U.S. Olympian setter, is presented to the nation’s best setter in NCAA Division I-II men’s volleyball during the regular season.
Nikolov guided Long Beach State to a nation-best .398 attack percentage, including the Beach hitting .354 in a sweep against UCLA in the NCAA Tournament finals. The setter also set a NCAA single-season record with 106 aces and had at least four aces in 14 matches.
Along with the offensive performance, Nikolov was in the top 10 of the Big West with a 0.74 blocks per game average.
The voting committee for the Lloy Ball Award was comprised of more than 25 coaches and media members from around the nation. The top-three vote-getters were named finalists.
Nikolov garnered 70 votes – more votes than the other two finalists received combined. Hawai’i setter Tread Rosenthal was the runner-up with 23 points, while UCLA setter Andrew Rowan finished in third place with 22 points.
This is the 12th year that Off the Block has presented the Lloy Ball Award.
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.
2025 Lloy Ball Award voting results
1. Moni Nikolov, Long Beach State – 70 points
2. Tread Rosenthal, Hawai’i – 23 points
3. Andrew Rowan, UCLA – 22 points
4. Ryan McElligott, Loyola – 8 points
5. Nate Flayter, McKendree – 3 points
T-6. Caleb Blanchette, USC – 1 point
T-6. Donovan Constable, CSUN – 1 point
T-6. Bryce Dvorak, Pepperdine – 1 point
T-6. John Luers, Lincoln Memorial – 1 point
T-6. Henry Wedbush, Princeton – 1 point