NJIT outside Gimeno to play for Spain in 2021 EuroVolley qualifier

Photo courtesy of NJIT athletics

The EIVA Player of the Year will spend part of his offseason helping his home country to qualify for the 2021 EuroVolley.

NJIT senior outside attacker Alvaro Gimeno was among the 22 players selected to the Spanish Men’s National Team that will compete in a four-team qualification tournament at the end of the month.

Gimeno with NJIT last season was second in the EIVA and ninth in the nation averaging 0.52 aces per game. The Second-Team All-American had a season-high four aces against George Mason in February and had multiple aces in four conference matches.

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Along with his serving performance, Gimeno was in the conference’s top three with both a 3.63 kills per game average and a .353 attack percentage. He also guided the Highlanders to a fourth-place finish and the team was on pace to make the EIVA Tournament at the time the 2020 season was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The coronavirus pandemic additionally resulted in Gimeno spending part of his offseason in Spain living through a lockdown. However, Gimeno has been able to spend recent weeks back on the court and training with the national team.

This is the second consecutive year that Gimeno will play for the Spanish Men’s National Team.

The upcoming qualifying tournament will take place Aug. 30 to Sept. 6 and consist of Moldavia, Latvia and Spain along with the host nation Cypru. The team with the best record at the end of the round robin will qualify for the 2021 EuroVolley.