Moldova stun NJIT outside Gimeno, Spain at EuroVolley qualifiers

NJIT outside attacker Alvaro Gimeno’s contributions coming off the bench was not enough to prevent the biggest upset so far at the CEV 2021 EuroVolley qualification tournament.

Undefeated Spain lost to the Republic of Moldova 23-25, 25-20, 25-21, 25-19 on Tuesday in Nicosia, Cyprus to conclude the first half of the double round-robin tournament.

Gimeno entered the match during Spain’s third-game loss and had two kills. This was the third consecutive match of the tournament that the Co-EIVA Player of the Year came off the bench for Spain.

Opposite Mihai Voleanschii in the victory finished with a match-high 27 kills on a .585 attack percentage. Voleanschii was one of three Republic of Moldova players to have double-digit kills.

With this loss, Spain (2-1, 6 points) drops into a three-way tie for first place with the Republic of Moldova (2-1, 6 points) and Latvia (2-1, 6 points). The team with the best record at the end of the tournament will earn a berth to the 2021 EuroVolley.

Latvia rebounded from a loss to Spain and swept the host nation Cyprus 25-17, 25-16, 25-11 on Tuesday.

Ohio State outside attacker Sotiris Siapanis in the loss had a team-high seven kills — the third consecutive match that Siapanis has led Cyprus in kills.

All four teams in the tournament will have two off days before the second half of the round-robin. Spain will play Cyprus on Friday, while the Republic of Moldova will play Latvia.