Men's Volleyball Alvaro Gimeno Competes at 2018 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championships

NJIT men's volleyball rising sophomore Alvaro Gimeno competed with the U20 Spain National Team at the 2018 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championships.

Alvaro, the reigning Eastern Intercollegiate Volleyball Association (EIVA) Newcomer of the Year, joined the U20 Spain National Team at the end of May.  Spain recorded a second-place finish after the first two qualifying rounds. 

"It was an amazing experience at the 2018 CEV U20 Volleyball European Championships, playing against some of the best players in the world and some of NCAA's best athletes," Gimeno commented.

After two month of training, Spain picked up a pair of wins against Lativa and Israel.  Gimeno was the top point scorer (14) and server against Latvia and top scorer (19) and ranked second as best spiker (16) against Israel.

"The experience Alvaro (Gimeno) has gained this summer is tremendous," head coach Danny Goncalves commented.  "The ability to train and compete at such a high level and to bring this back into our gym is an invaluable opportunity for him and our entire program."

In the finals against Poland, Spain started out the match, 2-0, but dropped a five-set decision.  Gimeno was the top point scorer (28) and spiker (24).

"It was disappointing because the team worked so hard and wanted to play in the European Championships," Gimeno added.

Gimeno was selected to the 18-player roster for the Spain Senior National Team and earned a spot as the second right side hitter.  The 6-foot-7 hitter from Salou, Spain, will participate in the qualifying games over Christmas Break.

"Both experiences was the best I could imagine for this summer," Gimeno added.  "Although we had to sacrifice summer holidays, time with friends and family, this exposure helped to improve my game and push myself to the next level."