Follow
Outside attacker Sotiris Siapanis showed even in a loss why Ohio State went half way around the world to add him to its roster.
Siapanis finished with a team-high 17 kills on a .419 attack percentage as Cyprus lost to Spain 25-22, 25-27, 25-17, 25-17 in the CEV EuroVolley qualification tournament on Sunday in Nicosia, Cyprus.
The Ohio State freshman slate to make his college debut in 2021 was one of two Cyprus players to have double-digit kills in the tournament opener. He also added two aces — one of three players in the match to have multiple aces.
Siapanis was one of two current NCAA men’s volleyball players to compete in the international match.
NJIT outside attacker Alvaro Gimeno came off the bench for Spain in two of the four games and contributed a kill on three attempts in the victory. Gimeno joined the Spanish Men’s National Team after being named the Co-EIVA Player of the Year during the shortened 2020 season with the Highlanders.
Spain out-hit Cyprus .432 to .290 with Spain’s Victor Rodriguez having 16 kills on a match-best .889 attack percentage. In addition, Juan Gonzalez led all players with 18 kills against Cyprus.
With this win, Spain moves into a tie with Latvia for first place in the four-team event. The top-team following round-robin play will earn a berth to the 2021 EuroVolley.
Spain and Latvia will meet on Monday with first place on the line, while Cyprus will play the Republic of Moldova later that day,