Omonia Volleyball Club or Omonia V.C. is the volleyball team of the Omonia Athletic Club based in Nicosia, the capital of Cyprus. It is a founding member of the Cyprus Volleyball Federation and has been participating at its competitions since its inception in 1978.

Omonia
Full nameOmonia Nicosia Volleyball Club
Nickname(s)Queen
Short nameOMO
Founded1948
GroundEleftheria Indoor Hall
Nicosia, Cyprus
Capacity6,800
ChairmanCyprus Loris Kiriakou
Head CoachCyprus Savvas Savva (volleyball)
LeagueCyprus Volleyball Division 1
2018–191st place

Omonia V.C. is ranked 77th (as of August 2022) in the Men's European clubs ranking.[1]

History edit

Omonia VC is one of the most successful volleyball clubs in Cyprus. The most notable player has been Panos Eracleous who served the club for 27 years, from 1987 until his retirement in 2014. Nowadays, the club owns its recent success to the so-called golden green generation which refers primarily to Aggelos Alexiou and the Petrakkides twins, Achilleas Petrakkides and the captain Sotos Petrakkides, who after spending some time in other local and foreign teams, returned to Omonia VC where they commenced their careers and conquered domestically. The peak of their reign has been the undefeated defense of their second consecutive domestic championship during the 2015–2016 season.

The manager of the team Savvas Savva, who is in charge since 2013, with a year's break as an assistant coach in 2018, had also commenced his career in Omonia VC where he served until his retirement. He is by far the most successful manager in the team's history as he has won 8 Cypriot Championships, 7 Cypriot Cups and 8 Supercups.

Omonia VC has a remarkable record of 29 consecutive wins in all domestic competitions which spans in three different seasons. The strike started on the 20/2/2015 at the 16th round of the 2014–2015 Cypriot championship season and ended on the 11/11/2016 at the 3rd round of the 2016–2017 season. During this period Omonia VC won 2 Championships, 1 Cup and 2 Super Cups. More recently, Omonia VC has set an undefeated record of 24 wins within a single season, gained them their 5th Championship. Moreover, the club holds another record, that of winning the 2020-2021 title undefeated with 24 wins.

Current squad edit

Head coach:   Savvas Savva (Volleyball)

No. Name Date of birth Position
1   Achilleas Petrakidis (1984-08-12) August 12, 1984 (age 39) Opposite
3   Sotiris Petrakidis (1984-08-12) August 12, 1984 (age 39) Middle-blocker
7   Nikolas Eleftheriou (1997-10-17) October 17, 1997 (age 26) Outside-spiker
9   Christodoulos Antoniades (1986-12-27) December 27, 1986 (age 37) Middle-blocker
11   Christos Prodromou (1995-10-26) October 26, 1995 (age 28) Middle-blocker
12   Angelos Alexiou (1987-02-04) February 4, 1987 (age 37) Middle-blocker
18   Bruno Henrique (1989-05-18) May 18, 1989 (age 34) Setter

Cypriot Championship edit

The following table presents Omonia's performance at the Cyprus Volleyball Federation championships, for any campaigns adequate information was found.

 
Season Cypriot Championship
Division Position Teams Wins-Losses Set Points
1978 Div.1 8th 10
1978–1979 Div.1 5th 8
1979–1980 Div.1 5th 10
1980–1981 Div.1 7th 10
1981–1982 Div.1 7th 10
1982–1983 Div.1 5th 10
1983–1984 Div.1 4th 10
1984–1985 Div.1 7th 10
1985–1986 Div.1 8th 10
1986–1987 Div.1 9th  10
1987–1988 Div.2 1st 
1988–1999 Div.1 5th 10
1989–1990 Div.1 7th 10
1990–1991 Div.1 3rd 10
1991–1992 Div.1 9th  10
1992–1993 Div.2 1st 
1993–1994 Div.1 4th 10
1994–1995 Div.1 3rd 11
1995–1996 Div.1 5th 10
1996–1997 Div.1 3rd 9
1997–1998 Div.1 2nd 10
1998–1999 Div.1 4th 10
1999–2000 Div.1 7th 10
2000–01 Div.1 6th 10
 
Season Cypriot Championship
Division Position Teams Wins-Losses Set Points
2001–02 Div.1 4th 9
2001–02 Div.1 4th 9
2002–03 Div.1 4th 8
2003–04 Div.1 7th 8
2004–05 Div.1 7th 8
2005–06 Div.1 3rd 8
2006–07 Div.1 6th 9
2007–08 Div.1 5th 10
2008–09 Div.1 3rd 10
2009–10 Div.1 3rd 8 12–8 41–30 32
2010–11 Div.1 4th 8 8–12 28–40 27
2011–12 Div.1 4th 7 6–12 21–38 24
2012–13 Div.1 5th 8 11–9 42–36 31
2013–14 Div.1 2nd 8 14–6 51–28 42
2014–15 Div.1 1st 8 18–2 56–12 53
2015–16 Div.1 1st 8 20–0 60–11 58
2016–17 Div.1 1st 8 16–4 49–19 48
2017–18 Div.1 2nd 8 15–4 47–21 46
2018–19 Div.1 1st 8 18–0 54–9 50
2019–20 Div.1 1st
Cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic
2020–21 Div.1 1st 9 24–0 72–10 69
2021–22 Div.1 1st 8 17-3 54-23 49
2022–23 Div.1 1st 9 17-0 51-8 49
2023–24 Div.1 1st 7 16-0 48-10 44

Domestic finals edit

The following table presents the seasons where Omonia succeeded to qualify at the Cypriot Cup Final through knock-out phases or the Cypriot Super Cup and the results.

Cypriot Cup finals

Season Winner Result Loser
1983–84 APOEL Nicosia 3–1 Omonia
1994–95 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–1 Omonia
1996-96 Pafiakos Paphos 3–1 Omonia
1997–98 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–0 Omonia
1998–99 Omonia 3–0 Pafiakos Paphos
2005–06 Omonia 3–2 Dionysos Stroumpiou
2008–09 Omonia 3–2 Anorthosis Famagusta
2011–12 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–1 Omonia
2013–14 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–2 Omonia
2015–16 Omonia 3–2 Nea Salamis Famagusta
2016–17 Pafiakos Paphos 3–2 Omonia
2017–18 Omonia 3–1 APOEL Nicosia
2018–19 Omonia 3–1 Pafiakos Paphos
2020-21 Omonia 3–0 E.N.P. Paralimni
2021–22 Omonia 3–2 Nea Salamis Famagusta
2022–23 Omonia 3–0 Anorthosis Famagusta
2023-24 Omonia 3–0 Pafiakos Paphos

Cypriot Super Cup Finals

Season Winner Result Loser
1995 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–0 Omonia
1999 Nea Salamis Famagusta 3–0 Omonia
2006 Pafiakos Paphos 3–0 Omonia
2009 Anorthosis Famagusta 3–2 Omonia
2014 Omonia 3–0 Anorthosis Famagusta
2015 Omonia 3–1 AEK Karava-Lampousa
2016 Omonia 3–0 Nea Salamis Famagusta
2017 Omonia 3–2 Pafiakos Paphos
2018 Omonia 3–2 Pafiakos Paphos
2019 Omonia 3–1 Pafiakos Paphos
2021 Omonia 3–0 E.N.P. Paralimni
2022 Nea Salamis Famagusta 3–2 Omonia
2023 Omonia 3–1 Anorthosis Famagusta

European competitions edit

Omonia VC's first European success was the elimination of the Montenegrin team OK Sutjeska Nikšić when the current coach Savvas Savva was a teammate of the golden green generation that has won the 6 domestic championships. In a rare occasion, it was drawn to play against their biggest domestic rivals Anorthosis Famagusta where it successfully knocked them out from the competition. In its most successful European campaign, the club reached the quarterfinals of the 2022–23 CEV Challenge Cup.

Season Competition Round Club Home Away Aggregate Golden set Qual.
1984–85 CEV Challenge Cup 1st round   Hapoel Mate Asher 0–3 0-3 0–6  
1999–00 CEV Challenge Cup 1st round   Volley 80 Pétange 1–3 0-3 0–6  
2002–03 CEV Challenge Cup 1st round   Uniqa Salzburg 0–3 0-3 0–6  
2006–07 Top Teams Cup Group stage   Cimone Modena - 1–3 3rd  
  SK Posojilnica Aich/Dob - 3–0
  Maribor 0–3 -
2009–10 CEV Challenge Cup 1st round   OK Sutjeska Nikšić 3–0 3-0 6–0  
2nd round   Aalst 3-1 0-3 3-4  
2010–11 CEV Challenge Cup 2nd round   Metallurg Zhlobin 1-3 0-3 1-6  
2014–15 CEV Challenge Cup 2nd round   Anorthosis Famagusta 3–0 3-1 6–1  
1/16   Dukla Liberec 1-3 1-3 2-6  
2015–16 CEV Cup 1/16   Jastrzębski Węgiel 3–0 3-0 6–0  
1/8   CV Teruel 2-3 0-3 2-6  
2016-17 CEV Champions League 2nd qualification round   ACH Volley Ljubljana 0-3 0-3 0-6  
CEV Cup 1/16   OK Novi Pazar 2-3 0-3 2-6  
2017-18 CEV Champions League 2nd qualification round   Jedinstvo Bemax Bijelo Polje 3–0 3-2 6–2  
3rd qualification round   Jastrzębski Węgiel 0-3 0-3 0-6  
CEV Challenge Cup 1/16   Volley Amriswil 3-2 0-3 3-5  
2018–19 CEV Challenge Cup 1/16   Ribola Kaštela 3–2 3-1 6–3  
1/8   Belogorie Belgorod 0-3 0-3 0-6  
2019–20 CEV Challenge Cup 1/16   Pénzügyőr Budapest 0-3 0-3 0-6  
2020–21 CEV Challenge Cup 1/16   GIO Strumica 3–0 X 3–2  
1/8   Ziraat Bankası Ankara X X W.O.  
2021–22 CEV Challenge Cup 1/16   Narbonne Volley 0-3 2-3 2–6  
2022–23 CEV Challenge Cup 1/32   Ried Im Innkers 3–0 3–1 6–0  
1/16   Ribola Kaštela 3–2 3–1 5-1  
1/8   Aalst 3-1 3-2 5-1  
1/4   Maccabi Tel Aviv 1-3 0-3 0-6  
2023–24 CEV Challenge Cup 1/32   Panvita Pomgrad 3-2 2-3 5-5 5-15  

Home CEV Champions League attendance record

Date Opponent Spectators
2 Nov 2016  ACH Volley Ljubljana 1,582[2]
18 Oct 2017  Jedinstvo Bemax Bijelo Polje 1,200[3]
8 Nov 2017  Jastrzębski Węgiel 1,254[4]

Honours edit

  • Cypriot Championships
    • Winner (8): 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021-2022, 2022-2023, 2023-24
  • Cyprus Cup:
    • Winner (10): 1998–99, 2005–06, 2008–09, 2015–16, 2017–18, 2018–19, 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23, 2023–24
  • Cypriot Super Cup:
    • Winner (8): 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2021, 2023

References edit

  1. ^ "Eurotopteam". Archived from the original on 2016-11-09. Retrieved 2017-04-13.
  2. ^ "Omonia Vs ACH Volley". cev.lu. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  3. ^ "Omonia Vs Jedinstvo Bemax Bijelo Polje". cev.lu. 18 October 2017. Retrieved 16 November 2017.
  4. ^ "Omonia Vs Jastrzębski Węgiel". cev.lu. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 16 November 2017.