Michael Burgmann, Theo Hanni and Thomas Berger won the third event on the 2023 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championship tour, which was held in Aprica on Sunday. Hanni and Burgmann were part of the quartet that won the inaugural men’s national championship title in Prato Nevoso last year.

A men’s tournament with five participating teams was organised in the small Alpine town in northern Italy. The event started with a single round-robin, in which Burgmann – Hanni – Berger began with a three-set loss, 2-1 (15-12, 15-17, 15-12), to Filippo Galante, Giorgio Amorosi and Manuel Ortolano, but then went on to finish second without dropping a set in the next three matches.

In their semifinal, they managed a tight 2-1 (10-15, 15-13, 16-14) comeback against Federico Geromin, Massimo Di Risio and Matteo Camozzi to face another encounter with Galante – Amorosi – Ortolano in the final. This time Burgmann – Hanni – Berger hammered out an emphatic 2-0 (15-10, 15-9) shutout to snatch the gold, while Michael Burgmann was named Most Valuable Player of the tournament.

Silver medallists Galante and Ortolano, then in a team with Di Risio, topped the podium at the first Tour stop in Lorica a month ago. Now Di Risio and his current teammates Geromin and Camozzi took the bronze after a 2-1 (15-11, 9-15, 15-11) win over Enrico Lupatelli, Matteo Carlon and Michele Bennato in the third place match.

The team of Diego Raffaele Scaglia, Samuele Ruspi and Tommaso Andreello finished fifth.

Three of the participating players, Amorosi, Di Risio and Lupatelli, were members of teams that represented Italy on the inaugural 2019 FIVB Snow Volleyball World Tour.

The podium in Aprica (Photo credits: FIPAV)

Italian Volleyball Federation (FIPAV) Lombardy Regional Committee President Piero Cezza, FIPAV Sondrio Territorial Committee Vice President Luca Tognotti, Italian National Olympic Committee Lombardy Vice President Alessandro Vanoi, Mayor of Aprica Dario Corvi and Aprica Tourism Councillor Alessandro Damiani were among the honoured guests at the awarding ceremony.

The 2023 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championship will finish with the last event from 31 March 31 to 2April - the Finals in Prato Nevoso, where the 2023 national championships will find its winners.