The trio won the men’s event in Lorica over the weekend
The team of Filippo Galante, Manuel Ortolano and Massimo Di Risio from Abruzzo topped the podium at the first event of the 2023 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championship tour held in Lorica over the weekend. Di Risio was one of the members of the Italian national team who participated in the three events of the inaugural FIVB Snow Volleyball World Tour back in 2019.
Eight men’s teams competed on Saturday and Sunday in the picturesque southern Italian village situated in the Sila National Park.
The first event on the 2023 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championship tour was held in magical Lorica PHOTOS | FIPAV
In the final match, Di Risio - Galante - Ortolano delivered a hard-fought 2-0 (16-14, 15-10) victory over the local Calabrian team of Luigi Barile, Luigi Lopetrone, Mattia Marasco and Mattia Tiano.
Damiano Tramontano, Enrico Lupatelli and Matteo Carlon completed the podium after a 2-0 (15-12, 15-6) shutout of Giorgio Belvedere, Francesco Raso, Marco Saffiotti and Valerio Del Carpio in the bronze medal match.
On the way to the trophy, Di Risio - Galante - Ortolano played a total of four matches and did not lose a single set. In their semifinal, they managed a 2-0 (15-10, 16-14) win over Carlon - Lupatelli - Tramontano. In the other semifinal, Tiano - Marasco - Lopetrone - Barile mastered a 2-0 (15-12, 15-8) sweep of Del Carpio - Belvedere - Saffiotti - Raso.
The list of guests at the awarding ceremony included the President of the province of Cosenza and Mayor of San Giovanni in Fiore Rosaria Succurro, the Mayor of Casali del Manco Lucio Martire, the Councilor for Sports of San Giovanni in Fiore Francesco Fragale, the Deputy Mayor of San Giovanni in Fiore Salvatore Cocchiero, the FIPAV Calabria Regional Councilor Giovanni Guida and the President of the FIPAV Cosenza Provincial Committee Marco Mari.
The second stop on the 2023 Absolute Italian Snow Volleyball Championship tour will take place in Linguaglossa on February 18 and 19. The tour will then visit Aprica on March 11 and 12. The final event will be held in the iconic Prato Nevoso from March 31 to April 2.