Success was measured for the NCVA, which made its first appearance at the Cornacchia World Cup in Italy.

At the end of March, the NorCal Volleyball Association (NCVA), and its parent organization USA Volleyball, sent two regional volleyball teams to the Cornacchia World Cup in Italy. It was a trip of a lifetime.

What better way for volleyball teams to spend 10 spring days than taking a trip to Italy? Lots of sights to see. For these young men, it was a special moment to participate in one of the most prestigious international tournaments.

The NCVA White team was coached by Sean Stratton, coach and president of Diablo Valley Volleyball Club, and Roger Hauk of Pacific Rim and Core Volleyball.

And the NCVA Junior Red was coached by Prima Glorioso, founder, and director of Core Volleyball Club, along with Ryan Zimmerman of Bay Area Volleyball Club.

The teams were a collection of the best of the best from a wide selection of club programs, spanning from
Fresno to the Oregon border.

The Cornacchia World Cup, which started in 1983, takes place during the Easter holidays in Pordenone, a medieval town near Venice. It is renowned for its gathering of top national teams. Particularly teams throughout Europe and high-level club teams from five continents.

Teams got to spend three days in Rome and another in Venice.

“We got to see the Spanish Steps, the Vatican, the City of Ruins, Venice. We got to scrimmage with some pro teams,” Glorioso said. “It was neat to see their environment and neat to see how big volleyball is there. It’s like Texas is for football.”

The sights were impressive, and so was the competition.

Success was measured for the NCVA, which was making its first appearance at the Cornacchia World Cup.

NCVA Red, all of whose players have either signed with or committed to schools for college scholarships, beat the Croatian National Youth team in an impressive effort.

Players got to experience how volleyball is in other cultures. “There is no high school volleyball there in Italy,” Glorioso said.

“The clubs play together all year round; they have four practices a week. From there, they pretty much go pro. They are the best of the best.”

And the sportsmanship exhibited was a big positive to bring back home. “They were very welcoming for us, enjoyed our customs. The language barrier was there, but a lot of the teams spoke English,” Glorioso said.
“Afterward they would take a picture and then everyone applauds each other. It felt very sincere. It was impressive to see them all clap for the other players and the fans.” This experience is one many won’t forget.

“This trip has been memorable for me because I played against some of the best competition I’ve ever played against,” said junior outside hitter Colman Chadam in a video posted on the NCVA High-Performance Instagram account.

“I’m learning a lot from these guys.” “I’m really excited to be here,” added junior outside hitter JT Demure in another Instagram video. “It’s a super fun experience just to play at a really high level in a different country, so it’s awesome.”

The young players were excited to be there, and so were the parents and coaches. “All the parents are trying to figure how it can happen again,” said Tom Donaghy, head of the NCVA delegation “Just a really good experience as they got to play some high-level volleyball and got to meet and get around a lot of people whom they otherwise wouldn’t get to meet and talk to.”

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