COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (April 6, 2019) – With the weather more cooperative on Saturday, two U.S. snow volleyball teams competing in the FIVB World Tour event in Kronplatz/Plan de Corones, Italy have advanced to the quarterfinals.
Heavy snow and winds canceled play on Friday, but Saturday’s weather was more agreeable.
The women’s team of Karissa Cook/Emily Hartong/Katie Spieler/Allie Wheeler finished pool play 2-0 with victories over Turkey (15-13, 16-14) and Japan (12-15, 15-9, 15-9).
“We were just happy that we got to play,” Spieler told the FIVB. “There was a lot better weather than yesterday. There are a lot of strong teams so we have to bring it every game.”
The men’s team of Troy Field/Maddison McKibbin/Riley McKibbin also finished 2-0 in pool, beating teams from Austria (16-14, 15-12) and Italy (15-9, 15-7).
Field/M McKibbin/R McKibbin played snow volleyball for the first time last weekend at a Snow Volleyball Italia event.
“We were a little nervous coming into it, because playing on the beach is already more difficult than playing indoor, and we weren’t sure how the cleats would react on the snow, but it’s really, really fun,” Riley told the FIVB.
“I thought it was going to be a lot more unstable footing and I was quite scared coming into it,” Maddison said. “But this is a misconception. Although it is slippery at times, you are a lot more stable and not prone to injury. You can move around and jump straight up, so that’s great.”
The U.S. men’s team of Chase Frishman/Travis Mewhirter/Chris Vaughan/Eric Zaun went 0-2 in pool and did not advance.
On Sunday, the U.S. women will play Poland at 12:55 a.m. PT. The U.S. men will play Slovenia at 1:35 a.m. PT.