Her hands are golden, just like her hair. She has a photogenic face and a winning smile. If she had not opted for sport, she would have made a fine model.
Last November, after the World Championship, she became a star of the first magnitude in the Volleyball firmament. Who is she? The question -- for anyone who is conversant with spikes and blocking -- is elementary. The clues all lead unequivocally to Maurizia Cacciatori, 26 year old captain of Italy and the most outstanding setter in "Japan '98".
If Frigoni's team (5th place) was the big revelation of this World Championship, a large part of the merit rests with this blonde playmaker who, on her debut in this event, proved she was capable of guiding, with authority and efficiency, one of the youngest line-ups in the tournament.
In the end, she won the most prestigious recognition, perhaps also the least expected. When they called her up to receive the plaque and the $50,000 check reserved for the best setter, the lovely Maurizia was unable to hold back her tears and, visibly stunned, climbed to the podium.
"I swear," she was to confess later, "in all my life, I had never felt that way before. When I heard my name called, my legs seemed blocked, and I was afraid I was going to fall like an idiot. Only months afterwards was I able to convince myself that it was all true and not just a dream. It was an incredible sensation, and I have to thank all my teammates without whom I would never have gotten so far."
But Maurizia Cacciatori had
worked long and hard for this achievement. She had started out as an infant
prodigy and at 16 was already a regular starter in the top division, enchanting
spectators with her imaginative sets, her defense, even her blocking, and
-- why not? -- her gracefulness as well.
She seemed headed for a career
that held nothing but glory and success; but many promises were not kept.
After a period of regression, Maurizia resumed growing again in 1995 when
she moved to Bergamo (Italy) to join a team that was built to win and boasted
the world's most fearsome spiker, Keba Phipps.
Playing with Foppapedretti, Cacciatori learned how to win and to assume heavy responsibilities. In the meantime, with humility and a willingness to make sacrifices, she started working as she had never done before, studying the strongest setters in the world.
In the end she was more confident of her own means, more complete, and also ready to take the national team in hand. After having to skip the 1997 European Championship on account of injuries, Maurizia had her big chance at the 1998 World Championship -- and she did not let that slip by.
"Together, Italy and I have made a big leap forward, now we know how to put our strongest adversaries in difficulty. The best part has just begun -- both for me and for all of us together. I am sure of that."
Adapted from VolleyWorld,
March-April 1999