International Volleyball Hall of Fame induction celebration: Italian Andrea Zorzi

This is one in a series previewing the inductees going into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame in Holyoke, Massachusetts, on Saturday. 
This year there are nine inductees, two indoor players in Italian Andrea Zorzi and Cuba’s Regla Bell; two beach players in American Tim Hovland and Brazilian Ana Paula Henkel; Brazilian coach Jose “Ze” Roberto and ParaVolley coach Hadi Rezaei of Iran; two officials in Argentinian Juan Angel Pereyra and American Sue Lemaire; and Italian Giuseppe Panini, who is going in as a leader.
There are also three special honoree categories recognized this year: John Kessel is receiving the Mintonette Medallion of Merit Award; Bill Kauffman and Ed Chan are being honored posthumously with the inaugural Award for Media Excellence; and Michael Kane, Mike Knapik, Aaron Vega and Don Humason are receiving the Mayoral Award of Excellence.

The “original” “Zorro” was a fictional character, created in 1919, who was typically portrayed as a dashing masked vigilante who defends the commoners against tyrannical officials and other villains. He was the precursor to many of the superheroes of the last century, think Batman and the Lone Ranger.

Now, 70 or so years later, it was no surprise that the Italian opposite Andrea Zorzi was bequeathed with the nickname of Zorro. After all, Zorzi had the “matinee idol” looks, and the high-level skills to match his namesake. He cut quite a swath both on the court and off.

In recognition for all he has meant to the game of volleyball, Andrea Zorzi becomes the fourth player of that seminal Italian national team from the early 1990s to be inducted into the International Volleyball Hall of Fame.

“I haven’t been an active volleyball athlete since 1998,” Zorzi responded via email. “So, the IVHF honor is a fantastic acknowledgment of my past accomplishments. I’m proud of what I achieved in the 90s with that incredible team, but I don’t want to be defined solely by my sport career. I would like not to be a ‘hostage’ of the past. I’m eager to embrace the future, drawing inspiration from my past experiences. The IVHF honor is an opportunity to look ahead.”

At 6-foot-7 (2.01 meters) Zorzi was tall for a volleyball player in the early 1990s. He was also thin as a rail, but very rangy. He had a wicked serve and was a terminator on offense. “While I was physically gifted with height, strength, and…