Australian Volleyball Academy athletes announced for 2022

Volleyball Australia is pleased to announce the athletes who have been selected into the Australian Volleyball Academy (AVA) for 2022.

The AVA is designed to identify and develop Olympic potential athletes for Volleyball and Beach Volleyball. It is the High Performance Development Program for volleyball and beach volleyball athletes who aspire to reach the elite level of their sport.

15 women and 20 men will be part of the program in 2022, with athletes coming from New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia, Northern Territory and Victoria.

Volleyball Australia National Pathways Manager Paul Smith said he is excited to present the next intake of AVA athletes.

“It’s always an exciting time of year as we prepare for a new year in the AVA program,” Smith said.

“The program is now entering its third year in 2022 and we feel like we’ve improved our service to athletes as well as continuing to define our role within the national pathway.

“The selection process was a thorough one and we’re very excited about welcoming our new athletes into our daily training environment, as well as those returning for their second year.

“On behalf of Volleyball Australia, our AVA program staff and coaches, I’d like to wish all new scholarship holders the best of luck as they navigate their introduction to becoming an elite athlete. I’d also like to thank the State Associations for their support in this process,” he said.

AVA Women’s Head Coach Russell Borgeaud said he is looking forward to working closely with the new group of athletes.

“I’m excited to teach a talented group of athletes who will use this opportunity at the Australian Volleyball Academy to grow, develop and help them move into the next stage of their volleyball careers,” Borgeaud said.

Volleyball Australia would like to congratulate the following athletes.

No.	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	STATE	NEW/RETURNING
1	Tyla	Hardy	ACT	NEW
2	Jaiha	Birkett	ACT	RETURNING
3	Elizabeth	Alchin	WA	NEW
4	Ella	Schabort	WA	RETURNING
5	Cassie	Dodd	WA	RETURNING
6	Sarah	Burton	WA	RETURNING
7	Charlotte	Duncan	QLD	RETURNING
8	Kasey	Hogan	QLD	RETURNING
9	Ella	Milne	QLD	RETURNING
10	Brielle	Kettleton	QLD	RETURNING
11	Kara	Inskip	QLD	RETURNING
12	Annelies	Jones	QLD	RETURNING
13	Brodie	Baker	QLD	RETURNING
14	Allysha	Sims	SA	RETURNING
15	Charlotte	White	SA	RETURNING

No.	FIRST NAME	LAST NAME	STATE	NEW/RETURNING
1	Jacob	Baird	QLD	NEW
2	Xander	Van Driel	QLD	NEW
3	Matthew	Kemp	QLD	RETURNING
4	Chaz	Pucko	QLD	RETURNING
5	Benjamin	Hood	QLD	RETURNING
6	William	D’Arcy	QLD	RETURNING
7	Riley	Donovan	NSW	NEW
8	Kiefer	Sinclair	NSW	RETURNING
9	Jackson	Cousins	NSW	NEW
10	Timothy	Ebbs	NSW	NEW
11	Pascal	Eckermann	NSW	NEW
12	Jarvis	Page	NSW	NEW
13	Harley	Sinclair	NSW	NEW
14	Thomas	Smith	NSW	NEW
15	Samuel	Chen	NSW	RETURNING
16	Seth	Chen	NSW	RETURNING
17	Kaia	Clarkin	WA	RETURNING
18	Tom	Dempsey	WA	RETURNING
19	Benjamin	Farley	WA	NEW
20	Mitchell	Croft	VIC	NEW
21	Levi	Thomas	NT	NEW