Women’s Volleyroos ready for challenge of AVC Continental in China
The Women’s Volleyroos have arrived in China for the AVC Women’s Continental, which will be played from 21-31 August 2026.
The tournament will see Australia take on some of Asia’s strongest volleyball nations, with the Volleyroos set to face Thailand, Kazakhstan and Indonesia in the Preliminary Phase.
The winner of this tournament automatically qualifies for the 2026 Los Angeles Olympic Games. The top 3 will also earn a spot in the 2027 Women’s World Cup.
Led by captain Mikaela Stevens and co-captain Caitlin O’Dea, the squad features a blend of experience and emerging talent as Australia looks to continue building towards future international campaigns.
O’Dea said it’s always a special opportunity to represent Australia, and one that her and her team mates are embracing.
“Representing the green and gold is always such an absolute honour,” O’Dea said.
“We stand at the baseline with our uniforms on, together as a united team, they play the national anthem and it’s very, very special. There is no greater honour.
“It’s really important that we go out and enjoy every opportunity we get to compete together, and we play with gratitude and competitiveness, and the rest takes care of itself,” she said.
Heading into this competition off the back of a gold medal win at the Oceania Championships earlier this month is something that O’Dea said will give the team a confidence boost.
“We’ve been really quite lucky to have a long lead into this tournament, with the Oceania Championships in Guam where we got the gold medal,” O’Dea said.
“So we’re definitely on a high, gelling really well as a team, we’ve had a really good training camp and we feel very prepared,” she said.
Australia will play Thailand on day one of the competition (21 August), with all games to be livestreamed on Volleyball World TV.
Australian Games
21 August | Australia v Thailand | 4pm AEST
23 August | Australia v Kazakhstan | 12pm AEST
26 August | Australia v Indonesia | 5pm AEST
Australian Women’s Volleyroos Team
- Mikaela Stevens (NSW)
- Milla Greber (QLD)
- Joclyn Warner (QLD)
- Mali Towers (NSW)
- Chloe Walker (QLD)
- Jaiha Birkett (ACT)
- Rachel Linskey (QLD)
- Ruby Wright (NSW)
- Caitlin O’Dea (QLD)
- Jesse Mann (NSW)
- Sylvia Musel (NSW)
- Georgina Vanloo (SA)
- Ella Milne (QLD)
- Emily Heintzelman (NSW)
Team Staff
- Head Coach: Russell Borgeaud (VA)
- Assistant Coach: Nicole Hannan (QLD)
- Physiotherapist: Alana Hassel
- Team Manager/Statistician: Jack Payne (SA)
- Referee: Carla Hoorweg (ACT) – Appointed by the Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC)
