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With a new coach, Australia will try to improve from their last year's campaign

With their 2022 Volleyball Nations League opening match quickly approaching on June 8, the Australian men’s national team is now complete, with all players selected by new head coach Dave Preston reunited for a training camp at the Australian Institute of Sport, in Canberra.

A Canadian native, Preston was appointed last April and has a short period to prepare the team for their VNL opening match against defending champions Brazil in Brasilia. The Volleyroos, who won just one of their 15 matches last year to rank 16th, will also face Slovenia, Iran and the Netherlands in the first week of this year’s tournament.

“It is great to see the Volleyroos back on the court together, and a great chance for me to be with the squad for the first time,” Preston said. “We’re all looking forward to the challenges ahead and I’m excited to see what this group can accomplish moving forward.”

The Australian roster features some veteran players such as opposite Thomas Edgar, libero Luke Perry and middle blockers Nehemiah Mote and Beau Graham, but also younger players with less experience, like outside hitters Sam Flowerday and Ethan Garrett.

Setter Arash Dosanjh, who spent the last club season playing in the Italian second division with Gioiella Prisma Taranto, is excited about the team being reunited for the first time since the end of last year’s VNL.

“It’s always exciting to come back from the club season and join the national team to prepare for the international season,” he reflected. “We’ve got a new coach and a lot of new guys joining the team this season so it’s an exciting time for the national team. We’ll have a pretty busy camp getting used to playing with each other and learning the new systems Dave will implement, but everyone’s ready to hit the ground running and excited to see what we can do in this campaign.”

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