A quartet of rising stars have been named to represent Australia at the U18 Oceania Beach Volleyball Championships
Queenslanders Riley Akanoa, Ethan Grocott and Thomas Turner will be joined by South Australian Ava Gaborit at the event in the Solomon Islands from 6-9 April.
Turner’s domestic season had its high point earlier this month when he took out the final Australian Junior Beach Volleyball Tour event of the season in Cobram.
While teammate Grocott didn’t manage to stand atop the AJBVT podium this season, he took a second place at Caloundra, third in Cobram and was fourth in Glenelg in a consistently high-performing season.
Gaborit is riding high after an amazing competition in Cobram earlier this month. Combining with Ruby Vanloo in the Australian Beach Volleyball Tour, the young pairing captured the attention of the crowd by taking a set from top seeds Taliqua Clancy and Jana Milutinovic before going down in the quarter-finals for a fourth-placed finish.
She then combined with her Oceania Championships teammate Akanoa at the AJBVT, where the pair took all before them on the way to the title. It continues a strong season for Akanoa who also took AJBVT silver in Glenelg in November and second place in the ABVT Challenger in February.
“These young athletes represent the future of Australian beach volleyball,” said Paul Smith, Paul Smith, Volleyball Australia’s Deputy National Performance Director.
“The Oceania Championships provide a fantastic opportunity for them to gain valuable international experience as they progress along our pathway to Brisbane 2032 and beyond.”
The players will be supported in the Solomon Islands by Developing Volleyroos coach Brianna Mears and NSW Phoenix Head Coach Christopher Todd.
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