Coast comp critical for hopes of Volleyroos

VOLLEYROOS captain Paul Carroll has declared the FIVB World League Group Two finals as being critical to Australia’s hopes of returning to the premier volleyball division.

After round stages in Slovakia, Finland and China, 12 second-tier nations were cut to four for the finals, held on the Gold Coast this weekend at the Carrara Sports and Leisure Centre.

Australia will play Japan tomorrow night after a showdown between Slovenia and the Netherlands, with the winner of each semi-final meeting in a Sunday afternoon decider.

Taking out the tournament would go a long way towards Australia being back competing against the world’s top teams.

Though Group One represents a significant step up, Carroll said the side are determined to match it with the sport’s best.

He believes the Volleyroos have what it takes to win in front of what he hopes will be a vocal home crowd.

“Our group is reasonably young as in experience for the Australian team but everyone plays in the top leagues in Europe throughout the club seasons,” he said.

Carroll himself spends much of his time playing for German club Berlin Recycling Volleys and previously played in California in the United States, where he met his wife.

“(I only am in Australia) usually like a month a year but I am a little different because my wife is from California so I spend a little bit of time there too,” he said.

“But then most of the year is spent playing professionally … I actually haven’t seen an Australian summer in 12 years now which is a little bit ridiculous. And I’ve grown up on the beach (at Forster, NSW).”

Tickets are still available. Tomorrow’s games begin at 5.10pm and 7.40pm. On Sunday, the bronze medal match will start at 1.40pm before a 4.10pm grand final.