Three Poirewa Aotearoa Development teams open their Australian Junior Championship tilt in Adelaide on Thursday.
One women’s team will contest the Women’s Premier Division of the U-23 grade while two men’s teams will line-up in the U-23 Men’s Division 1 competition.
The women’s team open their event with a 12.15pm (NZ time) match against South Australia before a 7.45pm second game against Queensland.
The men’s Kikorangi (Blue) team begin their event at 10.30am (NZ time) against New South Wales Phoenix before game two at 6pm against their fellow Kiwi Pango (Black) team.
Pango (Black) open their day with a 2pm clash with ProVolley Lyons U-23.
Follow the scores and results via the Australian Volleyball website. The final of both Men's and Women's top divisions is live-streamed via the Australian Volleyball Youtube channel.
Squads
Women’s Premier Division – NZL U-23
2. Kaia Buckley
3. Kendall McKane
5. Manon Bonar
6. Eliana Collins
7. Lani Rawle
8. Grace Adler
9. Molly Morrow
10. Morgan Lee
11. Helen Woods
13. Ruby Amkreutz
13. Lily Spark
14. Soteria Gaogao
Head Coach: Brendan Crichton
Manager: Petra Manderson
Men’s U-23 Division 1 - NZL Kikorangi (Blue)
2. Lucas Heggie
3. Caleb van Eekelen
5. Justin To’o
6. James Walker
8. Charlie Brady
9. Hikawera Puriri
10. Sebastian Lamb
11. John Petrucci
12. Kodin Wilton
13. Kaipo Natanahira Ngai-Tokowaru
14. Jesse Kalberer
Head Coach: Ella Carlsen
Manager: Laina Samia
Men’s U-23 Division 1 – NZL Pango (Black)
1. Isaac Weir
2. Jova Waqa
3. Davi Pacheco
4. Oliver Dunphy
5. Mitchell Stone
6. Xhovante Siolo-Ah San
8. Taiki Pou
9. Lancer Leilua-Tiatia
10. Logan Vorster
11. Ben De Goeij
12. Cameron Douglas
14. Cuba Rihari
Head Coach: Seth Phork
Manager: Melissa Stone
The New Zealand U-20 Women’s side finished their Asian Championship campaign on Sunday night with a four-set loss to Iran.
Iran took the first set 25-15 before the Kiwis rebounded to claim a tight second set 27-25. The Iranian team steadied and took consecutive 25-13 and 25-16 sets to close out the match.
The result sees Andrew Kilham’s team secure 10th place at the event for Poirewa Aotearoa.
The Women’s U-20s picked up their first win of the Asian Championships on Thursday night, coming from a set down to beat Hong Kong 3-1.
After dropping the first set 25-12, the Poirewa Aotearoa team reeled off three straight set wins (25-14, 31-29, 25-23) to complete the turnaround.
Outside hitter Emma Mason delivered a match-high 18 points from 15 kills, 2 blocks and one ace for New Zealand, while Pippa Henderson and Kiana Stevenson contributed 12 points apiece for the victory.
The result puts the Kiwis into the playoff for 9th and 10th place against Iran on Sunday at 6pm (NZ time).
The New Zealand U-20 Junior Women's team were beaten 3-0 by Korea in their first match of the U-20 Asian Championships in Jiangmen, China on Tuesday night.
The Korean team took the first set 25-19 and then pressed home their advantage in the second set, grabbing it 25-13. The third set saw the Korean team finish the job 25-7.
It's a quick turnaround for the next match in Pool D for Andrew Kilham's side on Wednesday at 2pm (NZ time) against Chinese Taipei.
Watch the team in action via the live-stream coverage via the Asian Volleyball Confederation Youtube page.