A new generation of Volley Blacks to represent New Zealand on the world stage have been named for their Chilean tour.
“This is the strongest squad we could have selected and it’s a really young group – the tour will be a great test for us,“ said coach Sebastian Gonzalez.
“For most, it’s their first time representing New Zealand, it’s a really exciting opportunity and it’s going to be interesting to see how we perform.”
With no senior tours possible through the pandemic, this will be the first time testing themselves in top level international volleyball for most of the squad. They’ll face a tough challenge in Chile, currently ranked 27 in the world.
“We have amazing up and coming talent. The likes of Canterbury’s Troy Hulston, who was National Volleyball League MVP in 2021 and his brother Luke, our captain. There’s Campbell Forsyth from Tauranga, Southland’s Sam Hodges, who’s over two metres tall and Jacob Ceelen-Thomas, who was MVP in the 2022 NVL. This is a wealth of young talent we’ll get to see compete for the first time, it will be difficult but it will be awesome,” said Sebastian Gonzalez.
In the mix are two senior players who’ve represented the Volley Blacks in the past in Billy Johnstone, who currently plays for the University of Alberta in Canada, and Johann Timmer, who has played college volleyball for the University of Hawaii.
“It’s great for us to have Billy and Johann in the team, bringing their international experience with them,” said Sebastian Gonzalez.
“Volleyball is a small community, and all the boys have played with or against each other for many years through age grade representation or NVL, so to get them all on the same side of the net is awesome. They all know each other, they’re really good people and we’ve spent time building relationships through the camps, so that’s really exciting.”
The Volley Blacks’ Chile tour runs from 12–22 July.
Volley Blacks Chile Tour squad
Troy Hulston
Josh Mead
Jacob Ceelen-Thomas
Mana Placid
AJ Salmon
Johann Timmer
Leni Ma'ia'i
Billy Johnstone
Carrick Corson
Sam Hodges
Campbell Forsyth
Luke Hulston (captain)
