New Zealand U-20 Women’s Development Team – Australian Junior Volleyball Championships (U-23)
July 11-14
Adelaide, Australia

Squad (2023 Regional Association representation is noted)

Eliana Collins – Canterbury
Grace Adler - Bay of Plenty
Helen Woods – Canterbury
Kaia Buckley – Harbour
Kendall McKane - Bay of Plenty
Lani Rawle – Harbour
Lily Spark – Canterbury
Manon Bonar – Canterbury
Molly Morrow – Canterbury
Morgan Lee – Canterbury
Ruby Amkreutz – Harbour
Soteria Gaogao - WECA

Management staff
Brendan Crichton – Head Coach

Brendan Crichton:

“Playing up in the U23 Women's competition against the Australian states presents a huge challenge as a U-19 team, but one the athletes will embrace and have the opportunity to be placed under pressure and grow as players.

“It's exciting to have worked together over the past two years as a squad with the athletes also going to the Asian Age Group Championships in China and give these amazing experiences to play for New Zealand and compete at an elite level. It will bring out the best in the players.

“Our team has great balance, several athletes that are very versatile and explosive. On paper we are mature in terms of many of the girls already playing at the highest level within New Zealand for club, provincial and school teams. 

I'm grateful for Volleyball Australia giving us the opportunity to play against their best state teams and it's always nice to cross the ditch and renew our competitiveness against them.” 

Poirewa Aotearoa confirmed on Friday the New Zealand Junior Women’s squad to travel to China for their tilt at the Asian Championships in July.

With the last New Zealand appearance at the event coming in 2018 in Vietnam, the group – led by Head Coach Andrew Kilham – will assemble for a training camp in mid-June before departing for Jiangmen, China.

Kilham says his team, compiled from players within the Harbour, Canterbury and Bay of Plenty Regions, is ready to go with several of the squad involved across two international cycles.

“Their growth as athletes has been fantastic to watch and the team are already buzzing with excitement,” Kilham said.

“I’m confident that they will represent their whānau, schools, clubs and country with great skill and pride.”

Four of the group represented the Volley Ferns in the tour of Chile in 2023 with Nia Surman, Marnie Ursem, Kalea Norton and Pippa Henderson featuring from that tour.

Kilham says the togetherness of the group will be a real asset as they step into the international arena.

“They are hard-working, resilient and embrace challenges head-on. This meant that competition for places in the final 12-player squad was always going to be fierce and this was evident in the match-play at the final selection camp.

“At the same time, the group have always been hugely supportive of one another, and their connectedness will be a real asset as they head into the unknown.

The team will compete against Korea (fourth seed) and Taipei (fifth seed) in the Pool phase of the competition with the top two sides progressing to the quarter-finals.

New Zealand U-20 Women – Asian Championships
July 1-9
Jiangmen, China

Squad (2023 Regional Association representation is noted)

Angela Reupena – Setter (Canterbury)
Charlie Vail – Opposite (Harbour)
Chloe Kemble – Libero (Bay of Plenty)
Emma Mason - Outside (Canterbury)
Georgia Brell-Perrett – Outside (Bay of Plenty)
Grace Tiplady - Outside  (Bay of Plenty)
Kalea Norton – Setter (Harbour)
Kiana Stevenson – Outside (Harbour)
Marnie Ursem – Middle (Harbour)
Nia Surman – Libero (Canterbury)
Pippa Henderson – Middle (Canterbury)
Romy Krueger-Reedy – Middle (Bay of Plenty)

Management staff
Andrew Kilham – Head Coach
Holly Chandler - Manager

Volleyball New Zealand confirmed on Wednesday the squads of players targeting 2024 events in the Junior Women’s international pathway.

Following camps and trials held earlier in 2023, a total of 48 players have been named across two wider squads in preparation for events set to take place in 2024.

Junior Women’s Head Coach Andrew Kilham reflected a process which saw the standard high on the court but also in approach taken by athletes off the court.

“The level of competition for places in our squad was impressive. The athletes worked hard to perform their roles to the best of their ability and there was a real level of intensity,” Kilham said.

“What pleased me as much, if not more, was the encouragement athletes were offering to each other. Overall, it confirmed my feeling that the athletes involved are first and foremost good people and that will be great for the composition of the final squad.”

Kilham said the number of quality environments around the country is clearly producing results for the wider game.

“There are so many good programmes in place around the country and it has been great to see the athletes being challenged and stretched in these environments.

“The fact that most of the players attended Club Championships tells me that they love playing and that they want to keep growing their game. Many are fortunate to be playing alongside highly experienced and battle-hardened athletes and they will learn so much from the wisdom of these older players.”

Kilham added that the work between now and the next in-camp contact will have two key focusses from his perspective.

“The first will be around establishing our cultural foundation of values and expectations. Some work has already been done around this but when our confirmed squad first gathers together it will be important to lock these in as key points around which everything else we wish to achieve will revolve.

“Secondly, we wish to compete hard and to the very best of our ability when we go to Asia. We will establish how we wish to play and what improvements and developments we need to put in place to make this happen.”

The Asian Volleyball Championship squad of 12 athletes and four non-travelling reserves will be named after a camp set for Christchurch in April.

The Development Teams targeting either the Australian Junior Championships are also to be finalised for action in mid-2024 following their camp opportunity slated for Palmerston North in March.

Junior Women’s Indoor – Asian Volleyball Championships 2024 wider squad
Angela Reupena – Canterbury
Charlie Vail – Harbour
Chloe Kemble – Bay of Plenty
Ella Pedersen – Bay of Plenty
Emma Mason – Canterbury
Georgia Brell-Perrett – Bay of Plenty
Grace Tiplady – Bay of Plenty
Helen Woods – Canterbury
Kaia Buckley – Harbour
Kalea Norton – Harbour
Kiana Stevenson – Harbour
Lola King – Tasman
Manon Bonar – Canterbury
Marnie Ursem – Harbour
Nia Surman – Canterbury
Romy Krueger-Reedy – Bay of Plenty
Tineke Hinton - Canterbury

Junior Women’s Indoor – Development Squads
Abigail Gilchrist – Bay of Plenty
Alice Newman – Canterbury
Amelia Hollows – Otago
Amelia Brown – Harbour
Amelie Shalfoon – Canterbury
Anais Blanchard – Harbour
Arianna Roberts – Bay of Plenty
Brooke Mcnamara – Hawke’s Bay
Dakota Coleman – Canterbury
Eliana Collins – Canterbury
Emily Muller – Harbour
Ericka Landar – Waikato
Eva-Marree Mene-Tuimavave – Harbour
Grace Adler – Bay of Plenty
Jazmine Zanders – Harbour
Joanna MacAskill – Canterbury
Jorja Gantley – WECA
Kendall McKane – Bay of Plenty
Lani Rawle – Harbour
Leila Iafeta – Hawke’s Bay
Levi Hunt – Bay of Plenty
Lexi Tupe – Bay of Plenty
Lily Spark – Canterbury
Logan Vaoliko – Wellington
Lucy Allison – Waikato
Luseane Uia – Tasman
Mia Cole – Bay of Plenty
Molly Morrow – Canterbury
Morgan Lee – Canterbury
Ruby Amkreutz – Harbour
Soteria Gaogao - WECA