Captain - Tom Edgar
Tom Edgar began playing volleyball at age eight, and made his international debut for Australia in 2008. He had surgery on a broken finger in 2009, the same year he was part of the national team that finished seventh at the Asian Championship. He went on to compete at two more editions of the continental championship, finishing fourth in 2011 and fifth in 2013. On the world stage he has played in two World Championships, one Olympic Games and two World Leagues.
Nicknamed Boxy, the opposite hitter says his sporting idol is Serbian volleyball player Ivan Miljkovic. The sport runs in Edgar's family. His second cousin is Daniel Rohan, who was selected by Australia for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games. Edgar hopes to return to the Olympic stage and compete at Rio 2016. He played for clubs in Australia, Sweden, Poland, Italy and South Korea. Away from the sport, he studied Business at the University of Southern Queensland.
Star Player - Nehemiah Mote
Nehemiah Mote began playing volleyball for a church team in Sydney, NSW, Australia, after having his interest ignited by watching his family play the sport. His father especially sparked his interest, as he had played volleyball for Samoa.
Nehemiah broke into the Australia team in 2014, making his debut in the team’s breakthrough World League campaign. They won Group 2 in a Final Four competition on home soil, and went on to finish fifth in Group 1. He also played in Australia’s campaigns at the 2014 World Championship and 2015 World League. At club level, the middle blocker left the University of Western Sydney in 2013 to begin a scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra. He played for TV Buhl in the German Bundesliga during season 2014/15.
Mote is of Samoan descent and he hopes his progress to the Australian team could entice more people of Samoan background to play volleyball and aspire to his level. His sporting idol is Australian football player Tim Cahill, who is also of Samoan heritage. Mote studied humanities at university.
