The Volleyroos side will continue their journey towards the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games under Italian head coach Roberto Santilli, who replaced veteran Argentine coach Jon Uriarte in February. In this year’s World League they ended bottom of Group 1's Pool A, but did pick up wins against Italy and silver medallists Serbia, showing they are approaching the ability to match some of the world’s best teams. This will be Australia’s second appearance at the World Cup after finishing eighth at the 2007 edition ahead of hosts Japan. They represented Asia at the 2014 World Championship, finishing joint-15th after reaching the second round in Poland.
 
The Australian Volleyball Federation was founded in 1963 and the sport has rapidly increased in popularity since, particularly in schools and recreation centres. The national team has been supported by the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS) since 1990 and based in Canberra since 1997. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games the team were eighth, beating Spain in the process and winning a set against then world champions Italy. Australia have shown steady improvement, including an appearance at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where they were equal ninth, and victory in the Asian Championship in 2007.