THREE SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ATHLETES SELECTED TO REPRESENT AUSTRALIA!
12 April 2024
Performance
Our People
Volleyball South Australia is incredibly proud to congratulate three superstar South Australian athletes on their selection in the U20 Men's and Women's Australian National Teams.
Please join us in congratulating:
Chelsea Durbridge
Cameron Zajer
Finley Bennett
Chelsea and Cameron are a part of a 12 strong squad representing Australia at the 22nd U20 Asian Women's Volleyball Championships, held in Jiangmen, China from June 27 - July 8. Australia has been selected to play in Pool A alongside hosts China, and Kazakhstan. The team is striving to finish 1st or 2nd in the pool, to continue through to the quarter finals for the first time in recent years.
Chelsea and Cameron have both been proud members of many South Australian representative teams in the past, including competing in the 2023 Scape Australian Volleyball Super League season with senior representative team, the Adelaide Storm.
Cameron, who competes in both beach and indoor volleyball, had a very successful 2023, winning a silver medal at the Youth Commonwealth Games, being named the Emerging Athlete of the Year at the Rebel South Australian Sports Awards and MVP of the gold medal match at the Australian Youth Volleyball Championships.
Chelsea, who helped the Brighton Secondary Open Honours Girls team to gold in 2023, recently took a major career step by moving to the Australian Volleyball Academy. The Academy is based at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, with the full-time women's program run by Australian National Team Head Coach, Russell Borgeaud.
Volleyball SA are looking forward to seeing more success from Chelsea and Cameron in the upcoming U20 Asian Championships!
Finley has been selected as part of a strong team of 12, preparing to compete against New Zealand in the upcoming Asian Championships Qualifier. The matches will be held at the Australian Institute of Sport, Canberra from June 8 - 10. The victor of the 3-game series, will secure the Oceania spot at the 22nd Asian Men’s U20 Volleyball Championships in Surabaya, Indonesia from July 23 - 30.
Finley, who also competes in both beach and indoor volleyball, was recently selected in the U19 Australian Men's Beach Volleyball Team to compete at the U19 Asian Beach Volleyball Championships, not long after being selected as a Tier 1 SASI scholarship athlete. Finley was also just named the South Australian Volleyball League's Round 1 Lumin Player of the Round, after showcasing some incredible volleyball with his club team USC Lion.
You can catch Finley competing with the U20 Australian Team in their Trans-Tasman Series at the dates and times below:
Match 1 - Australia v New Zealand
Date: Saturday, 8th June 2024 (local) AEST Venue: AIS, Canberra ACT
Match 3 - Australia v New Zealand
Date: Monday 10th June 2024 (local) AEST Venue: AIS, Canberra ACT
Volleyball SA wishes Chelsea, Cameron, Finley, and the entire Australian Squad the best of luck in their competitions!