Australia must beat No. 3 seeds Poland to keep their slim quarter-finals hopes alive in their final preliminary men’s volleyball match at Earls Court on Monday.

While the No. 22 ranked Australians have won only one of their four matches so far, gun point scorer Tom Edgar said their more fancied opponents ‘won’t take us easy’.

Australia played Poland earlier this year and were very competitive but the team has improved significantly since then, with their heartbreaking losses in their last two outings against powerhouses Italy and Bulgaria underlining just how far they have come.

“Italy came out underestimating us,” Edgar said. “They came up against us and thought it would be easy. I think they were a bit shocked when it was 2-0.”

Australia must beat Poland and rely on other results to advance to the quarter final.
“It’s out of our hands now; some results have not gone our way.” Edgar said.

Despite only one win from four outings, the Australians have no doubt they have earned respect with performances that belie their ranking.

“We showed we can match it with the best squads in the world ... it’s about consistency now,” he said.
“We have something to reach for ... we’re on the right path.”

Australia has beaten Great Britain 3-0 and lost to Argentina 0-3, Bulgaria 0-3 and Italy 2-3.

Australia only qualified for London 49 days before their opening match against Argentina.

While the 10-member team boasts a great deal of international experience for Australia as well as the majority being contracted to European clubs, they are all on debut on the Olympic stage.

Tracie Edmondson
Olympics.com.au