The Volleyroos side will continue their journey towards the Rio 2016 Olympic Games under Italian head coach Roberto Santilli, who replaced veteran Argentine coach Jon Uriarte in February 2015. At the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, the team were eighth, beting Spain in the process and winning a set against then world champions Italy. In Athens 2004, they dropped to equal-11th. In the last Olympic Cycle, Australia have shown steady improvement, appearing at the London 2012 Olympic Games, where they finished equal-ninth. The Australians will attempt to earn their fourth Olympics appearance, with only an almost completely different team that qualified four years ago, as only two of their starting seven players will take part in the World Olympic Qualification Tournament.
In the 2015 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. In the 2014 World League, they were bottom of Group 2's Pool C but defeated France in five sets in the Group 2 final in Sydney. That secured them a spot in the Group 1 Finals but they were defeated by United States and Italy. They represented Asia at the 2014 World Championship, finishing joint-15th after reaching the second round in Poland. At the continental level, the Australians seized the gold medal in 2007, on top of the two silver medals and bronze medal they earned in the Asian Championship. 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.