This last weekend the highly anticipated World League matches between the Australian Men’s Volleyball team, the Volleyroos, and Brazil took place at Olympic Park.

Saturday’s game saw the Volleyroos lose 3-1 with some magnificent passing from libero Luke Perry and ferocious spiking from Thomas Edgar. Brazil didn’t have their best passer on court, and while they had difficulty picking up some spikes, they had the upper hand on serving which ultimately won them the game. Not to mention the support from the Brazilians in the crowd, who sang and cheered for every player.

After such a brilliant game on Saturday, Sunday’s match sold out, with many more supporters for both Australian and Brazil turning up to cheer the teams on. The Volleyroos played another good game, but the addition of Tom D-P’s brilliant setting was not enough to bring them over the line, losing 3-0. Edgar’s was still the strongest attacker on court, but with Brazil’s passing improving they were almost unbeatable.

One of the most entertaining parts of the weekend was the Coaches ability to challenge some calls by the referee. The Australian Coach, Roberto Santilli, was passionate in his response to some calls by both referees on Saturday and Sunday night. A passionate response that got Santilli a yellow card on Sunday.

The World League games gave Australian Volleyball supporters the chance to experience a high level match. Unlike many other countries in the world, Australia does not have a professional Volleyball league, meaning there are very few chances to see the best players in Australia play.

The most exciting part of the weekend was seeing so many people fill out a stadium and get involved supporting both the Australian and Brazilian teams. With events like this only happening once a year, it’s amazing to see such a small community, in comparison to some sports in Australia, come together and support the sport they love.

Photograph by Sheilah Adam of Captured Sweet Moments Photography