Rising volleyball star Amarliah Rangi eyes off 2032 Brisbane Olympics after national training squad selection

One Geraldton volleyball player has her sights set on a possible Olympics appearance after being selected in the national indoor volleyball program based in Canberra. Sixteen-year-old Amarliah Rangi will make the move east to Canberra to train in the Volleyroos for 2032 squad, a year-round full-time training program designed to prepare athletes for the 2032 games in Brisbane. The program is held out of the National Training Centre and backed by the Australian Institute of Sport and Volleyball Australia, who selected 19 female athletes to participate. Rangi, who was one of two West Australians picked, said it would be exciting to be selected for national team duties. “That’s my main goal at the end of playing volleyball,” she said. “I feel like it would be really exciting and you’ve put all your effort into something good and that’s the end goal I want to achieve.” Rangi originally got her start playing volleyball in Newman, where she spent most of her childhood before her family moved to Geraldton three years ago. While Geraldton has no organised volleyball competitions, most of Rangi’s volleyball has been played in Perth for her boarding school, St Mary’s Anglican Girls School. Since she was enrolled in Year 7, she has played volleyball for her school in the Independent Girls School Sports Association competition and eventually caught the attention of State selectors last year. She was named in WA’s under-17s girls squad, before she was scouted by national selectors to train over east in December, before formally being approached to join the AIS. Rangi, who also has a background in netball, athletics, soccer and swimming, said it was a great opportunity for her volleyball career. “I’m kind of scared because I don’t really know many people going over,” she said. “But I think it’s a great opportunity to develop my volleyball skills and stuff with other people that play professionally.” Volleyball Australia launched their new enhanced development pathway in September 2025, creating a structure that allows a more integrated approach to the national squad across the next two Olympic cycles. The national indoor women’s team is ranked 73rd in the world, and has not qualified for the Olympics since Sydney 2000, but will automatically qualify for the 2032 games as host nation. Players like Rangi in the Volleyroos for 2032 squads, will get to train alongside returning overseas-based professionals who play in other competitions like the USA’s NCAA program. Volleyball Australia national performance director Craig Marshall said this had significant advantages for player development. “The National Training Centre environment allows us to deliver consistent, high-quality development while our athletes benefit from world-class facilities and support services,” he said. “This integrated approach ensures our emerging athletes are training in the same environment they’ll need to excel in as senior international players.” But back home in Geraldton, away from the AIS’ world-class facilities in Canberra, Rangi will stick to practising in the backyard or on the beach with her brother. “I usually play outside, out the back with my brothers and we’ve got rebounders and stuff,” she said. “I try to get him better because he’s quite young and doesn’t really know how to play.”