Sixteen teams including Australia will be vying for the title in the 17th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship scheduled from September 13 to 21, 2013 in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. Opening day is set Friday and simultaneous games will kick off the competition starting at 2 p.m. Australia time.

The Australians will be facing the Mongolian national team in their first outing.

The teams will be vying for berths in three major events in 2013 and 2014. The champion will represent Asia in the 2013 FIVB World Grand Champions Cup set November 12 to 17, 2013 in Japan; the finalists—aside from automatic qualifiers Japan and China—will play in the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix and the top eight teams will be shoo-ins in the 2014 AVC Cup for Women.

The 16 teams are divided into four pools (A, B, C and D) and each team is scheduled to battle rival teams from their respective groups in a single-round robin affair. At the end of the three-game preliminaries, the top two teams will advance to the next round consisting of the eight teams.

Australia belongs to Pool A with host Thailand, Kazakhstan and Mongolia. Pool B consists of defending champion China, Iran, Independent Team from India and the Philippines; Pool C with Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam and Hong Kong; and final Pool D with South Korea, Sri Lanka, Chinese Taipei and Myanmar.

The first edition of this Asian competition began in 1975 with Japan as the inaugural champions in the event held in Melbourne, Australia.

China has dominated the women’s side of the Asian Volleyball Championship (AVC) with 16 medals in 16 tournaments since 1975. The Chinese spikers have a total 12 gold medals, 3 silvers and one bronze.

Meanwhile, Australia’s best finish was in the inaugural year in 1975 and the following tournament in 1979, both times finishing in fourth place. The last three results for Australia are 8th place (2007), 9th place (2009) and 10th (2011).

Live Streaming for 17th Asian Senior Women’s Volleyball Championship
(Additional links to be posted once available)

September 13, 2013 (Friday – Australian time)

2:00 p.m. – Australia vs. Mongolia | Philippines vs. Independent Team from India
5:00 p.m. – Thailand vs. Kazakhstan | South Korea vs. Myanmar
7:30 p.m. - Japan vs. Vietnam | Chinese Taipei vs. Sri Lanka
9:00 p.m. - China vs. Iran | Indonesia vs. Hong Kong