The Volleyroos want to silence those who don't believe they belong on the global stage by making history at the volleyball world championships in Poland.
Not since 1998 has the Australian men's team won a match at the tournament, held every four years.
In fact, that was their only victory in five appearances over 32 years.
But if there's a time for the streak to end, this year is it.
The Volleyroos open their campaign against Cameroon on Sunday (Monday AEST) still riding high from last month's historic showing in the World League.
The side, led by skipper Aidan Zingel, broke through for their inaugural win in the $8 million competition and made it to the finals for the first time.
"It helped us prove that we can match it with the top teams in the world," Zingel told AAP from Poland, where they've spent the past fortnight preparing for the championships.
"We obviously have a lot of confidence, especially after the year we've had.
"We need to carry that through, but we can't become complacent and let that turn into arrogance."
While Zingel said playing in Poland - where volleyball is "absolutely massive" - was a great experience for the team, it's far from a token tournament.
After spending years in development, particularly since London 2012, they want results.
"We're at a point where we're there to make a statement," he said.
"This and the Olympics are the two biggest tournaments for volleyball.
"We've worked hard the last two years to build up to this and we'll use this obviously as preparation to try and qualify for the (2016) Olympics.
"But, right now, this is our chance to shine.
"There are plenty of (rival nations) who still think we don't deserve to be where we are or to achieve what we have.
"That just adds fuel to our fire, when we hear those types of comments. It makes us want to perform harder and shut 'em up.
"Our biggest goal is to pass through to the second round - and to do that we'll need to win at least two matches."
After Cameroon, the Volleyroos face hosts Poland early Wednesday morning (AEST), followed by Serbia, Argentina and Venezuela.
In a boost for the team, Australia's most experienced player Nathan Roberts and fellow Olympian Travis Passier have both recovered from injury and been named in the final line-up.
HOW AUSTRALIA'S FARED AT THE MEN'S VOLLEYBALL WORLD CHAMPIONSHIPS
1949-66 - did not enter
1970-78 - did not qualify
1982 - group stages, finished 22nd (0 wins, 3 losses)
1986-94 - did not qualify
1998 - group stages, finished 17th (1 win, 2 losses)
2002 - group stages, finished 19th (0 wins, 3 losses)
2006 - group stages, finished 21st (0 wins, 5 losses)
2010 - group stages, finished 19th (0 wins, 3 losses)
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