Australia's men's volleyball coach Jon Uriarte has hailed his team's mental strength as they secured a historic second-round berth at the world championships.
The Volleyroos posted a thrilling five-set victory over Venezuela in Warsaw, Poland, to advance for the first time since their tournament debut in 1982.
It was remarkable turnaround for the Australians, who were thrashed by Argentina barely 24 hours earlier and on the brink of elimination.
"We knew from a long time ago that this match against Venezuela would be a final for us," Uriarte said.
"Honestly, the players did a really good job, because we arrived at this match dealing with many things.
"I am so proud, but not just proud. The players deserve to be recognised for how well they were able to focus and build this win today."
Experienced trio Nathan Roberts, Travis Passier and Harry Peacock helped the Volleyroos race to a 15-9 lead in the first set, which they eventually won 25-20.
Venezuela bounced back to claim the closely-contested second 25-23, before taking control of the match by winning the third 25-21.
Just when it looked like their tournament would meet a disappointing early end however, Australia managed to drag themselves out of their funk to blitz the fourth set 25-16.
They carried that momentum into the fifth - which they won 15-9 - to create their own piece of history.
"For many years our team has built confidence in keeping focused on our keys, take feedback from the matches, and today that was the key moment," Uriarte said.
"The team has this mental strength that it could come back."
The Volleyroos next face France, whom they upset in July for a place in the World League finals.
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