Madelaynne Montaño was key for Colombia, topping the scorers' list with 24 points as she and her team-mates secured a 25-14, 15-25, 21-25, 25-17, 17-15 success in the opening match of the competition.

Venezuela fought hard with Aleoscar Blanco heading their charts on 15 points, but Colombia, led by Argentine coach Eduardo Guillaume, ultimately had the edge.

The match was followed by the Opening Ceremony, after which hosts Argentina met Chile and registered a straight sets 25-10, 25-15, 25-14 victory.

The five teams competing at the event, which also features Peru, are playing for a berth at Rio 2016.

The winner of the round-robin tournament will automatically qualify for the Olympic Games, while the second and third-placed teams will play in World Olympic Qualification Tournament, scheduled to take place at some point between May 14 and June 5.  

Brazil were the first country to qualify for Rio 2016 as hosts and have since been joined by China and Serbia, winners and runners-up respectively at the 2015 World Cup in Japan.

The European qualifier is currently ongoing in Turkey’s capital Ankara with the final group games set to be played tomorrow.

Action is set to continue in San Carlos de Bariloche tomorrow as well, when Peru play their first match against Chile and Argentina go up against Venezuela.

Both matches will be broadcast live on the South American Volleyball Confederation’s website, which can be accessed by clicking here.