Shepparton in Victoria is the latest venue for the competition with action taking place over the next two days.

The competition in Shepparton will be the first FIVB World Tour event in Australia since 2008 and Dinny Adem, the city’s Mayor, said excitement is building for the matches.

“Without doubt this is a fantastic event for Greater Shepparton,” he said.

“When I look around this site and see all these international flags, I see what a perfect fit this is with our constituents of Greater Shepparton.”

Top ranked women’s pairing Nikki Laird and Phoebe Bell will start off proceedings with a tough tie as the Australians have been drawn against Japan’s Takemi Nishibori and Marie Wada in tomorrow’s first round.

Nishibori has been a highly ranked play on the Asian Tour for several years while Wada has lots of indoor volleyball experience.

Laird was part of the Australian team who went to the Rio 2016 Olympics, while Bell was a member of the country’s Youth Olympic squad in 2014.

In the men’s draw, another Australian duo, Chris McHugh and Damien Schumann, are the top seeds and will take on their countrymen Tim Dickson and Garang Anyany in the first round.

Cole Durant and Zachery Schubert, the second seeds, have a tricky match to negotiate.

The Australians will come up against the experienced combination of David McKienzie and 40-year-old Ed Ratledge of the United States.