The pair have been selected following a successful international season, which included a bronze medal-winning performance at the 2017 International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) one-star World Tour event in Ulsan in South Korea.

Beach volleyball is making its Commonwealth Games debut at Gold Coast 2018 and 24-year-old Polley has expressed her excitement at becoming one of the first New Zealanders to compete in her sport at the quadrennial event.

"It's a huge honour and it's going to be pretty special to represent our country on the international stage against some great teams," she said.

"We've put in a huge amount of work to make it to this point so we're really pleased to be named and we can't wait to compete in the Commonwealth Games."

Polley has previous experience of competing in the Gold Coast and says the conditions can be tricky.

"The sand's really deep over there and that makes it harder to jump high, so that's a factor to consider and we'll be training to mitigate that," she added.

Wills, who has played indoor volleyball professionally in France, is expecting high-level competition at Gold Coast 2018.

"Australia, Canada and Vanuatu are some of the really strong teams, they're some of the best in the world but we're up for the challenge and we'll be ready for them," the 25-year-old said.

"After a year of working full-time and travelling to competitions and trying to meet criteria, it's such a great feeling to be named to the team and to get to represent New Zealand and wear the fern."

New Zealand Olympic Committee chief executive Kereyn Smith congratulated Wills and Polley on their selection. 

"Kelsie and Shaunna have put in a lot of work to get to where they are and should be extremely proud of making the team in the face of stiff competition," she said.

"Beach volleyball is a great spectator sport and I have no doubt that they'll be supported by a strong contingent of Kiwi fans on the Gold Coast in April."

Polley and Wills are set to compete in the Waikato Open beach volleyball competition tomorrow before heading to international events in Australia and the United States as they prepare for Gold Coast 2018.

A men's beach volleyball team is expected to be named in the coming weeks.

Last month, Gold Coast 2018 organisers confirmed they will import sand from Brisbane for the beach volleyball competition after sand on the Coolangatta Beachfront was deemed "too fine".

The FIVB made the judgement, which means tonnes of coarser sand will have to be transported across to the Gold Coast.

Beach volleyball was added to the Games programme after an agreement was struck between the Commonwealth Games Federation, the Queensland Government, the Australian Commonwealth Games Association and Gold Coast 2018.

Two 12-team tournaments will be contested, one each for men and women, with two players per team.

Tickets for the beach volleyball competition have already sold out.

Gold Coast 2018 is due to take place from April 4 to 15.

Beach volleyball action is scheduled to run from April 6 to 12.