Hundreds of followers crowded outdoors of Gateway Heart Area close to Atlanta earlier this month hoping to witness League One Volleyball’s opening evening.
The sold-out match between Atlanta and Salt Lake, although, resulted in some followers being turned away on the door.
Center blocker and Atlanta native Tia Jimerson by no means may have imagined this chance.
However as she stepped onto the courtroom, with “Atlanta” emblazoned throughout her chest and her family and friends cheering her on from the stands, the fact of the state of affairs got here into focus.
After a number of years of enjoying professionally in Hungary, Portugal and Germany, Jimerson lastly had an opportunity to receives a commission to play volleyball in the USA.
“There’s positively a particular vitality and delight in representing your property,” Jimerson informed The Submit. “It feels prefer it’s come full circle and I believe that simply makes each second on the courtroom much more significant.”
Salt Lake beat Atlanta 3-1 earlier than 3,239 followers on Jan. 8. However the electrical vitality inside the constructing and suggestions from followers was reassuring for League One Volleyball president Rosie Spaulding.
“We’re right here to construct [and] to make volleyball a significant league sport,” Spaulding informed The Submit. “[The season opener] was simply an enormous milestone in that. And it simply felt unimaginable to be within the enviornment.”
Volleyball has been a world sport for a while, however till lately Individuals needed to go abroad to proceed their post-college enjoying careers.
When League One Volleyball, or LOVB (pronounced “love,”) was shaped in 2020, there have been no home skilled volleyball leagues. Now, LOVB is the third one to launch prior to now 4 years — with a fourth league, Main League Volleyball, planning to debut subsequent yr.
LOVB’s debut earlier this month lined up with the Professional Volleyball Federation (PVF) starting its second season. In the meantime, Athletes Limitless, a five-week league that occurs within the fall, wrapped up its fourth season in November.
LOVB and PVF’s seasons overlap and each have groups in Omaha and Atlanta. However based mostly on volleyball’s booming recognition, Elevate chief technique and progress officer Ben Gumpert believes there’s loads of room for every league.
Volleyball has the second-highest participant price amongst highschool ladies, based on a survey from the Nationwide Federation of State Excessive College Associations.
Faculty volleyball has been shattering TV rankings and attendance data for a number of seasons. The 2024 NCAA Match was the most-viewed girls’s volleyball match to this point and its championship match between Louisville and Penn State drew 1.3 million viewers, the second-most watched title bout on report.
Gumpert, who’s been monitoring volleyball information for a minimum of 5 years, mentioned the game continues to have “large” progress potential.
“It’ll be fascinating,” he mentioned. “How’s this gonna precisely play out within the subsequent 10 years? I don’t know, however one factor I’m very assured of is … you’re gonna see in 10 years from now, there can be extra volleyball in additional locations on the highest stage.”
LOVB spent the previous few years shopping for youth volleyball golf equipment throughout the nation and has expanded its portfolio to incorporate 60 youth golf equipment throughout 23 states.
Spaulding mentioned LOVB was “very intentional” about constructing deep ties to the youth membership scene earlier than launching its skilled league, which not-so-coincidentally follows the 2024 Paris Video games.
The six professional groups in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Houston, Omaha, Salt Lake Metropolis and Madison, Wis., all practice at LOVB club-owned services, the place the youth groups follow.
“It was vital to us in every metropolis to have this group base the place you actually present a pathway for younger women and girls to aspire to play professional,” Spaulding mentioned.
LOVB consulted with an 11-athlete council that included Olympians Micha Hancock, Jordan Larson and Kelsey Cook dinner when growing the league. These founding athletes had a voice in every thing from the league’s format to group uniforms.
This season, salaries begin at $60,000 however fluctuate relying on place, expertise stage and expertise. Gamers are thought-about workers of LOVB, which means they get year-round advantages, together with well being, imaginative and prescient and dental insurance coverage in addition to baby care help and on-line psychological well being assets.
Jimerson mentioned the year-round participant funding is totally different from her experiences enjoying abroad.
“It’s been wonderful,” she mentioned. “They’ve been tremendous intentional in opening up the communication line between us instantly and we actually have a option to share our ideas and opinions anonymously.”
LOVB hopes to develop to eight groups by 2027 and proceed so as to add organizations from there. For now, although, Spaulding mentioned she and her group are pleased with how the league has grown from an concept to an precise product.
Leagues of their very own
A take a look at LOVB, considered one of a number of girls’s skilled volleyball leagues — corresponding to Professional Volleyball Basis, Athletes Unequalled, and Main League Volleyball — in its infancy.
WHO:
League One Volleyball, or LOVB, is a California-based group that has raised greater than $160 million in funding. Traders embrace U.S. Olympic gold medalist skier Lindsey Vonn, former three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant.
LOVB options 9 of the 12 members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic roster, together with Annie Drews, Jordan Larson, Chiaka Ogbogu, Jordyn Poulter, Kelsey Robinson Cook dinner, Jordan Thompson, Haleigh Washington, Justin Wong-Orantes and Lauren Carlini.
WHERE:
LOVB has ties to 60 youth golf equipment throughout 23 states. Its inaugural skilled season options groups in six cities: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Omaha, Neb.; Salt Lake Metropolis; and Madison, Wis. Every market needed to meet 28 standards factors and was chosen based mostly on its youth and faculty volleyball scenes.
WHEN:
LOVB began its inaugural season Jan. 8 and can run by way of April 5. LOVB Finals are scheduled for April 10-13 and can be performed in Louisville, Ky.