Everything you need to know about LOVB, PVF, and the evolving volleyball landscape | The GIST

Just over two weeks removed from the wildly successful NCAA Volleyball championships, the serving continues when the pros take the court for the inaugural LOVB Pro season later today and PVF opening action tomorrow.

And it’s all part of a huge, ahem, spike in the growth of the game.

• 📺 This year’s NCAA tournament was the most-consumed ever, garnering 1.3B minutes watched on ESPN platforms.

• 💪 And volleyball is the most popular team sport among high school girls, seeing an increase in participation each year since 1980 (excluding during the pandemic in 2020).

TL;DR? Volleyball is skyrocketing like a blocker leaping above the net — there’s no better time to learn about these two groundbreaking pro leagues.

Today marks the debut of LOVB Pro, but the holistic LOVB ecosystem dates back to 2020. LOVB was initially founded as a network of youth clubs with the ultimate goal of launching a pro league and currently boasts 58 club locations across 26 states for a total of 17K youth athletes.

As for LOVB Pro, there are six teams — Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha, and Salt Lake — who’ll compete for the next 14 weeks, culminating in the mid-April finals from Louisville, Kentucky.

• Unlike conventional league formats where teams visit each other, each week features a “head-to-head” match in one city followed by a weekend with LOVB, where the four teams who didn’t play in the head-to-head compete in the same city.

• For example, Atlanta is hosting Salt Lake for tonight’s “head-to-head” followed by the rest of this week’s games being played in Houston. From there, host cities will rotate week to week.

• There’s also some in-season fun on the docket — all six teams will compete in the LOVB Classic, a winner-take-all in-season tourney hosted in Kansas City beginning February 14th. Truly LOV(B)E to see it.

Now for the starpower. LOVB features some of the game’s best, including a whopping 75% of the Team USA roster that took silver at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

• From Jordan Larson (Omaha), one of the most decorated players of all time, to 2023 AVCA Player of the Year Sarah Franklin (Madison) to recently crowned national NCAA champion Jess Mruzik (Houston), there’s no shortage of talent taking the court.

Returning for its sophomore season after a stellar inaugural campaign, PVF follows a more traditional league model compared to LOVB and AU Pro Volleyball. PVF is composed of eight teams: Atlanta Vibe, Columbus Fury, Grand Rapids Rise, Indy Ignite, Omaha Supernovas, Orlando Valkyries, San Diego Mojo, and Vegas Thrill.

• Those eight squads will play 28 matches — 14 home and 14 away — from tomorrow through May, facing each team four times.

• Plus, the PVF will host their inaugural All-Star Match on February 22nd from Indianapolis, Indiana. The match will air on CBS, marking the first time pro volleyball will be broadcast on national over-the-air television. Hey now.

• And of course, it’s all leading to a championship showdown, with the top four teams advancing to the May 9th and 11th PVF Championship. The squad to watch? The Omaha Supernovas, last year’s debut champs.

Now let’s chat players. Former Kentucky standout and reigning PVF MVP Leah Edmond (Atlanta Vibe) is back to defend her title, joined by her teammate, defending Libero of the Year and Team USA player Morgan Hentz.

• As for the rookies, keep an eye on outside hitter Anna DeBeer (Indy Ignite) as the Louisville superstar returns from an injury suffered during the NCAA national tournament.

The best news of all? The action will be readily available on TV — LOVB Pro inked an agreement with ESPN (which already owns the NCAA volleyball rights) while PVF play will air across CBS and Fox Sports networks.

• LOVB begins tonight at 7:30 p.m. ET with Salt Lake facing Atlanta on ESPN+ (and TSN or DAZN in Canada) and the rest of Week 1 competition airing in the same place.

• PVF begins tomorrow at 7 p.m. ET as the San Diego Mojo takes on the Orlando Valkyries on FS2. Bumpin’ that, literally.