I grew up playing competitive volleyball in Minnesota through high school and college, and the one thing that always stung was knowing there was no real professional path waiting on the other side. You could play in Europe, sure. Or you could hang up the knee pads and move on. For decades, that was the deal for American volleyball players, and it drove some of the best talent in the world overseas.
That changed in January 2025 when League One Volleyball (LOVB) tipped off its inaugural pro season with six teams, 17 Olympians, and sold-out arenas. One season later, LOVB is already in its second year, selling franchises, expanding to new cities, and broadcasting matches on ESPN and USA Network. If you’ve been following the history of volleyball in America, you know this is the biggest shift in the domestic game since Title IX opened the floodgates for women’s participation. Here’s everything you need to know about where the league stands right now.
LOVB at a Glance
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | League One Volleyball (pronounced “love”) |
| Founded | 2020 (pro league launched January 2025) |
| 2026 Teams | Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Nebraska, Salt Lake |
| 2025 Champions | LOVB Austin |
| 2025 Season MVP | Kelsey Cook (LOVB Atlanta) |
| 2025 Finals MVP | Madisen Skinner (LOVB Austin) |
| Broadcast Partners | ESPN, ESPN2, ESPN+, USA Network, LOVB LIVE |
| 2027 Expansion Cities | Minnesota, Los Angeles, San Francisco |
| Total Funding | $160 million+ |
| Youth Network | 77 clubs, 22,000+ athletes, 28 states |
What Is LOVB and How Does It Work?
LOVB was founded in 2020 by Katlyn Gao, Peter Hirschmann, and Olympian Kevin Wong. The concept started with youth clubs, not a pro league. By the time LOVB Pro launched in 2025, the organization already ran 77 club locations across 28 states with over 22,000 young athletes and 3,500 coaches. The pro league sits on top of that foundation.
That “community-up” model is what separates LOVB from traditional sports leagues. Each pro team is tied to local LOVB junior clubs in its city, creating an actual pipeline from youth volleyball to the professional level. A 14-year-old training at an LOVB club in Houston can watch Jordan Thompson play for LOVB Houston the same week. For perspective on how different volleyball positions function at the pro level compared to club play, the skill gap is smaller than you’d think. The systems and rotations are the same. The speed and power are just cranked up.
LOVB Pro teams don’t use traditional city-plus-nickname branding. There’s no “Atlanta Aces” or “Salt Lake Smashers.” Every team is simply “LOVB” followed by its city or region: LOVB Atlanta, LOVB Austin, LOVB Houston, LOVB Madison, LOVB Nebraska, and LOVB Salt Lake.
The 2025 Inaugural Season: What Actually Happened
The first match in LOVB history took place on January 8, 2025, at Gateway Center Arena in College Park, Georgia. LOVB Salt Lake beat LOVB Atlanta in four sets before a sold-out crowd, and Roni Jones-Perry scored the first kill in league history.
Atlanta shook off that opening loss quickly. Under Brazilian coach Paulo Coco, Atlanta ripped off a seven-match winning streak and finished the regular season 13-3, the best record in the league. Season MVP Kelsey Cook led the charge alongside setter Madi Bugg, middle Tia Jimerson, and Outside Hitter of the Year McKenzie Adams. LOVB Houston finished second at 11-5, powered by the league’s leading scorer, Jordan Thompson, who put up 256 points and 224 kills on the year. Madison went from 1-7 to finish 8-8 after Annie Drews Schumacher returned from injury and averaged 19 kills per match down the stretch. Salt Lake went 7-9 with eight of their 19 matches going to five sets.
2025 Regular Season Final Standings
| Seed | Team | Record |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | LOVB Atlanta | 13-3 |
| 2 | LOVB Houston | 11-5 |
| 3 | LOVB Madison | 8-8 |
| 4 | LOVB Salt Lake | 7-9 |
| 5 | LOVB Austin | 5-11 |
| 6 | LOVB Omaha | 5-11 |
The mid-season LOVB Classic tournament ran over Valentine’s Day weekend in Kansas City, with Houston taking the title and the $100,000 first-place prize.
The LOVB Finals: An Underdog Story for the History Books
The LOVB Finals, held April 10-13 at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky, produced one of the wildest playoff runs in any sport’s inaugural season. Fifth-seeded Austin and sixth-seeded Omaha, both 5-11 in the regular season, met in the championship match. Neither team had any business being there.
Austin got there by pulling off back-to-back reverse sweeps. They trailed Salt Lake 0-2 in the quarterfinals and came back to win in five. Then they trailed top-seeded Atlanta 0-2 in the semifinals and did it again, winning 21-25, 15-25, 25-22, 25-10, 16-14. Omaha’s path was equally improbable. They beat Madison in four sets, then reverse-swept second-seeded Houston.
The championship itself was all Austin. They swept Omaha 25-19, 25-22, 25-23, out-blocking them 16-3. Madisen Skinner had 17 kills and hit .308 to earn Finals MVP. Logan Eggleston scored a season-high 22 points on 17 kills with a .469 attack efficiency. Skinner has now won four championships in five years: one NCAA title with Kentucky, two with Texas, and the inaugural LOVB crown. That’s a track record that speaks for itself.
The coaching story added another layer. Austin’s original coach, Marco Bonitta, departed mid-season for personal reasons when the team was 4-4. Chris McGown, the former BYU men’s coach, stepped in on February 19. The team finished 5-11 in the regular season under his direction, then turned it around completely in the postseason.
2025 Season Award Winners
| Award | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Season MVP | Kelsey Cook | LOVB Atlanta |
| Finals MVP | Madisen Skinner | LOVB Austin |
| Opposite Hitter of the Year | Jordan Thompson | LOVB Houston |
| Outside Hitter of the Year | McKenzie Adams | LOVB Atlanta |
| Setter of the Year | Lauren Carlini | LOVB Madison |
| Libero of the Year | Manami Kojima | LOVB Salt Lake |
| Middle Blocker of the Year | Chiaka Ogbogu | LOVB Austin |
| Coach of the Year | Paulo Coco | LOVB Atlanta |
Carlini played all 64 sets for Madison and led the league with 695 assists. Kojima led the league with 224 digs and made a single-match record of 28 digs on January 28. Ogbogu led the league with 53 blocks and set the single-match record with 9 in one game, a feat she repeated twice during the season. Thompson finished with 20+ kills in four regular-season matches and hit double digits in 13 of 14 matches played.
The 2026 Season: What’s New
LOVB’s second season kicked off on January 7, 2026, with defending champions Austin hosting Nebraska in a rematch of the 2025 Finals. The match aired on USA Network, LOVB’s new broadcast partner for Wednesday night prime-time games.
Ownership Changes
The biggest off-season development was the shift toward individual franchise ownership. During the 2025 season, LOVB operated all six teams as a single entity. That started changing fast:
In June 2025, a group led by David Blitzer and Peter Holt (through his San Antonio-based Spurs Sports and Entertainment) purchased LOVB Austin and acquired an equity stake in the league. In August 2025, a group led by four-time Olympian Jordan Larson acquired LOVB Omaha, and the team rebranded to LOVB Nebraska.
2026 Format Changes
The weekly format now features a Wednesday night “Match of the Week” broadcast on USA Network in prime time, giving the league a consistent national TV slot. The postseason format changed too. Instead of a single-weekend tournament, the 2026 playoffs will run over two weekends in April. Four teams qualify for the semifinals, played as two-match series, with the winners meeting in another two-match championship series.
The LOVB Classic returns in February in Kansas City. This time, the three pro matches count as regular-season games instead of a separate bracketed tournament.
Key Roster Moves for 2026
Twenty new athletes joined the league for year two, including Olympic gold medalist Xiangyu Gong (LOVB Madison) and two-time Olympians Ana Carolina da Silva and Anne Buijs (LOVB Nebraska). Four members of the Canadian National Team entered the league, with Alexa Gray heading to Salt Lake and Brie O’Reilly joining Austin. Reigning MVP Kelsey Cook is out for the 2026 season (expecting), but Atlanta retained Outside Hitter of the Year McKenzie Adams and added several new pieces.
Broadcast Partners for 2026
ESPN returned for 28 matches across ESPN2, ESPNU, and ESPN+. USA Network carries Wednesday Match of the Week telecasts plus the playoffs and championship. All 60+ matches stream live and on-demand on LOVB LIVE at lovb.com (free with an account). For international fans, SPOTV broadcasts all matches across Southeast Asia.
How to Watch LOVB
| Where | What You Get | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| USA Network | Wednesday Match of the Week, playoffs, championship | Cable/streaming subscription |
| ESPN2 / ESPNU | Select weekend matches | Cable/streaming subscription |
| ESPN+ | 28 total matches including all First Serve openers | ESPN+ subscription |
| LOVB LIVE (lovb.com) | All matches, live and on-demand, multi-camera | Free (account required) |
| SPOTV | All matches in Southeast Asia | Varies by region |
The LOVB LIVE platform on lovb.com offers customizable stat overlays, multi-camera angles, and replay features. For anyone who wants to track volleyball analytics in real time, LOVB publishes detailed statistical categories during every match, including attack efficiency, pass efficiency ratings, and per-set breakdowns.
LOVB’s Money: Investment, Salaries, and Player Benefits
LOVB has raised over $160 million in total capital. A $16.75 million Series A in 2022 was headlined by Billie Jean King and Kevin Durant. A $35 million Series B in 2023 brought in Lindsey Vonn, Jayson Tatum, and Candace Parker. Then a $100 million round in November 2024, led by Atwater Capital with participation from Ares Management and Left Lane Capital, pushed the total past $160 million.
Player salaries start at $60,000, and the benefits package goes well beyond what most professional athletes in women’s sports receive. LOVB provides healthcare coverage including maternity leave, childcare support, fertility resources, marketing contracts built into player agreements, and post-career transition assistance. When Kelsey Cook and Justine Wong-Orantes both announced pregnancies during/after the 2025 season, the league’s family-support infrastructure got a real-world test, and both players maintained their roster status. The Adidas apparel partnership, signed in June 2024, supplies all team uniforms.
U.S. Pro Volleyball in 2026: LOVB vs. MLV vs. Athletes Unlimited
This is where most coverage of LOVB stops, and it shouldn’t. Understanding the full professional picture helps you make sense of where LOVB fits.
Three professional women’s indoor volleyball leagues now operate in the United States, and they don’t compete for the same calendar window.
LOVB Pro runs January through April with 6 teams (expanding to 9 in 2027). It uses a single-entity ownership model transitioning to individual franchise ownership. The “community-up” structure ties pro teams to local youth clubs. Media deals include ESPN and USA Network.
Major League Volleyball (MLV) launched in January 2026 with 8 independently owned teams after the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) merged with the planned MLV league in August 2025. PVF had run two seasons (2024-2025) with the Omaha Supernovas and Orlando Valkyries as standout franchises. MLV’s teams include Atlanta, Columbus, Dallas, Grand Rapids, Indianapolis, Omaha, Orlando, and San Diego. Expansion to Sacramento, St. Paul (Minnesota), and Washington D.C. is planned for 2027. Franchise owners include Orlando Magic owner Dan DeVos and Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadive.
Athletes Unlimited (AU) Pro Volleyball Championship runs in the fall (September-October) with 4 teams. Around 90% of AU players also compete in either LOVB or MLV during the winter/spring. There are no exclusivity restrictions between the leagues, so players can compete across all three in a single year.
Both LOVB and MLV have announced Minnesota expansion teams for 2027, which tells you something about the appetite for pro volleyball in the Upper Midwest. Minnesota Sports and Entertainment (which owns the Minnesota Wild) will own the MLV team. Growing up playing volleyball in Minnesota, I can tell you that the fanbase is already there. The state produces more competitive volleyball players per capita than almost anywhere in the country.
2027 and Beyond: Where LOVB Is Heading
LOVB announced three new expansion cities for 2027: Minnesota, Los Angeles, and San Francisco. That will bring the league to nine teams. The shift from centralized ownership to individual franchise models mirrors the path of every major American professional sports league.
The 2025 NCAA volleyball season set viewership records on ESPN platforms, with tournament coverage finishing up 13% year over year. The championship match between Texas A&M and Kentucky drew 1.4 million viewers. That collegiate audience represents LOVB’s pipeline: fans who already watch volleyball and want to keep following their favorite players after graduation. Madisen Skinner left Texas for LOVB Austin and kept winning championships. Sarah Franklin went from Wisconsin to LOVB Madison. Lexi Rodriguez, the face of Nebraska volleyball, is now LOVB Nebraska’s starting libero in the pro game. The transition from college to pro finally has a clear path.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does LOVB stand for? LOVB stands for League One Volleyball and is pronounced “love.” The organization includes both a youth club network and a professional league (LOVB Pro).
Who won the first LOVB championship? LOVB Austin won the inaugural 2025 LOVB championship, sweeping LOVB Omaha 3-0 in the Finals at KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Kentucky. Madisen Skinner earned Finals MVP.
How can I watch LOVB matches? All matches stream live on LOVB LIVE at lovb.com (free with a registered account). Select matches air on ESPN2, ESPNU, ESPN+, and USA Network. Check lovb.com/schedule for specific broadcast assignments.
What’s the difference between LOVB and MLV? LOVB uses a community-up model that connects pro teams to local youth clubs and started with centralized ownership. MLV (formerly PVF) operates with independently owned franchises. Both run winter/spring seasons. There’s no player exclusivity, so many athletes compete in both leagues plus Athletes Unlimited in the fall.
How much do LOVB players make? LOVB player salaries start at $60,000. The league also provides healthcare, maternity coverage, childcare support, fertility resources, and built-in marketing contracts.
How do I join an LOVB youth club? Visit lovb.com/clubs to find LOVB club locations in your area. The youth network covers 77 club locations across 28 states and serves players ages 12-18.
How does LOVB scoring work? LOVB uses standard indoor volleyball rally-point scoring. Matches are best-of-five sets, with the first four sets played to 25 points and the fifth set to 15, win by two. If you want a deeper breakdown of how rally scoring works at every level of the game, the full volleyball scoring guide has you covered.
Whether you’re following the pro game for the first time or you’ve been waiting decades for American volleyball to get a real domestic league, LOVB is worth your attention. The quality of play, the player investment, and the youth-to-pro pipeline are all working. Now it’s about sustained growth, and year two is already delivering.
Keep playing, Ryan Walker