USA Volleyball and League One Volleyball Announce Partnership

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Dec. 11, 2023) – USA Volleyball today announced a partnership with League One Volleyball (LOVB) to support LOVB’s American professional league, which launches after the Paris Olympic Games in November 2024. 

The collaborative partnership will focus on growing volleyball’s fan base and participation in the sport across the country.

“USA Volleyball is proud to be a partner with LOVB,” said USA Volleyball President and CEO Jamie Davis. “Currently, most of the top U.S. players compete in leagues overseas for up to seven months a year; away from their families, friends and the American audience. We look forward to watching U.S. players compete with LOVB on their home turf and seeing the impact that this league will have on volleyball’s popularity.  LOVB will be a platform where American volleyball fans can see their idols play live and in-person. LOVB is attracting not only U.S. National Team players, but some of the top talent from around the world as well.”

Volleyball’s popularity is already on the rise as it is the most popular team sport for high school and college girls while boys’ high school numbers have increased by 40 percent since 2017. In the 2022-23 season, USA Volleyball membership increased by 9.6 percent to 408,000 (the largest percentage growth since 1998), and the growth was reflected at all levels of play, genders and age groups.

“At LOVB, we’re on the path to making volleyball the next major league sport in the United States, so we are excited to partner with USA Volleyball to help turn this vision into a reality,” said Rosie Spaulding, COO of LOVB’s professional league. “The world’s best professional players deserve the opportunity to play at home in front of the same communities that supported them throughout their youth and college years. We’re excited to work with USA Volleyball to change this paradigm, and be at the forefront of an exciting new movement in American sports.”

Leading into AVCA, LOVB revealed the team names and logos for its professional teams including LOVB Madison Volleyball, LOVB Omaha Volleyball, LOVB Salt Lake Volleyball. Today, it introduced its sixth and final city for its inaugural 2024-2025 season, LOVB Austin Volleyball. The final team name and logos for the cities of Houston and Atlanta will be revealed on December 12 and December 13, respectively.

LOVB’s partnership with USA Volleyball will focus on helping and promoting the league’s professional teams, which has several present and former members of the U.S. Women’s National Team already affiliated. Women’s National Team players who have signed with LOVB include setters Lauren Carlini, Micha Hancock, Carli Lloyd and Jordyn Poulter, libero Justine Wong-Orantes, outside hitter Kelsey (Robinson) Cook, opposite Jordan Thompson and middle blocker Haleigh Washington.

LOVB also recently announced that U.S. WNT Assistant Coach Tama Miyashiro will coach in the league as well.

For more information about LOVB, please visit lovb.com/pro-league.

About USA Volleyball
Founded in 1928, USA Volleyball is a non-profit organization recognized by the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC), the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) and World ParaVolley as the National Governing Body for the sport of volleyball including the disciplines of beach, indoor, sitting, snow and beach Paravolley in the United States. With more than 425,000 registered members, USA Volleyball conducts national championship events, coaching and officials certification programs, and grassroots development across all disciplines in a lifetime sport in which all can participate. USA Volleyball’s teams have won an Olympic medal in every Olympic Games since 1984, five Paralympic medals since 2004 and numerous World Cup, World Championship and Continental Championship titles. USA Volleyball’s women’s teams are the reigning gold medalists in the Olympic indoor, beach and Paralympic events. The United States is the first country to have won a gold medal in each discipline at a single Summer Games. For more information on USA Volleyball, visit www.usavolleyball.org. #PathtothePodium

About League One Volleyball
Founded in 2020, LOVB’s mission is to reimagine the future of volleyball. With a unique community up approach, the female first  league has attracted the attention of notable investors who understand the opportunity the league will bring as it reaches 38 million former and current players in the US and continues its trajectory of being the most played youth sport for girls. LOVB’s inaugural pro season will launch in pre-season following the Paris Olympics in 2024, and will last from November 2024 through April 2025. It will feature six teams in six cities, including Atlanta, Houston, Madison and Salt Lake. For more information on LOVB, its athlete council and its professional league, please visit www.lovb.com. #LOVBforLife