Thousands of fans crowded outside of Gateway Center Arena near Atlanta earlier this month hoping to witness League One Volleyball’s opening night.
The sold-out match between Atlanta and Salt Lake, though, resulted in some fans being turned away at the door.
Middle blocker and Atlanta native Tia Jimerson never could have imagined this opportunity.
But as she stepped onto the court, with “Atlanta” emblazoned across her chest and her friends and family cheering her on from the stands, the reality of the situation came into focus.
After several years of playing professionally in Hungary, Portugal and Germany, Jimerson finally had a chance to get paid to play volleyball in the United States.
“There’s definitely a special energy and pride in representing your home,” Jimerson told The Post. “It feels like it’s come full circle and I think that just makes every moment on the court even more meaningful.”
Salt Lake beat Atlanta 3-1 before 3,239 fans on Jan. 8. But the electric energy within the building and feedback from fans was reassuring for League One Volleyball president Rosie Spaulding.
“We’re here to build [and] to make volleyball a major league sport,” Spaulding told The Post. “[The season opener] was just a huge milestone in that. And it just felt incredible to be in the arena.”
Volleyball has been a global sport for some time, but until recently Americans had to go overseas to continue their post-college playing careers.
When League One Volleyball, or LOVB (pronounced “love,”) was formed in 2020, there were no domestic professional volleyball leagues. Now, LOVB is the third one to launch in the past four years — with a fourth league, Major League Volleyball, planning to debut next year.
LOVB’s debut earlier this month lined up with the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) beginning its second season. Meanwhile, Athletes Unlimited, a five-week league that happens in the fall, wrapped up its fourth season in November.
LOVB and PVF’s seasons overlap and both have teams in Omaha and Atlanta. But based on volleyball’s booming popularity, Elevate chief strategy and growth officer Ben Gumpert believes there’s plenty of room for each league.
Volleyball has the second-highest participant rate among high school girls, according to a survey from the National Federation of State High School Associations.
College volleyball has been shattering TV ratings and attendance records for several seasons. The 2024 NCAA Tournament was the most-viewed women’s volleyball tournament to date and its championship match between Louisville and Penn State drew 1.3 million viewers, the second-most watched title bout on record.
Gumpert, who’s been tracking volleyball data for at least five years, said the sport continues to have “massive” growth potential.
“It’ll be interesting,” he said. “How’s this gonna exactly play out in the next 10 years? I don’t know, but one thing I’m very confident of is … you’re gonna see in 10 years from now, there will be more volleyball in more places at the highest level.”
LOVB spent the past few years buying youth volleyball clubs across the country and has expanded its portfolio to include 60 youth clubs across 23 states.
Spaulding said LOVB was “very intentional” about building deep ties to the youth club scene before launching its professional league, which not-so-coincidentally follows the 2024 Paris Games.
The six pro teams in Atlanta, Austin, Texas, Houston, Omaha, Salt Lake City and Madison, Wis., all train at LOVB club-owned facilities, where the youth teams practice.
“It was important to us in each city to have this community base where you really provide a pathway for young girls and women to aspire to play pro,” Spaulding said.
LOVB consulted with an 11-athlete council that included Olympians Micha Hancock, Jordan Larson and Kelsey Cook when developing the league. Those founding athletes had a voice in everything from the league’s format to team uniforms.
This season, salaries start at $60,000 but vary depending on position, talent level and experience. Players are considered employees of LOVB, meaning they get year-round benefits, including health, vision and dental insurance as well as child care assistance and online mental health resources.
Jimerson said the year-round player investment is different from her experiences playing overseas.
“It’s been amazing,” she said. “They’ve been super intentional in opening up the communication line between us directly and we even have a way to share our thoughts and opinions anonymously.”
LOVB hopes to expand to eight teams by 2027 and continue to add organizations from there. For now, though, Spaulding said she and her team are proud of how the league has grown from an idea to an actual product.
Leagues of their own
A look at LOVB, one of several women’s professional volleyball leagues — such as Pro Volleyball Foundation, Athletes Unrivaled, and Major League Volleyball — in its infancy.
WHO:
League One Volleyball, or LOVB, is a California-based organization that has raised more than $160 million in funding. Investors include U.S. Olympic gold medalist skier Lindsey Vonn, former three-time WNBA champion Candace Parker and two-time NBA champion Kevin Durant.
LOVB features nine of the 12 members of the 2024 U.S. Olympic roster, including Annie Drews, Jordan Larson, Chiaka Ogbogu, Jordyn Poulter, Kelsey Robinson Cook, Jordan Thompson, Haleigh Washington, Justin Wong-Orantes and Lauren Carlini.
WHERE:
LOVB has ties to 60 youth clubs across 23 states. Its inaugural professional season features teams in six cities: Atlanta; Austin, Texas; Omaha, Neb.; Salt Lake City; and Madison, Wis. Each market had to meet 28 criteria points and was chosen based on its youth and college volleyball scenes.
WHEN:
LOVB started its inaugural season Jan. 8 and will run through April 5. LOVB Finals are scheduled for April 10-13 and will be played in Louisville, Ky.
