Hayden Shanafelt | Sports Editor
February 20, 2026
Professional volleyball has made it to Los Angeles! In recent years, a new league of professional women’s volleyball teams has been formed in America. This has created many more opportunities for players to go pro and stay in the United States. Where as in the past a lot of players were stuck with the only option of going abroad to continue their volleyball career.
The organization LOVB (League One Volleyball), has sprouted into 6 different teams, with 3 more on the way in 2027 including Los Angeles, Minnesota, and San Francisco. The current teams are located in major cities such as Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, and Salt Lake City. Teams consist of players fresh out of college volleyball, former Olympians, and international players, creating a diverse pool of players and highly experienced teams.
The pro season is over a 14-week period. Consisting of 20 regular season matches and will later go into a playoff bracket to determine the champion of the league called the LOVB final. The pro athletes will also be a part of attending huge qualifying tournaments for the club players to spread their experience and ultimately serve as role models for younger athletes.
LOVB as a whole has grown enormously over the past year, with the first game of the league only being last year in 2025 to now anticipating 3 more pro teams in 2027. Not only has LOVB’s influence spread at the professional level but also at the club level. There has been 86 clubs, making over 2,200 teams, that are sponsored by LOVB and spreading their message, “nurturing youthful passion into action, celebrating fierce and unbridled professional talent, and developing coaches to lead future generations” (LOVB).
LOVB has even gone so far as to create a foundation, to create access for players facing financial challenges and empowering more young athletes. When asked about her thoughts on LOVB dominating the club setting, sophomore, Malia Schilling responded on how “it’s been amazing seeing all the new opportunities LOVB has created for pro players.” Now, there are so many more spots available for players after their collegiate careers. Senior and avid club volleyball player, Ashton Nelson, responded that “it’s definitely been interesting seeing how LOVB is dominating the club aspect but also great seeing the positive impact they’ve had.” It will be interesting to see what else LOVB has in store for the future of volleyball!
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