Nootsara returns to PVF
All Volleyball! potpourri: Veteran Thai setter Tomkom signs with Fury; 31st seeds Whitmarsh and Newberry advance to Yucatan beach quarterfinals
One of the most popular and charismatic players from the Pro Volleyball Federation’s inaugural season, Nootsara Tomkom, 39, has come back to the league.
Named the Fed’s Setter of the Year in 2024 while helping the San Diego Mojo advance to the postseason, Nootsara has signed with the last-place Columbus Fury (5-12). On the league’s transactions page, the 16-year-veteran is listed as having been added to the Fury’s practice squad.
A legend in her native Thailand, Nootsara’s presence on the Mojo likely helped that team become one of the most-watched on the live stream of the PVF’s free YouTube channel. Thai setter “Chompoo” Guedpard joined the Orlando Valkyries in 2025 and suddenly that team has become the most popular by a gigantic margin on the YouTube live stream.
During their Pacific-time-zone road match on Wednesday night against the Mojo, I logged a peak “views” of 38,169, which was roughly five times more than a “good number” for other teams. Anecdotal evidence gleaned from what is written during the “live chat” in the comments section once the match is archived indicated that a high percentage of the viewers come from Asian countries.
The last two Valkyries matches originating and archived on the YouTube channel have generated 231,000 and 241,000 cumulative views. The next half-dozen PFV matches moving chronologically backward have (as of early Saturday morning) 38,000, 30,000, 88,000, 30,000, 76,000 and 57,000 views, vividly illustrating the Chompoo factor.
In context, the last PVF match on cable TV that charted, the Vegas Thrill at Indy Ignite on Feb. 27, televised on top-tier cable channel Fox Sports 1, drew a total average viewership of 27,000, according to the Nielsen ratings.
But appeal to an invested international fan base likely is not the only reason why the Fury were motivated to add Nootsara. She is an elite-level setter who remained visible to American fans while competing in the fall for the Athletes Unlimited league. Also, the league and the Fury recently congratulated setter Tori Stringer on her pregnancy, meaning the team logically might have an opening soon on its active roster.
Fury Coach Angel Perez has switched between Wilma Rivera, who has seen the court in 58 sets, and Dilfer, who has played in 51, during a season with more lows than highs. The team’s next match is at home in Nationwide Arena against the Atlanta Vibe, who are third in the standings at 11-8.
Yucatan upsetters: Whitmarsh and Newberry
Three USA pairs and a Spanish duo competing in the American collegiate ranks comprise half of the women’s teams remaining in the quarterfinals of the Volleyball World Beach Pro Tour Challenge in Yucatan, Mexico.
Still standing after two knockout rounds contested Friday on the Playa de Progreso are sixth-seeded Toni Rodriguez and Kylie Deberg, 12th-seeded Kimberly Hildreth and Teegan Van Gunst and, perhaps most surprisingly, the 31st (second to last) seeds, Devon Newberry and Jaden Whitmarsh.
Not a surprise at all is that second-seeded Daniela Alvarez and Tania Moreno of Spain remain in the Round of 8. Taking a break from their college campaign for third-ranked TCU (idle this weekend), the 2024 Olympic quarterfinalists look to be in the catbird’s seat after eliminating top-seeded Brazilians Carol Salgado and Rebecca Cavalcanti in a three-set Round of 16 barn-burner 21-15, 17-21, 15-11.
All four pairs are a victory away from the medal rounds.
Recent UCLA products Newberry and Whitmarsh have carried the momentum they created earlier this month in winning a third-tier Futures Event in New Zealand. They have battled out of the Yucatan qualifier with five victories in six matches, falling only to Alvarez-Moreno in their first pool-play contest.
So far in the knockout rounds, Devon and Jaden have bounced Paraguyans Guiliana Poletti (a Loyola Marymount collegian) and Michelle Valiente in three sets (15-11 in the tiebreaker) and seventh-seeded Andressa Calvacanti-Taina Silva of Brazil 12 and 16. Their opponents in the quarters will be Ukrainian veteran Maryna Hladun and 21-year-old Tetiana Lazarenko, seeded 16th.
The road to the Round of 8 for new partners Rodriguez and Deberg included taking out fellow Americans Julia Scoles and Lexy Denaburg in a three-set tussle (15-10 in the tiebreaker) during the second knockout round. Hildreth and Van Gunst won their pool so they advanced after drubbing the eighth-seeded Mexican pair of Atenas Gutierrez and Susana Torres 11 and 16.
Taken out in the second knockout round were Americans Maddie Anderson and Brook Baeur, while Xolani Hodel-Madison Shields lost their first elimination match.
Olympians Chase Budinger and Miles Evans are the lone American pair left on the men’s side. Chase and Miles won their pool and drew a bye into the Round of 16. Chaim Schalk and James Shaw dropped a three-setter (15-9 in the tiebreaker) to third-seeded Italians Samuele Cottafava and Gianluca Dal Corso in the initial knockout round.
Saturday’s schedule on the Playa de Progreso will include the women’s quarterfinals and semifinals, and the men’s Round of 16 and Round of 8. The Yucatan Challenge carries a purse of $125,000 in each gender.
A little help …
Larry Hamel’s All Volleyball! is just getting started. so I ask for your assistance in building its readership base. Please forward this email to your volleyball friends who might find the page of interest and/or share this post to your social-media platforms. Also, your financial aid would be greatly appreciated. Please consider becoming a paid subscriber. All Volleyball! is independent third-party journalism bringing you stories you can read. Thanks for your support!
If you enjoyed reading this story, check out what else is on the All Volleyball! site by hitting the button below:
