What's up with LOVB and PVF?
Women's pro indoors: Do League One player additions signal a new direction? Meanwhile, rival Fed is stuck in signing quagmire.
By Larry Hamel | All Volleyball! editor
with significant contributions from
Aaron Hutton | All Volleyball! correspondent
League One Volleyball was active during the last six weeks, restocking it roster for its second season. LOVB announced the signings of 19 players between May 8 and June 12.
Seven of the additions were American athletes:
Annayka Legros, middle blocker, USA; Callie Schwarzenbach, MB; Jess Robinson, MB; Ella May Powell, setter; Julia Sangiacomo, outside hitter; Isabella Bergmark, MB; and Alexis Hart, opposite.
But it was impossible not to notice that the preponderance were not — and by nearly a 2-to-1 margin. Twelve were internationals:
Ivonee Montano, opposite, Colombia; Brie O’Reilly, setter, Canada; Andrea Mitrovic, OH, Canada; Alexa Gray, OH, Canada; Jazmine White, MB, Canada; Ana Carola da Silva, MB, Brazil; Argentina Ung, setter, Mexico; Anne Buijs, OH, Netherlands; Indre Sorokaite, OH, Italy; Magdalena Jurczyk, MB, Poland; Xiangyu Gong, opposite, China; and Miroslava Paskova, OH, Bulgaria.
Wasn’t a major point of emphasis — spouted countless times by its TV announcers during the inaugural season — that LOVB was a league that gave American players a viable domestic option, that they no longer would be forced to continue their careers overseas?
So how is a 7-to-12 ration weighted to internationals in keeping that key part of League One’s purported mission statement? Furthermore, how does signing a spate of players from other countries (who likely are known to only a relatively tiny number of volleyball superfans) help to market LOVB’s product to mainstream American sports fans, much less the intensely invested followers of NCAA women’s volleyball.
If LOVB’s goal is provide jobs for American pros in USA cities, shouldn’t that ratio be reversed — or even weighted to our athletes by a heavier margin? Couldn’t these signings be construed as a not-so-subtle thumbing of the nose to the NCAA developmental system?
In another development that could indicate a significant change of direction, LOVB has moved up the timeframe to adopt a franchise model. Its Austin club was sold on Thursday to an ownership group that includes Spurs Sports and Entertainment Group LLC, the company that runs San Antonio’s NBA franchise. All the teams in LOVB had been owned and operated under the league umbrella.
Turning LOVB teams into franchises always has been then plan, however, the move was not expected to take place for a few more years. Could this transaction heighten the possibility of a merger between LOVB and franchise-based Pro Volleyball Federation? A consolidation in a cluttered landscape most likely would have support from an overwhelming percentage of fans of both leagues.
PVF spins its wheels
Its season ended on May 11, but the franchises of the Pro Volleyball Federation have announced zero signings, not even re-uppings of its marquee names. Zilch. Crickets.
The vast majority of the Fed’s players became unrestricted free agents (a strange policy with regards to marketing and team continuity). The signing period reportedly was to have commenced May 20, and players have indicated that the start date for free agency has been pushed back at least three times.
All that inaction provides legitimate causes to wonder whether the PVF will even attempt to soldier on in 2026 without the Omaha Supernovas, far and away the most successful American pro-volleyball operation.
What is the PVF waiting for? Particularly since its franchises are trying to sell season-ticket packages on spec.
The league apparently is lumbering ahead with expansion plans. The Indy Ignite enjoyed solid box-office success during their 2025 debut season and PVF commissioner Jen Spicher has been quoted multiple times that new team in Dallas will come aboard in 2026.
Also, a trademark filing for a professional volleyball team in Boston is also on public record. It was filed by Franklin Sports, the manufacturer of PVF’s balls. A PVF team in Kansas City was first announced in 2023 but still has no firm projected start date.
As for the proposed new third league anchored the the Supernovas — the MLV — it was denied a trademark filing for “Major League Volleyball.” Also, a search yielded no trademark filing for the Sacramento franchise announced in January, owned by Vivek Ranadive, the chairperson of the NBA’s Kings.
The last time MLV put out anything official was on January 16 with the announcement of the formation of the league. Informed parties have expressed skepticism that with six months to go before their announced start date a mountain of work needs to be scaled. No announcements have been forthcoming, official or otherwise, of any other ownership groups, venues, equipment providers, sponsorships, or player signings.
Elsewhere, Supernovas season-ticket members have reported that sales agents from the team have reached out for renewals with promises of 10-14 home matches. If they are asked which league the team will be in, the response is MLV is “the plan.”
Fans in Dallas, Omaha, and Columbus have all gotten replies that announcements can be expected in early July when they have reached out with questions.
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LOVB needs the international players in order to attract the top US players. Our best players are only going to join a league that has top-tier international talent.
Similarly, fans are treated to some of the best volleyball talent in the world when LOVB recruits so many players who are on their home country national teams.