Volleyball

LOVB announces San Francisco franchise with ownership group led by Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe

oday, LOVB announced the launch of a new franchise in San Francisco set to hit the court in January 2027. Rebel Girls CEO Jes Wolfe — a prominent LOVB media partner — co-led the ownership group with growth strategist Chantell Preston as they assembled a team of all-women investors, including Olympian and LOVB founding athlete Kelsey Robinson Cook.

December 18, 2025

Business developments for LOVB clubs in Texas underscores opportunities in state

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Yesterday, League One Volleyball (LOVB) shared a flurry of announcements about new ownership and sponsors getting more involved with its current team in Austin and its forthcoming franchise in Houston.

November 07, 2025

Pro Volleyball Federation announces historic merger with Major League Volleyball

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According to reports, the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is merging with Major League Volleyball (MLV), a separate professional women’s volleyball league that planned to launch in 2026. Through the merger, the combined leagues will rebrand as MLV, but will consider its forthcoming season as PVF’s third consecutive season.

August 06, 2025

Athletes Unlimited revamps volleyball offering with plans to play in sport’s biggest hubs

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Yesterday, Athletes Unlimited (AU) Pro Volleyball revamped its volleyball championship with an exclusive, invite-only tournament featuring 44 of the world’s top players. For the first time ever, AU is splitting up its season across two cities known for their love of the game: Omaha, Nebraska and Madison, Wisconsin.

May 02, 2025

Media brand Rebel Girls establishes partnerships with LOVB, AUSL

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Yesterday, Rebel Girls (RG) — a digital media company created to inspire Gen Alpha girls — announced two major partnerships with emerging pro women’s sports leagues: League One Volleyball (LOVB) and Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL).

December 11, 2024

LOVB announces $100M in new funding from venture capital and investment firms

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Yesterday, LOVB (pronounced LOVE) announced $100M in funding led by Atwater Capital, along with existing supporters Ares Management and Left Lane Capital, bringing its total of funds raised to $160M. The GIST spoke with LOVB CEO Katlyn Gao yesterday about what this means for the volleyball brand at every level of the game.

November 22, 2024

PVF announces broadcast coverage expansion with media partner CBS

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The Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is gearing up for its second year ahead of next week’s draft. In an exclusive with The GIST today, PVF announced an extension of its media rights agreement with CBS through a multiyear deal that includes increased match coverage and cable air time — a historic first for women’s pro volleyball.

November 20, 2024

Sports Business

Gen Z, Millennial designer brand platform Revolve partners with LOVB

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November 13, 2024

Yesterday, leading volleyball brand LOVB Pro announced a first-of-its-kind partnership with Revolve, the designer clothing platform beloved by Gen Z and Millennial shoppers. The deal makes Revolve the league’s official online fashion retail partner and highlights innovative ways the clothing industry can appeal to young consumers via sport.

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The GIST of It Podcast

Ep #521

Meet the real-life “Heated Rivalry” Olympians

January 08, 2026

Listen on Apple Music Listen on Spotify

Meet the real-life “Heated Rivalry” Olympians

It’s a love story, baby.

Just like everyone on the Internet, today we’re talking about “Heated Rivalry.” However, considering Connor Storrie and Hudson Williams haven’t answered our DMs yet, we’re going in a different direction.

On today’s episode of The GIST of It, co-hosts Ellen Hyslop and Steph Rotz detail the real-life “Heated Rivalry” love story from the women’s hockey world — because before there was Shane and Ilya, there was Team Canada captain Caroline Ouellette and Team USA captain Julie Chu. Spoiler alert: They live happily ever after.