The U.S., among most countries, is known for its diversity in culture, race and personality. Along with all those things, the U.S. is also known for its array of sports at both a collegiate and professional level. With sports like football, baseball and basketball dominating the sports industry, women’s sports are sometimes forgotten. This is seen in the lack of women’s professional sports, such as women’s volleyball. Volleyball is one of, if not the most, popular sport women play in both high school and college, so it seems unethical that such a sport does not have a professional league. 

Up until Jan. 8, there had only been a single women’s professional volleyball league known as the Pro Volleyball Federation. This was ended when League One Volleyball (LOVB)  instated the second professional women’s volleyball league in the U.S. LOVB gathered six teams across the U.S., rooted in popular cities, to participate in this volleyball league. These teams include LOVB Austin, Texas, LOVB Atlanta, Georgia, LOVB Houston, Texas, LOVB Madison, Wisconsin, LOVB Omaha, Nebraska and LOVB Salt Lake, Utah. These teams consisted of top-tier female volleyball players across the country. Key players like Madison Skinner from the Texas Longhorns and Jess Mruzik from recent national champions Penn State Nittany Lions are popular players in this league.

“I think it’s really inspiring to girls at this age and even younger. It gives out an extreme amount of opportunities for people who want to continue their career after college and something younger women can look forward to as well,” Riley Beegle (11) said.

While LOVB has yet to instate a team in Pennsylvania, there is hope for more teams in the future. Even so, Pennsylvania has thrived in the volleyball scene in recent years. With the most recent National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) championship being women’s volleyball, people hoped to see heavy-hitting schools from Pennsylvania leave their mark on the school. With only two collegiate teams being from Pennsylvania in the final 64 teams, hopes did not look high. Even so, those two teams were the University of Pittsburgh and Penn State University, two powerhouse schools. 

Pittsburgh finished with the first overall seed, placing them at the top of the bracket, and not far behind them was Penn State. After countless days, Penn State and Pittsburgh both were part of the final four teams in the tournament. After the semi-final match, Pittsburgh fell to Louisville; however, Penn State reverse-swept Nebraska to push them to the finals. 

With anticipation from many, the final match arrived and people were shocked to see that Penn State beat Louisville in the finals, crowning them national champions. 

While volleyball continues to grow in popularity at both professional and collegiate levels, it is still important to acknowledge the true meaning of these advancements for women in general. After countless years, determined and hardworking women are gathering well-deserved recognition, leading to more popularity in women’s sports. With hopes of only increasing in popularity, women’s volleyball, and women’s sports in general, will continue to thrive in this modern era. 

“A lot of inspirational athletes being involved in this league can be another reason some women might look up to it someday. I hope women’s volleyball continues to grow in future years!” Beegle said.