Professional Ladies
January 2, 2024
Editor’s notice: After this story was posted the Omaha Supernovas introduced their signees and Amber Igiede was not one in every of them. We’ve discovered that she probably will be a part of a staff in Europe.
Volleyball followers ought to brace themselves for tradition shock because the startup Professional Volleyball Federation embraces the cutthroat dynamic of American skilled sports activities.
Coaching camps throughout the PVF crank up this week and they’re going to function equally to these in professional soccer, basketball and baseball:
Not everyone signed will swimsuit up for the seven groups when remaining rosters are set.
So be ready to maybe see your favourite participant hit the waiver wire. Count on trades and gamers altering uniforms.
A number of of the groups will open camp with 20 gamers. Solely 14 will make the journey squads. Two extra will stick as “follow gamers,” however these need to be rookies. Volleyball in america has entered a courageous new world of “arduous decisions” for coaches and even probably bruised egos for gamers.
We’ve already seen one signee positioned on waivers (setter Morgan Bergren by the Grand Rapids Rise) earlier than coaching camps start.
The franchise with essentially the most stacked roster, and thus the one more likely to be on rival coaches’ radar, is the Omaha Supernovas.
In a wide-ranging interview final week with VolleyballMag, Supernovas coach Shelton Collier identified that the brand new league’s aggressive coaching camps current a vastly totally different state of affairs to American volleyball followers.
“It’s distinctive in that professional volleyball is being modeled after American sports activities, the place we’ve coaching camps, folks get chosen to groups and other people get reduce,” stated Collier, a training veteran of greater than 40 years who’s within the AVCA Corridor of Fame. “Our followers aren’t actually used to that. Gamers coming into faculty applications on scholarships are going to be there. Abroad volleyball, if you signal a contract, you realize you’re going to be one in every of a few American gamers on a staff.
“Now right here comes the PVF with a conventional American sports activities mannequin. It’s actually just like the NFL or major-league baseball the place gamers check out in coaching camp, the roster will get whittled down and hard selections are made.”
That course of figures to spark dialog, hypothesis, and (who is aware of?) even just a few arguments amongst followers, all of which must be seen as constructive because the league strives to carve a distinct segment on a crowded sports activities menu.
Let’s have a look at the nuts and bolts of the PVF’s waiver system. Claims shall be made within the reverse order of the faculty draft, in order that order is as follows: 1. Supernovas, 2. Atlanta Vibe, 2. Orlando Valkyries, 4. Rise, 5. Vegas Thrill, 6. San Diego Mojo, 7. Columbus Fury.
Forty-eight hours earlier than a staff’s season opener, it should declare a 14-player common roster and its two rookie practice-squad members.
The Supernovas and Vibe vie within the league’s debut on January 24, with the Fury and the Rise enjoying the subsequent day, and the Valkyries making their bow on January 26. However the Mojo (February 1) and the Thrill (February 7) don’t open till the second and third weeks, giving them extra time to probably tweak their rosters with gamers let go by the opposite groups.
As soon as rosters are set, if a participant who has been positioned on waivers is claimed, that staff should instantly reduce a signed participant to maintain the roster on the restrict of 14.
The Supernovas, who’ve offered in extra of 4,000 season tickets within the volleyball-crazy Omaha market, have assembled a humiliation of riches that gives Collier with enviable depth and suppleness.
Their exterior hitters embrace former Oregon star Brooke Nuneviller, who was a libero as a freshman and in addition throughout her time within the USA health club, and Baylor nice Yossiana Pressley, who’s equally at residence as an reverse. Dominican dandy Bethania De La Cruz, 36, initiatives as one of many league’s prime pin hitters and Oregon’s Lindsey Vander Weide is coming off of a seventh-place end within the 2023 Athletes Limitless season. Rookie Paige Briggs of Western Kentucky, the fifth choose within the faculty draft, must be thought-about, too. The Supernovas swung a draft-day take care of the Valkyries to amass her.
Collier can choose from two setters with fabulous credentials in Wisconsin All-American Sidney Hilley and Puerto Rican veteran Natalia Valentin-Anderson. Both could possibly be the starter, arguably for any staff within the PVF. The center blockers embrace Hilley’s former Wisconsin teammate Danielle Hart, 31-year-old veteran Tory Dixon of Minnesota (who brings a wealth of expertise with Staff USA). Hristina Vuchkova (a member of the Bulgarian nationwide staff) and 6-foot-3 rookie Amber Igiede of Hawai’i, the seventh total choose within the draft. At reverse are Penn State’s Nia Reed and Jazz Schmidt, a star out of Creighton with hometown enchantment. Penn State’s Kendall White must be among the finest liberos within the league.
“We labored actually arduous to recruit these gamers after they have been basically free brokers,” Collier stated. “Coaches have been aggressively recruiting and we needed to win gamers reminiscent of Betty De La Cruz over to return to Omaha. However if you have a look at the opposite rosters — and this isn’t simply coachspeak — they’re full of nice gamers, too. Star worldwide gamers. Former Olympians. First-team All-People. With solely seven groups, the matches are going to be extremely aggressive.
“It’s comforting for us to have a mixture of skilled gamers of their 30s who’ve performed a few years {of professional} volleyball, in addition to youthful girls who’re extra contemporary out of faculty reminiscent of Nuneviller, Hart and Hilley. I’m thrilled to have two setters who complement one another in Sidney and Nattie. It’s an awesome drawback for a coach to have and, no, I’m not going to commerce both of them.”
Gamers’ versatility probably shall be at a premium and determine into the groups’ decision-making.
“Among the girls who can play a number of positions turn into extraordinarily high-valued in a league like this,” Collier predicted. “That shall be performed out in coaching camp when coaches will see which gamers have the flexibility to contribute at a few spots.”
High choose O’Neal PVF-bound
In a extremely vital information merchandise that the PVF inexplicably allowed to fly underneath the radar, Texas celebrity center Asjia O’Neal will be a part of the coaching camp of the Columbus Fury. The 6-foot-3 O’Neal was the primary participant chosen within the league’s preliminary faculty draft after a distinguished profession at Texas, capped by back-to-back NCAA titles and her spectacular efficiency within the latest championship match.
She additionally performed for the USA final summer time within the Volleyball Nations League. O’Neal, 24, must be thought-about a foundational participant for the PVF, but the discharge distributed final week by the Fury carried this headline: “Columbus Fury Preseason Coaching Camp Schedule Introduced.” Discuss burying the lead.
The Supernovas’ Collier put O’Neal’s signing right into a extra correct perspective.
“That’s an announcement,’ he stated. “A participant of that caliber selected to remain and play within the PVF, versus going to (high-profile professional leagues in) Italy or Türkiye.
“That’s a fairly vital assertion for our league that different faculty gamers sooner or later will be aware of. If the No. 1 participant popping out (of faculty) chooses to play within the league, then definitely that’s a mannequin for different gamers to observe. If they’ve goals of enjoying skilled volleyball, they don’t need to go abroad.”
Collier additionally famous the importance of O’Neal’s place on our nationwide staff and the proximity of the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Asjia is a candidate to make the U.S. Olympic staff and as an alternative of heading abroad, she selected to remain in america as a path to attempt to make the nationwide staff’s roster,” he stated. “She’s proper on the cusp of being chosen to go to Paris, and he or she has opted to play within the PVF as a method to put together. That speaks volumes.”
Different middles among the many Fury’s 16 gamers in camp are Jenna Rosenthal (Marquette), Rainelle Jones (Maryland) and Kaitlyn Hord (Penn State, Nebraska). Coach Angel Perez’s staff can have two different drafted rookies within the combine, exterior hitter/reverse Reagan Cooper of Kansas and OH Jenaisya Moore of Tennessee.
Six of the seven collegians chosen within the first spherical of the draft are confirmed for PVF camps: O’Neal with the Fury, Briggs and Igiede with the Supernovas, middles Magda Jehlarova (Washington State) and Chia Nwokolo (Pittsburgh) with the Vibe and reverse Morghan Fingall (Tennessee) with the Rise. Setter Hannah Pukis (Oregon) is predicted to be within the Thrill’s camp.
Valkyries Coach Amy Pauly — who will welcome Arkansas “tynamo” Jill Gillen (the primary participant chosen within the second spherical, acquired within the deal that despatched Briggs to the Supernovas) to her camp — advised us that she was “not shocked” to see PVF groups corral their prime picks.
“The coaches all did quite a lot of work in having conversations previous to the draft about who was taken with enjoying for our league,” Pauly stated.
USA Volleyball, PVF type alliance
The Professional Volleyball Federation has landed USA Volleyball in its nook. Our nationwide governing physique introduced final week that it’s going to help (in unspecified methods) the brand new league.
USAV earlier had entered right into a partnership with League One Volleyball, which begins its season in November. When information broke that USA Volleyball had partnered with LOVB, the query was posed as to why it will work with one of many start-up professional leagues and apparently not with the opposite. Now the PVF and LOVB have acquired USAV’s seal of approval.
“Professional Volleyball Federation has created a buzz not solely in america, however all through the world of volleyball,” Jamie Davis, president and CEO of USA Volleyball, stated in a launch. “We’re thrilled to companion with the PVF and see it as an awesome platform the place so many excellent American gamers can proceed their careers as skilled athletes and US Nationwide Staff members.”
Rise to air on native TV and radio
The Rise are the primary PVF franchise to formalize native media publicity. A minimal of six of the Rise’s residence matches shall be televised in Grand Rapids by WXSP “The X” (Channel 15), a low-power Class A station that may be a member of the Nexstar Media Group and in addition is the TV residence of the American Hockey League’s Grand Fast Griffins.
Throughout West Michigan’s markets, the Rise shall be proven on affiliated stations WOKZ (Channel 50) in Kalamazoo, WOMS (Channel 29) in Muskegon, WOBC (Channel 14) in Battle Creek and WOHO (Channel 33) in Holland.
On the radio, WMAX-FM (96.1 The Sport) will carry the Rise’s matches, with the scope of the protection nonetheless up within the air. Billing itself “West Michigan’s Residence for Sports activities,” WMAX-FM options a variety of domestically produced play-by-play and sports-talk programming, and is a member of the Fox Sports activities Radio Community.