Major League Volleyball Ends Year Three With Record Growth

New Team Joining the Los Angeles Women’s Sport Scene

Another massive move for MLV is bringing a team to the Los Angeles market. Los Angeles, is a hub for women’s sports teams with the presence of the WNBA’s LA Sparks and the NWSL’s Angel City FC.

Thus, bringing a volleyball team to a state that has deep volleyball roots was paramount for majority owners Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong and Ben Priest. Soon-Shiong, owner of the LA Times, is no stranger to sport investments as he has a minority stake in the Los Angeles Lakers. Priest brings direct volleyball knowledge to this new team coming in as a MLV investor, governor and former managing partner of the Omaha Supernovas.

Weston explained why centering a team in LA was essential for the growth of the league. She said, “Adding Los Angeles is an important step in the growth of Major League Volleyball and our long-term vision for the sport in the United States.”

She continued, “LA has all the ingredients to become one of the premier professional volleyball markets in the world, including a strong volleyball community, deep ties to sport and entertainment, and fans who embrace live events and big moments.”

With the addition of Los Angeles to the league, this has allowed Weston to begin thinking about conference divisions. She detailed, “Twelve teams in the league in 2027, that is a good number to start thinking about conference division, how we want to start setting that up. We’re the major leagues and so we want to make sure that how we set this up for the future is really important. I think our growth signals we have the wind on our backs right now.”

Hiring of Former Olympian,Professional Player, and MLV Head Coach Alisha Childress

With Soon-Shiong and Priest at the helm, the duo decided to hire former Penn State Nittany Lion, USA Olympian, and professional volleyball player Alisha Childress as the team’s first head coach.

Childress has already coached in the MLV for the San Diego Mojo, a team that will be leaving the league, thus, making room for the newcomers in LA.

According to Weston, Childress taking the lead in LA is a great fit due to her background, “She had a very successful season coaching with San Diego. It was just not just her on court coaching performance, but also just off court I’d say knowledge of not only the game, but the players. She [Childress] has an elevated vision of what pro volleyball should be like in Los Angeles.”

Childress will be leaning into her former player background to run the team in LA, and her background is expansive. As a Nittany Lion, she posted a 142-5 record during her four years which included three national titles in 2007, 2008, and 2009. She was also part of the US team that won the gold medal at the 2014 World Championships, as well as took bronze in the 2016 Olympics in Rio where she was named Best Setter for the tournament.

She discussed, “I think I’m uniquely positioned to really understand the pro athlete and what they’re looking for in their team, in their league, maybe some of the pain points or things that they’re hoping to work through. I think I am coming from that place that feels very real and very connected to them for those reasons.”

She continued, “And I think then it’s about creating a system that feels good for them to be in, creating a culture where they feel like they are understood and heard and feel like it’s an opportunity for them to learn and also thrive. It is important feel taken care of and they feel like they’re able to achieve the things that they want both individually and collectively.”

For Childress, LA is an opportunity to expand and hone the culture that helped lead the San Diego Mojo to third place in the league this season and make a post season run. “I think that we’re looking at this opportunity as a chance to create a team that the culture of LA and the community of LA can really get behind. I think we’re really competitive as both ownership and me as a head coach, we want this team to be as successful as we possibly can be.”

She continued, “But with the understanding that starting at the ground up, it is really about who we are, that is just as important as what we do in the season. I think setting the tone with how we’re going to show up in the community, how we’re going to operate as a team, what it’s going to look and feel like, so that fans can come out and feel really engaged with the athletes and understand what we’re trying to build. I think that’s the way that you want it to feel with a new franchise is getting everyone involved in being their team that they can champion throughout the year.”

Childress believes that the fandom and desire for women’s volleyball is in LA and the leadership team will be able to build an environment where fans want to support and follow the team, even as a newcomer to MLV. She stated, “Los Angeles deserves a pro volleyball franchise that reflects the ambition, diversity, and energy of this city. Our goal is to build a world-class environment where elite athletes can compete, grow, and inspire the next generation.”

With expansion into Los Angeles and record-setting championship momentum, Major League Volleyball enters its fourth season with growing evidence that there is both a market and an appetite for women’s professional volleyball in the United States. As the league continues to scale, its next challenge will be turning early growth into long-term staying power.

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