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The #DecemberDance is here! REN Athletics is proud to launch the 2024 Collegiate Volleyball Bracket Challenge Powered by REN Athletics, marking a historic first for women’s volleyball fans. The grand prize of $20,000 cash goes to the bracket champion. Starting December 1st, volleyball enthusiasts across the country can participate in this free challenge. Fans can predict match outcomes throughout the national tournament and earn bonus points for early-round upsets. From the opening serve to the championship point, every match matters, and every prediction counts. Why We’re Doing This: At REN Athletics, volleyball isn’t just what we do—it’s who we are. As the nation’s leading volleyball uniform and apparel brand, we’re dedicated to advancing the sport we love. The December Dance is our way of: Inspiring the next generation of players Building a stronger volleyball community Amplifying the visibility of women’s athletics Supporting the sport’s growth at every level The December Dance isn’t just a bracket challenge—it’s a revolution in how fans experience women’s volleyball. With cutting-edge technology, a seamless user interface, and free entry, we’re creating a new standard for fan engagement while celebrating the collegiate championships like never before. This is more than a game. It’s a movement to elevate women’s volleyball to unprecedented heights. Are you ready to dance? 💃 Let’s make history together. Sign up now: https://lnkd.in/gq9X6i-R

A historic first for women’s pro volleyball. 🤩 • Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) is gearing up for its second year ahead of next week’s draft. In an exclusive with The GIST, PVF announced an extension of its media rights agreement with CBS through a multiyear deal that includes increased match coverage and cable air time. PVF CEO Jennifer Spicher spoke with The GIST yesterday about the league’s growth in its first season and what’s on the horizon for the next one. Killin’ it. 👏 • How it works: PVF’s inaugural season ran from this January through May with seven teams playing a total of 84 regular-season matches, plus two semifinal games and a championship. This differs from Athletes Unlimited (AU)’s condensed tournament format and LOVB’s round robin schedule. 🏐 • Individual team owners control PVF clubs, and these motivated investors were able to offer uniquely high salaries of up to $125K in year one. In 2025, increased financial commitments will allow the league to level up: Dallas, Indianapolis, and Kansas City are landing new teams, and players will earn up to $175K. 💰 • The numbers: Volleyball is the fastest-growing team sport in the U.S. in terms of high school girls participation, which has translated into interest at the pro level. In its first year, overall PVF attendance was just under 400K, while 3.9M viewers streamed matches on YouTube. No weak sides here. 😌 • The deal: Last December, CBS became the league’s first media partner with a commitment to air at least 10 regular-season matches on CBS Sports Network. In its latest extension, the network will air up to 20 games with an additional matchup scheduled for CBS’ flagship channel — the first time a pro volleyball match will air on cable, a successful strategy in growing audiences for women’s sports. 📺 • For more exclusive business stories from the world of women's sports, subscribe to our 3x-weekly, forever-free sports biz newsletter: https://lnkd.in/e2cr75Uf

Athletes Unlimited is getting ready to serve up its fourth season of AU Volleyball, the month-long pro league that’s changed the game for the world’s top women volleyball players. 🏐 • While the sport is already highly popular in other countries, new U.S. pro leagues can offer American exposure through media, marketing, and sponsorship. 💰 • AU’s director of volleyball Cassidy Lichtman spoke with The GIST on Wednesday about the company’s winning strategy as a pioneer in the volleyball space, especially with two new U.S. pro volleyball leagues joining AU this year. 👀 • Lichtman noted AU started with softball and volleyball because these sports had “a lot of growth potential on the women’s sports side,” and the absence of a pro volleyball league created an “entire open space.” Domestic numbers backed up AU’s mission: Both sports have cultivated strong collegiate pipelines yet had no U.S. pro leagues at the time of AU’s launch. 🤔 • Despite volleyball’s universal popularity — Lichtman said there’s almost 1B global players and noted avid fandom in Thailand and Japan — minimal coverage has limited pro fandom stateside. This is changing fast, however, as ESPN just signed a multiyear deal with AU last season. 📺 • While AU Volleyball began play alone in 2021, there are now two other major players in the space. This January, the Pro Volleyball Federation kicked off and reset pro volleyball’s attendance record three times, while League One Volleyball (LOVB Pro) is set to launch — with 75% of Team USA committed to the league — next January. 🙌 • LOVB Pro and the PVF clash on the calendar, but AU’s autumn season allows players from both leagues to join in. This includes Thai fan favorite Nootsara Tomkom, who played in the PVF this season and is now entering her third AU season. Notably, a third of the league’s audience comes from her home country, per Lichtman. 🇹🇭 • Though pro leagues exist throughout the world, playing stateside gives players unique access to American audiences, networks, and brands. Athletes are recognizing opportunity in the U.S., but sponsors should come next — especially when it comes to AU, which has four leagues brands can activate around. Time to attack. 📈

A Tournament of Firsts Congratulations to Penn State for claiming their 8th national volleyball championship this weekend in Louisville!  To put this in perspective, women’s volleyball has been a NCAA sport since 1981 – 9 years after Title IX - and only 13 teams have won the national championship in this relatively short 43-year history.  This was the first NCAA Division I national championship won by a female head coach, Katie Schumacher-Cawley. This was Penn State’s 8th national championship, their first being in 1999.  Katie Schumacher played on PSU’s 1999 national championship team, so this was her 2nd national championship.  What an amazing NCAA National Championship Tournament!  Other firsts in this year’s tournament include: -              First time two female coaches met in the final for the national championship, Katie Schumacher-Cawley and Dani Busboom-Kelly. -              First time the four #1 seeds made it to the final four -              Most points scored in a set – 66 (set 2 of the final match) -              First time a team advanced to the finals by overcoming a 2-set deficit, aka, a reverse sweep -              A new national attendance record was established in the final – 21,860 I happen to be a first-generation Title IX DI volleyball athlete, having played at Michigan State University BEFORE we competed in the NCAA (I think that makes me pre-historic!).  My feet still leave the ground when I jump, but I can assure you, I did not play at this level -  I have fond memories of pre-season during 3-a-days in August.  By day three, my legs were so sore that I could NOT eat meals in the cafeteria at the dorm where we stayed because it was on the 2nd floor, and I could NOT walk down the stairs! As I watched this year’s tournament, I was impressed by the athleticism, courage, confidence, and resilience by the student athletes, especially the teams that made it to the final four.  The level of play was phenomenal! And their joy was palpable. Women in sports matter more than ever.  Do you know what female CEO’s have in common?  A 2023 study showed that an astonishing 93 percent of female executives earning over $100K had sporting backgrounds. Cornell University's research painted a similar picture: 80 percent of Fortune 500 executives and 94 percent of C-suite women were collegiate athletes. A special thank you to all the coaches who encouraged and supported me in my athletic and life endeavors.  Athletic Director Valentine, Counselor Alice M. Krug, Coach Joan Hitchner, Coach Cheryl Towne, Coach Marie Theisen, Coach Vickie Putnam, and Coach K, aka, Dr. Annelies Knoppers. You gave me the greatest gift of all: resilience. Our time is now, our future is bright!  Congrats Penn State and Coach Schumacher-Cawley!  Let’s continue to make history! #MakingHerstory #ncaawvb #playlikeagirl

Here's what to know about two recent moves made by the upstart professional volleyball team Orlando Valkyries.

Nebraska and Louisville women’s volleyball 𝘮𝘢𝘥𝘦 𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘺 this weekend, with their regular-season match breaking viewership records and driving significant new NIL opportunities: 𝐕𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 𝐇𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬: ➊ 684,000 average viewers ➋ 808,000 peak audience ➌ Most-watched volleyball game on any ESPN platform ➍ 49% female viewership 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐋𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧: 🅐 First volleyball broadcast on ABC since 2023 championship 🅑 2023 championship (Nebraska vs. Texas) was the most watched televised women’s volleyball match ever drawing record-breaking 1.7M viewers 🅒 Sunday's match ranks among most-watched volleyball games ever, pushing for more opportunities to be televised 𝐍𝐈𝐋 𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐭: ➊ Brands like Amazon Prime, partnered with Nebraska star Lexi Rodriguez, are seeing significant returns on their early investments as women's volleyball continues its upward trend this season. ➋ Increased visibility creates new sponsorship opportunities for both teams and athletes ➌ Players gain national exposure, boosting personal brand value ➍ Rise in viewership could lead to more lucrative NIL athlete-influencers deals 𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐡𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐰𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐰𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧’𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐠𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐲𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥, 𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧 𝐟𝐞𝐦𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩. Brands and marketers need to be prepared to seize the opportunity in this rapidly emerging market. #NCAA #NIL #WomensLeadership #InfluencerMarketing #SportsMarketing

Longer, high-intensity training may seem like the best solution to increase performance, but the ASU Women's Volleyball team found a better option. 🏐 Blog: https://lnkd.in/gB9dbXgJ Capturing two consecutive wins against worthy opponents in the 2023 NCAA Tournament for the first time in program history was no easy feat for the Sun Devils program. After reassessing how practices were structured, the coaching staff used data analytics to optimize each session. Follow the link to read how the volleyball staff balanced the intensity of workouts and practice sessions to prepare players for game day. ☝ #InnovateTheGame #volleyball #dataanalytics #coachingtips

Combined with PVF's CBS Sports and FOX Sports deals, Roku's deal increases the league's national television coverage by 350% compared to its inaugural season. 🤩 • Pro Volleyball Federation and Roku have announced a multi-year partnership, Roku's first women's professional sports partnership, significantly expanding the visibility of professional volleyball. 🏐 • Roku will broadcast 20 PVF matches during the 2025 season which will be available to stream for free on The Roku Channel’s Roku Sports Channel, and clips and highlights will be accessible through Roku’s Sports Zone and Women’s Sports Zone. 📺 • Following agreements with CBS Sports Network in November and FOX Sports in December, the Roku partnership will bring PVF's total national broadcast package to 45 matches across three major platforms in 2025. This comprehensive distribution strategy ensures that professional volleyball will be more accessible to fans than ever before. 📈 • “This partnership with Roku continues a transformative period in PVF’s growth, delivering on our promise to provide national visibility for our athletes and sport,” said Jennifer Spicher, CEO of Pro Volleyball Federation. “In just 90 days, we’ve built the most extensive broadcast footprint in professional volleyball, creating a strong foundation for our league as it enters its second season.” 🙌

Here's a graph worth sharing! 📊 This graph shows how rethinking our program model has allowed us to drive growth and achieve better returns on investment. Traditionally, volleyball clubs rely heavily on Club Volleyball for revenue, but we discovered a different approach: 📈 House League Growth: Lower overhead, higher margins, and strong demand – House League has become the cornerstone of our offerings, boosting both client lifetime value and camp participation. ⚙️ Shift to Membership Model: We've expanded our membership model by building a thriving House League. Our long-term goal is to lower Club Volleyball fees while focusing on the sustainable growth of memberships. Why do these insights matter? Understanding these efficiencies can help volleyball programs build inclusive, long-term environments that keep athletes engaged and provide consistent value. What about your volleyball, soccer, or basketball club? What does your program breakdown look like, and why? #YouthSports #VolleyballPrograms #EfficientGrowth #SportsManagement #2024Trends

Effective communication is a crucial aspect of volleyball that separates good players from great ones. Using specific volleyball communication terms and phrases on the court allows players to convey information quickly, avoid confusion, and make split-second decisions. In this article, I'll explore the essential volleyball communication terms and phrases that every player should know to improve their team's performance and increase their chances of winning. https://lnkd.in/dcYWnUJ5