In its inaugural season, the League One Volleyball (LOVB) Pro will have lots of gifts in its store. First, the professional volleyball league has 58 clubs covering 66 locations. That might give a similar excitement that the Big Ten Conference holds. But here comes the interesting part. LOVB Volleyball has more than 1500 teams and over 17,000 players. But it has only one training center. The neat result? The juniors will get a chance to mix up with seniors from different teams. Furthermore, the players from different teams will have the opportunity to share the practice sessions. It might open up gates for exchanging thought processes. Isn’t that something innovative? Hold on. They have something more. 

The Race of the Roses is over, and now it’s time to embrace LOVB volleyball. To make everything as exciting as it was in the NCAA Volleyball season, LOVB teams have six names. Those names left their mark on the volleyball season, not only this year but year after year. The Nebraska alum Lexi Rodriguez is one of them. But who are the others? 

The six former college stars are ready to set the tone in LOVB volleyball 

As the NCAA Division 1 Volleyball Championship is over, it is time to see the alums joining the professional volleyball leagues. Fortunately, LOVB Volleyball is just weeks away. The schedule says that on January 8, the contest will kick off. Before that, Lexie Rodriguez had already come as the new entrant of LOVB Omaha. But she will see five of her colleagues in the upcoming weeks huddle for the same trophy. Such as? 

Here are a few notable things about the players:

Jess Mruzik 

The former Penn State outside hitter Jess Mruzik comes at the top. However, she has a slightly uncommon situation. First, she was drafted by the Grand Rapids Rise in the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) season. But now, the LOVB volleyball fold, Houston, has roped her in. The update says Mruzik will start her professional career in LOVB Omaha. That is set for her. However, Jess Mruzik has a phenomenal season for the Penn State Nittany Lions behind her. She, in fact, took the responsibility in the NCAA Volleyball final to earn the Nittany Lions. While tormenting the Louisville Cardinals, Jess ended her last collegiate game with 29 kills, 14 digs, and 5 blocks with a hitting percentage of 0.315. 

Altogether, Jess Mruzik ended her final season with 565 kills, 313 digs, 68 blocks, and 32 aces. Also, the hitting percentage remained fearsome, 0.259. Soon, she will kickstart her professional career. 

Sarah Franklin 

The 2023 AVCA National Player of the Year and the 2024 AVCA Player of the Year finalist has a rare opportunity. She will represent LOVB Madison. Thus, the former Badger will not have to leave Wisconsin. The news has already made her fans emotional enough. But what is Sarah Franklin bringing to the table? 

A lot of firepower! The outside hitter amassed 535 kills in 1392 attempts, with a hitting percentage of 0.289. In her last collegiate match against the Nebraska Huskers, Sarah had 12 kills and 9 digs. In the coming days, she will be seen against her known opponent on the court, Lexi Rodriguez. Would that motivate her to go overboard? We have to wait a few more days. 

Lexi Rodriguez 

The 4-time All-American libero has joined LOVB Omaha. And the news has come as a return gift for the Nebraska Huskers fans. How? Lexi Rodriguez will not have to leave Nebraska in the coming months. She will play in front of the Nebraska crowds in her professional career. What could be a better gift than this? 

Well, the Sterling native has been calling Nebraska her second home since 2021. She has always cherished this. And in the coming days, it might touch the ceiling. The reason? In LOVB Omaha, Lexi will play alongside Justine Wong-Orantes. Last week, in her last collegiate volleyball game, she went past Justine’s record of having the most number of digs for the Huskers. The volleyball world will surely shout out for this pair. 

Madisen Skinner 

Skinner, the 6’2” outside hitter, has signed up for LOVB Austin. She earned her fourth American Coaches Volleyball Association All-American accolade this December. On the other hand, her phenomenal undergraduate career came to an end last week in the Longhorns’ regional semifinal loss to Creighton. Well, a winner of three NCAA Division 1 Volleyball Championships, Skinner finished her 2024 season with 409 kills with total attempts of 946. The hitting percentage remained high, 0.277. But she failed to bring the NCAA Volleyball title to the Longhorns’ home. It could have been the third time in a row. However, in LOVB volleyball, she will soon show up with the magic. 

Sophie Fischer 

On December 17, Sophie Fischer inked her professional deal with LOVB Salt Lake. She completed her graduation back in May 2024. That makes her super senior in this bunch of volleyball players. However, Fischer finished her career with 1,119 kills, breaking Georgia’s all-time block assists record (450) and blocks per set record (1.43) while ranking third in total blocks (488). This season, her 156 total blocks tied for seventh in a single season, and her 146 block assists were third. She finished third in the SEC in terms of blocks per set with 1.42. Surprisingly, her number of kills per set also made her third. But the position was in her team. The count was 2.91. 

Onye Ofoegbu

The Oregon alum had 290 kills in this volleyball season, with a hitting percentage of 0.369. LOVB Atlanta couldn’t miss this. Did they? The neat result is that the middle blocker will soon enter the LOVB volleyball schedule. However, Onye also has a record of playing for Mizuno Long Beach Volleyball. She is also an All-American. 

Apart from these names, LOVB volleyball has another gift for volleyball lovers. This time, in the inaugural edition, nine players from Team USA’s Paris roster will compete. They will be in different teams, though. Enter Jordan Larson as one of them. The four-time Olympian will be with Lexi Rodriguez in LOVB Omaha. Altogether, the 14-week season will be a noteworthy experience for all.