The 2025 volleyball season has shot off like a rocket! Both the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) League and the League One Volleyball (LOVB) Pro are taking place simultaneously. And it’s giving fans a lot of sports action to consume. And of course, they are catching onto every minor detail.

After all, who is going to miss this chance to watch college athletes like Lexi Rodriguez, Ally Batenhorst, Sarah Franklin, and others debut in the big leagues? As well as some long-lost faces like Juliann Faucette, return to the court? But there’s one thing to take note of. Both these volleyball leagues are hardly as time-tested and well-established as the others on the collegiate levels.

PVF is in its second-ever season, while LOVB Pro is in its maiden run, having started its inaugural season on January 8, 2025. So naturally, we could have expected a few hiccups to happen. And they did, at multiple levels. After all, to conduct such mega-scale youth volleyball leagues is no small feat, right? However, this particular one gave the fans a reality check.

On Volley Talk with Sarah Pavan, Sarah, who is an ex-Husker and beach volleyball player, and her husband, Adam Schulz, who has been a former player and coach, shed light on one shortcoming that they noted in both the LOVB and PVF leagues this season. It started with Schulz pinpointing, “So I don’t know if I am in the wrong on this or I have an unpopular opinion. But it happened in both leagues where we watched and the commentators were talking about, you know, the athletes smiling and being good people and a whole bunch of things around.”

The couple highlighted issues in the LOVB and PVF commentaries, noting that they heard things like, “I love watching her play. She always has a smile on her face,” being said about the women athletes. The take that they presented here was how athletes can be great people, but their ability to smile on the court has nothing to do with their athleticism or the fundamental sport and will not affect the outcome of their play. They even exposed the disparity quite evidently: “I don’t really think it needs to be highlighted as much as it is in women’s sports. You never hear that in men’s sport!”

In fact, Sarah Pavan notes how things like this would sound plain ridiculous if said about male players. Pavan continued to question, “Why do we have to talk about like she looks so happy to be there? I understand good vibes are part of being on the court, but like? ” Well, Adam Schulz suggests that an ideal commentary should focus on the woman athlete’s leadership and the qualities she brings to the team. All this raises a concern: So why do they have to talk about these like these for the women volleyball players?

And Sarah Pavan holds a firm stand when it comes to this. She says, “At the end of the day I think, whether you like a player or not, you can choose to like or dislike whatever athletes you want. But it should come down to, especially on a broadcast that is about the game, it should be about the player’s skill and things like that. And not so much about if the player is likable or looks like they are having a good time. Like it just lessens the women’s abilities, in my opinion.”

And both Sarah and her husband Adam are well versed in volleyball. Pavan started volleyball when she was 4 and has had a storied career all through these years. She is a 2019 world champion and a two-time Olympian. Thus, their opinions do come from a strong place of knowing the sport. Plus, this is not the first time issues regarding the PVF or the LOVB are coming to the forefront. This has happened quite a lot lately.

League One Volleyball and PVF need to fine-tune their gaps

Over the past two weeks, multiple issues regarding these two volleyball leagues have surfaced. A key one came up during the very first LOVB match between Atlanta and Salt Lake. And it was the poor broadcast quality. “I don’t know who at LOVB needs to hear this, but please stick with the sideline cameras. It is crisp and good. The cuts, the switches, the missing plays… it’s bad,” Avid Volleyball posted on X. Some fans complained that the camera was too shaky, while others chimed in that they couldn’t see the stats either. But there was scope for improvement, as LOVB soon issued an apology

On the other hand, the Pro Volleyball Federation has also come under heat from the consumers of the sport recently. And that’s been because of a rule change. Yes, the PVF does tend to follow the rules laid by FIVB, but of course, with a few twists of their own. Like recently, when they decided that the PVF would be dropping the down official. The first referee will now be stationed on the same side as the team benches.

And there won’t be any line judges anymore! Instead, they’re relying on technology to make those calls. As if that wasn’t enough, scorers and their assistants will now handle scores electronically. On top of it all, now another commentary issue has surfaced. So what do you think needs to change about these volleyball leagues as a priority? Let us know below!