Talk about a dream start to a pro career! After winning three NCAA championships as a volleyball player, you’d think she’d achieved it all. Thankfully for Madisen Skinner, though, fate presented her with an irresistible opportunity to continue pursuing her passion, this time as part of LOVB Austin. Unsurprisingly enough, the Texas and Kentucky alum made the most of it. And she’s hungry for more.

Just days ago, Skinner and Austin lifted the inaugural LOVB trophy by sweeping LOVB Omaha at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville. “I’m just so proud of this group and I’m proud to be in Austin and in this league,” she said, beaming with pride as the confetti poured from above. The thrill of giving the newly launched league a jump-start was evident in Madisen’s eyes, and she wants a second ‘serve’ of the experience.

In her post on Instagram from April 21, Madisen Skinner dropped a major update about her volleyball career. Sharing multiple pics of herself with her teammates after their historic LOVB triumph, the outside hitter gleefully noted, “That’s a wrap on rookie szn!!!” But it was the sentence afterward that would make LOVB Austin fans do a jubilant backflip.

“See you next yr @lovbatx,” Skinner’s IG post read further, confirming that her time in the Lone Star State isn’t ending just now. Instead, Madisen will be back again in Austin to help the squad defend its LOVB title with gusto. In the LOVB championship game, she posted 17 kills with a .308 hit percentage as well as 4 blocks and 5 digs, earning Madi the MVP title in the final game. Quite a way to round off your pro debut! But Skinner mesmerized fans with more than just a clutch performance.

A massive 40-inch vertical jump saw the former Longhorns overtake NBA sensations like Stephen Curry and Dwyane Wade and even prompt comparisons with the great Michael Jordan! No wonder she could barely hold her elation after LOVB Austin trounced Lexi Rodriguez and Omaha. “We came out here and we closed it out, and we gave it everything we had,” she said after the action concluded.

And to think that Madisen contemplated leaving the sport altogether at one point. During her time as a Wildcat, Skinner was already a force to be reckoned with. And with that, came a towering expectation which saw her play a hectic schedule. Despite leading Kentucky to become the first-ever SEC team to win the national championship, the pressure started taking its toll, and Skinner later admitted, “I was playing so much volleyball I was sick of it. I felt like people only really cared about me as a volleyball player.” Maybe that’s why transferring to Texas helped to escape the crumbling demands of the game. And now, with LOVB Austin on top of the world, it looks like her love for volleyball has returned. But what happened in her first-ever pro season that helped things turn for the better?

Madisen Skinner’s tryst with volleyball has come a long way

In 2022 and 2023, the Longhorns won back-to-back national championships. With Skinner in their midst, the Texas squad was feeling the momentum with them and was eyeing the opportunity to make it three in a row. However, Creighton poured a bucket of cold water on the hopes as they defeated Madisen & Co. in the 2024 regional semifinals. While it was definitely heartbreaking to exit the tournament from the Sweet 16 round, the OH also had something to feel good about, courtesy of the Texas head coach Jerritt Elliott.

“I’ve learned a lot about Jerritt. I mean, just like we built our trust in the relationship, and I don’t do that easily,” she said about how her time in Texas gave her a lot to be happy about, as she called the journey “special“. And yet, the underlying sombre tone in her words could hardly be overlooked. Thankfully, the boom in volleyball in the USA helped her find a way to compensate for the NCAA heartache.

Being drafted by LOVB Austin was a stroke of luck that Maidsen desperately needed. The start to the journey wasn’t great, and LOVB Houston defeated the team in its first match. But Skinner, being the winner she is, helped the squad bounce back. And now, with her at the fore front, the professional volleyball side has made history. But does the Katy, Texas native, have it in her to repeat her thunderous performance next season too? What do you think?