LOVB, the new American league's first professional championship, has started. In the first match of the championship, Atlanta lost to Salt Lake 1:3 (22:25, 25:27, 25:21, 21:25). The match will be remembered for the first encounter on American soil of players from the US national team. Atlanta relied on Kelsey Cook, a three-time Olympic medalist, and Danielle Cuttino, a Pan American Cup gold medalist, against two-time Olympic medalists Jordyn Poulter and Haleigh Washington from Salt Lake. This match also marks the professional debut of Oniye Ofoegbu with Atlanta and UGA alumna Sophie Fischer, now part of Salt Lake. Italians Marta Bechis and Beatrice Negretti also play for Atlanta.
The second match is on January 10 at 2:00 AM (Bulgarian time), when Houston and Austin will face each other. This is the Italian derby between coaches Massimo Barbolini (Houston) and Marco Bonitta (Austin). The match will feature a lot of talent from both sides. Houston will be represented by two-time Olympic medalists Jordan Thompson and Micha Hancock, along with young Jess Mruzik, who recently won the NCAA Championship with Penn State. On the other side, Austin will rely on nine stars from the University of Texas from the last ten years, including two-time Olympic medalist Chiaka Ogbogu, 2022 NCAA champion Logan Eggleston, and three-time NCAA champion Madisen Skinner.
We remind you that Hristina Vuchkova also competed in the USA last season, winning the 2024 PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION CHAMPIONS title with Omaha.