Professional women’s sports continue to boom in Minnesota, as not one but two women’s volleyball teams are joining the Twin Cities market. League One Volleyball (LOVB, pronounced “love,” believe it or not) announced its newest franchise, LOVB Minnesota, and a few days later, Major League Volleyball (MLV) followed suit with its own MLV Minnesota. Both teams will debut in January 2027.
Details about official team names and branding have yet to come out for both teams, and LOVB Minnesota has yet to announce its official stadium. In the meantime, there are many other moving parts to explore, so here’s a rundown of everything you need to know about the state of pro volleyball in Minnesota.
Fake-out
MLV planned to enter the volleyball market in 2026 as the fourth pro volleyball league in the country, alongside LOVB Pro, the Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF), and Athletes Unlimited. Those plans included a Minnesota team that would have arrived in January 2026, along with nine other planned teams. MLV had $100 million in committed funding and plans to poach the ultra-popular Omaha Supernovas of the PVF.
Then in August, the PVF and MLV merged, combining their resources, taking on MLV branding but keeping the eight PVF teams (adding an expansion franchise in Dallas and dropping the existing Las Vegas squad) and their two-year history. The mash-up meant that Minnesota, along with the other planned teams, lost its 2026 MLV bid.
Double-down
On Friday, November 14, LOVB Pro entered the Twin Cities market. With one season and six pro teams already on the books, LOVB Pro is not a typical league. It calls itself “a first-of-its-kind community re-imagining the future of volleyball.” The foundation of this future is a grassroots movement based around youth volleyball clubs that LOVB creates and works with.
The league has partnered with two local clubs, Kokoro Volleyball and M1 Volleyball, to create a youth-to-pro pipeline in the state. LOVB Pro’s president, Rosie Spaulding, believes this approach will expand volleyball’s popularity and prospects.
“Imagine being a Kokoro or M1 club player and training alongside pro players who have earned Olympic gold,” Spaulding wrote in an email to Mpls.St.Paul Magazine. “You can not only witness and learn from them, but also know that dreams of playing pro can be a reality. That’s the LOVB way. We champion players through every stage of their volleyball journey, so they can see what they can be.”
On Tuesday, November 18, MLV followed suit with its own team. The two leagues appear to have been unaware of the overlap, but neither has indicated concern about the other. Minnesota Sports and Entertainment—which owns the Minnesota Wild—will be the owner of MLV Minnesota. Like the Wild, MLV Minnesota will play at Grand Casino Arena in St. Paul.
Back-up
These two won’t be the first pro volleyball teams in Minnesota. From 1986 to 1991, the Minnesota Monarchs played in the original Major League Volleyball until it collapsed in 1989, when the Monarchs became a barnstorming team. They played at Augsburg College, where they drew the largest crowds in the league.
Since then, women’s sports have blossomed around the country and in Minnesota. The Minnesota Lynx, Frost, Aurora FC, Strike, Vixen, and the TC Gemini have all developed followings around the state. Spaces like A Bar of Their Own have supplied Minnesotans with gathering places to watch women’s sports. A pro volleyball team—or two—only makes sense.
“It was an easy decision,” Spaulding wrote. “Minnesota is one of the great homes of volleyball. The state has one of the nation’s highest youth participation rates, it draws sellout crowds for its high school championships, it houses powerhouse collegiate programs, and has one of the strongest volleyball fan bases in the country.”
“This schedule and competition should prepare both our men’s and women’s teams to make a lot of noise at our inaugural Mountain West Conference Indoor Championships, as well as send a lot of our athletes to the NCAA Indoor Championships,” GCU head coach Tom Flood said.
