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Three investment groups have committed a combined $100 million in new funding for League One Volleyball, which owns dozens of junior clubs across the country and will operate a professional league that will launch in January. League One Volleyball, branded as LOVB and pronounced "LOVE," announced Thursday that the Los Angeles-based private equity firm Atwater Capital is the lead investor and is joined by existing New York-based investors Ares Management and Left Lane Capital. The new investment is in addition to the $60 million LOVB has raised from, among others, Olympic skier Lindsey Vonn, basketball stars Candace Parker and Kevin Durant, and entertainers Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler. "As the sport of volleyball continues to grow not just in size but in popularity, we are humbled to be rolling up our sleeves alongside leading investors like Atwater, Ares and Left Lane Capital to enable volleyball to become the next major league," LOVB co-founder and CEO Katlyn Gao said. LOVB Pro will begin play Jan. 8 with teams in Atlanta; Houston; Salt Lake City; Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Omaha, Nebraska. Among the players are 17 Olympians, including 10 members of 2024 silver medal-winning Team USA. LOVB Pro is the third pro league in the United States, joining the Pro Volleyball Federation and Athletes Unlimited. ESPN will carry 10 LOVB matches on its linear networks, and 18 others will be shown on ESPN+. Founded in 2020, LOVB owns 58 junior clubs with more than 16,000 athletes across 26 states and 66 locations. LOVB said about 600 players who have trained at its clubs are competing at the college level.
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