The future of professional volleyball was on display this weekend. For the first time, a women’s pro volleyball match was shown on one of the Big Four networks with CBS’ broadcast of the Pro Volleyball Federation All-Star Match.
Pro volleyball breaking through on TV
The Pro Volleyball Federation’s All-Star match hits over-the-air on CBS.
Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
It is an incredible acceleration of growth for the PVF and professional indoor volleyball overall. The 8-team league only began operating just last year. It’s TV contracts, most prominently with CBS/CBS Sports and FS1, has given the league a level of exposure not seen before in women’s professional volleyball.
The season nicely picks up on the momentum of the college season, which ends in December while the PVF starts in January. The All-Star Match maintains that connection to the college game. The coaches for both All-Star squads are from the college ranks, Purdue’s Dave Shondell and Georgia Tech’s Michelle Collier.
Michelle Pemberton/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
Shondell himself spoke after the All-Star Match about the importance of this weekend’s event, telling the league’s website, “to have this kind of a league is just going to continue the evolution of this sports... this is a big moment, it really is.”
The match had all the elements of a high-level all-star event: a sold out crowd, and pyrotechnics, but unlike the NBA or other leagues, the actual gameplay was more competitive.
The PVF continues its regular season this week, with the hopes of building off the fan momentum of the new stage that being on a major broadcast TV network provides.
See More:
