FORT COLLINS, Colo. – As more than 670 club volleyball teams make their championship push at the 2025 TCNIT event in Kansas City, Triple Crown Sports and League One Volleyball will coordinate for the debut of the LOVB Classic, where all six professional LOVB teams will compete in a winner-take-all mid-season tournament for the inaugural LOVB Classic title.
The LOVB Classic will be held Feb. 14-16, 2025, at Municipal Auditorium in downtown Kansas City, across the street from the KC Convention Center, which hosts the TC NIT. Two matches will be played on Friday and Saturday, with three matches being held Sunday at the Auditorium.
LOVB Pro features teams in Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha and Salt Lake City made up of the best professional players in the world. Rosters include 18 Olympians, including 10 members of Team USA who earned a silver medal at the Paris 2024 Games, and players from more than 20 countries with 90 percent having represented their national teams. The league’s first six teams bring an unprecedented level of play to the U.S., led by world-class coaches who boast a collective 18 Olympic medals.
Illustrating LOVB’s unique youth-to-pro model, LOVB Pro also features the six top collegiate rookies of 2024. Following a much-lauded NCAA season, these collegiate superstars – Sophie Fischer (University of Georgia, LOVB Salt Lake), Sarah Franklin (University of Wisconsin, LOVB Madison), Onye Ofoegbu (University of Oregon, LOVB Atlanta), Lexi Rodriguez (University of Nebraska, LOVB Omaha), Madisen Skinner (University of Texas, LOVB Austin), and Jess Mruzik (Penn State, LOVB Houston) – will now have the opportunity to start their professional careers in the US as part of the league. Many of these players have already begun their national team journeys by earning invites to Collegiate National Teams, Open National Team Tryouts and the 2024 NORCEA Final Six. With incredible talent, these six athletes will further complement the elite level of play in the league today as one in five of LOVB’s pro players are past NCAA champions and 80 percent have earned All-American honors.
“As the first league to provide a youth to pro pathway, bringing the LOVB Classic to Kansas City during the Triple Crown NIT is the perfect embodiment of our model in action,” said Rosie Spaulding, President of LOVB Pro. “To be able to celebrate the sport we love, while uniting the volleyball community, is exactly what LOVB was built to do and we can't wait to showcase the energy, talent, and passion that makes our sport so special.”
“The explosive growth of volleyball is commanding attention in many places, and the TC NIT is thrilled to work alongside LOVB to show our customer base of student-athletes that professional volleyball is a living, breathing enterprise,” said Jared Rudiger, director of the TC NIT. “This is a notable and rare opportunity for fans to see both the best in the youth game and in this group of professional elites, all over one weekend in downtown Kansas City.”
Fans can purchase tickets to watch the LOVB Classic here: Municipal Auditorium - Kansas City, MO | Tickets, 2025 Event Schedule, Seating Chart
Please note that LOVB Classic tickets are not good for entry to the TC NIT; also, gate passes from the TC NIT cannot be used for entry to the LOVB Classic.
For more information on the LOVB Classic, click here: LOVB: Classic
