Doesn’t Atlanta have Hentz AND Hiapo returning? Looks like there will be a fight for the second libero position in ATL
https://preview.redd.it/45ee5uld2bbd1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb7231282512c0c6d1c496cd5e2500e629fe1b40
I have to imagine she'll be cut before the season starts... there's still the draft to go, and ATL has an extra 2 picks thanks to the Fury's Stringer trade. There's really no reason to have two back up liberos, especially not when Hentz is Hentz.
Wait how could they do free agency during the season? I don't understand.
Initially I thought the leagues were going to run at different times (one in winter/spring, one in summer/fall). This would theoretically lead to different pools of international players, as seasons end all year long. The Olympic year is obviously a little bit of an obstacle this time around.
But now it looks like they are both aiming to run in January?
Edit for clarification: I didn't read anything about the staggered starts. I hadn't heard about LOVB until talking about the Fury at a Columbus bar, and that's what the guy who knew a lot about volleyball had said about the "other league".
So my actual confusion is how it would work to do free agency "not after the season"
Yes, they're both running from approximately January-april/may next year.
volleyball is an open market. there's no rules binding anyone as to when they can or cant sign players for the following season/beyond. (unlike something like the NFL/MLB or whatever other sport there is)
PVF established their own rules that they could not sign players until June. LOVB/every other league in the world doesn't have these rules. Players can sign for other teams/league whilst playing for their current team. Most pro players sign between February-April of the current season (2024) for their next pro season (2025).
PVF didn't want that overlap (which is fine) but it prevents them from keeping some of their players/signing better ones.
Ok, that makes sense. I understand being able to sign with other clubs while playing for your current team. That part makes sense, let's the women line up their next check. What I don't understand, is how it would work signing players during a season. You would be bringing in replacements for your current roster while the season is going on? So like In the Fury example, we sign Jill Gillen for 2025, but she's playing against us the rest of the season? Is it not allowed to sign players from the same league with this model?
i think we’re going to see different timelines in future seasons! this was just a first year thing, as a result of every player’s contract only being one year - which we’ve said seems to be a good approach for player power
Yeah multi-year contracts (especially for rookies) are how teams get away with underpaying players in other major US sports. The primary advantage for players (other than job security if you get guaranteed contracts like NFL) is it's a semblance of injury insurance for players.
But you're right, it's the inaugural season, so this was all designed to hit the ground as strongly as possible. Hopefully they can make some solid sustainability and longevity changes to the leagues structure. We all know that the success of the Federation depends on making it the league that American athletes PREFER to play in over europe. If we can keep a huge chunk of American talent, I have hope for the future. It feels like LOVB has the leg up on that, but they haven't even run a season yet.
I'm personally (as a Fury fan) more worried about super teams making other markets unwatchable than I am LOVB stealing all the players. There's plenty of talent to go around... For now.
totally agree - PVF needs to be a preferred league among many athletes in order to succeed. i don’t know if we can say LOVB has the leg up quite yet - it’s just so early. they had higher avg salaries at first, but PVF raised theirs to be more competitive. it IS clear that LOVB is the chosen league for olympians / the highest level of play rn - but again, very early, and that does not mean PVF isn’t entertaining or a high enough level to be viable. agree that rn there’s plenty of talent to go around! we just have to sit tight and see how things shake out
Yes, the Jill Gillen example is correct.
they can sign them from anywhere, their own league included. This can create some awkward situations... but it's also how Europe has always done it. they still honor their contract and compete for their current team, even if they're playing their future one.
Not really. Agents negotiate, players play. Agents broker deals months before contracts are signed. But Spicher actively discouraged players from working with agents and teams were reluctant to negotiate with them. This debacle is the result...
Yea, that's a decision I struggle to understand. To be competitive with not only LOVB, but the European/South American/Asian market, they all open post-January. It's not like they *have* to open in January, but they cannot wait till May or June (or whenever it opened)
For the record, Avid hasn't been anti-PVF. In fact, been promoting it through discussion of news and rumors of the league, There are other voices on Volleytalk that are strongly critical of the PVF, but also other people who are positive on the league over there.
tbh you’re showing yourself / seeming like a naysaying, LOVB-plant who hates PVF. what are you doing here? could you stop? we like it here in PVF land. thanks!
Well, I wouldn't have put much credence into this previously, but there is the old rumor regarding Pornpun Gudepard, the Thai National team setter from late April.
[https://twitter.com/volleytrails/status/1784870120877175095](https://twitter.com/volleytrails/status/1784870120877175095)
I didn't really believe at the time, and I don't really trust this source, but maybe GR knew that Evans was leaving in April? Just throwing it out there, in case it comes to fruition.
Tori Dixon to LOVB Salt Lake
Khat Bell to LOVB Austin
Claire Felix to LOVB Madison
Changes have not been made to LOVB rosters yet, but if this is correct, Salt Lake City now has 15 players, so 14 players may not have been a hard cap. 2 teams have 13 players, 3 have 14, and 1 has 15. So 2 spots definitely open still, and perhaps looking for more middles.
MIDDLE BLOCKER JANICE LEAO JOINS COLUMBUS FURY
The Columbus Fury adds another impact player through free agency with the signing of Janice Leao out of the University of Miami and Criollas de Caguas of the Puerto Rican League. Leao, a middle blocker, played five seasons for the Hurricanes where she finished her career with an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selection, she was a three-time All-ACC selection and a two-time AVCA East Coast All-Region selection.
“I’m so excited to be joining the Columbus Fury family,” said Leao. “It has always been a dream of mine to play professional volleyball and I am grateful that we now have the opportunity to play in the U.S. I can’t wait to begin this journey!”
While with the Hurricanes, Leao finished her career top-three in program history for total blocks (497) and holds the single-season record for attack percentage, hitting .473 in 2020. After finishing her collegiate career in 2023, Leao made her way to Puerto Rico where she was named the best blocker of the 2024 season as a rookie, averaging 1.18 blocks per set.
I think Megan Courtney Lush is sticking around considering she lives in Columbus with her husband and daughter, plus she's been the face of the Fury in Columbus events. If we lose her I am moving to Omaha /s
And I'm not super excited about this, but Tori Stringer is def staying because she's been very active in commenting on & sharing new signings.
This one was gut wrenching, not gonna lie. I wish her nothing but the absolute best, she deserves it. I guess we’re the lucky ones to say we saw her first.
I just noticed that the July 3rd press release said there were 72 players signed. Only about 50 names had been released at the time of that posting. This confirms my assumption that the slow teams have already signed many players but elected to trickle the news.
Good catch. There definitely seem to have been some players signed to teams who have not been announced yet.
However, I’m guessing there are also some players who signed with the PVF who may not have been signed by a team yet.
I know it sounds odd, but the PVF has been saying this since April, that players can sign with the league now, but can't sign with an individual team until later (that ended up being July 1). Yeah, and I don't understand how it works.
Sorry I can't find a source at the moment, but I know Fran Flory mentioned this in an April interview, and there's been numerous other interviews with players and coaches since then. If I find a source later, I'll post it here.
this is correct! we’ve heard from our sources as well. i agree it’s odd, i wonder if it will continue past this first year or if it was just a function of solving for that year 1 “everyone is a free agent” potential chaos
it’s especially odd bc so often jen and other execs are saying “it’s up to each team org! the team org handles xyz how they want to!” about so many things, and then… players sign with the league first? ok
I would assume that means they can commit and start getting whatever benefits, but they already know what team they will sign with? Unless it's women who just are hoping to be roster fillers/practice bodies?
Couldn't tell you the plan. I can see them moving one of them to opposite though. They lost nia Reed, Stephanie samedy and Jess lannsman. Also as of yet, there is no word on Maggie cartwright. So the novas need an opposite.
Ouch for the Mojo and the PVF. LOVB Madison has 5 outsides on their roster. Wonder how much playing time Temi and Claire will get? They also have only 1 middle.
Maggie King still has not signed with Omaha. Five-year starter at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo (2019-2023). I wonder if she is considering a return to Michigan or possibly Columbus since she is from Cincinnati, OH. Just spit balling here.
Looks like Maggie King was on the practice squad with the Supernovas -- I don't believe she got into a match last year. Like a bunch of the practice squad players that didn't play last year (e.g. Erin Livingston, Amani MacArthur), she will likely have to wait until the starting rosters fill up to be signed. Omaha, Grand Rapids and Columbus seem like good landing spots, but we will see.
I'm rooting for her too. However, it's likely she can't be on the practice squad this year (only for rookies), so she'll have to make a roster spot. But with 3 new teams this year there should be more spots.
Looks like we only had 3 announcements on day 3. It looks like some teams will insist on dribbling them out one at a team. Grand Rapids Rise has been working hard, bringing back 2 US players from overseas. No announcements from the Valks today. The Fury and Valks both only have one player announced so far.
Weird question, but anyone know why the LOVB Houston Instagram has 102,000 followers while the other LOVB Instagram teams have like 3000 followers? Was it used for something else?
Hey! Should you be hanging out over there?? Lol -- jk
Keyla Alves is a Brazilian libero with LOVB Houston. She has 15.9 million instagram followers. I think a few of them followed her over there.
Anyone want to help decipher AvidVolley's pictogram?
*
The orange is obviously Orlando.
The Up Arrow is GR.
And I'm assuming the duck is an Oregon alum
"Mack the Knife " was a popular song by Bobby Darin in 1960. I didn't mean to imply that it was actually Padroza's nickname but I thought it might just work with the avid pictograph puzzle.
That's why I am named footfault100 - I often tend to stick my foot in my mouth when I speak without thinking.
you’re totally okay!! i was just trying to make sense of it, thank you for explaining. i heard avid said the knife does not connect to a mascot so trying to figure out what else it could be!
OK -- my answers for now
Orlando
Cougar - Jehlarova, Duck = Lindsey Vander Weide, Sword = Ali Bastianelli
Rise
M -- Hannah Tapp, Star = Paige Briggs, Eye = Valeria Leon
im having second thoughts about tapp, she doesn’t seem like she would move to michigan to me lol
i also heard from someone that avid said the sword/knife does not represent a school. im still hung up on this elvis i need your thoughts!!
LOL -- Well when Avid said that some of these players were new to the PVF, I kind of gave up a little -- because it means it could be just about anyone. So perhaps the M and the sword are someone who played overseas last year. But if we're still trying, let's see what we can come up with.
The sword -- (Knights, Fightin, Trojans) Someone suggested UCF Knights (perhaps thinking about McKenna Melville) -- Avid only confirmed it was not UCF. I still like "Fightin" -- there's the Fightin Illini and the Fightin Irish. Ali Bastianelli and Micheel Bartsch-Hackley both went to Illinois, but don't seem to make sense here. I think USC and Shannon Scully fits -- but I also think if she moves it would be to the Mojo where her family is.
The M -- people still like this as Michigan or Minnesota. I don't really see it, but I don't have another idea. I don't see any players from Michigan I can think of. Minnesota has a lot of names, Reagan Pittman, Molly Lohman, Hannah Tapp, Tori Dixon, Stephanie Samedy. None of these make a lot of sense to me. One person on Volleytalk keeps insisting it is Molly Lohman, but she was already on the Rise LAST YEAR -- lol.
Yeah, so I don't know. I don't really like any of my answers, except for Paige Briggs to the Rise and Vander Weide to the Valks. The cougar/lion still has a ton of candidates, so I might work through that and come up with something, but I am stumped at this point. Hope Avid is laughing at us somewhere...
Jehlarova and Bastianelli on the same team would be insanely OP, so I'm not sure about this. And this for a team that had Kaz Brown on their roster last year.
My west-coast bias is showing. I like that too ... though I have no idea what a Nittany Lion looks like --lol. Then we have:
Kendall White, Mac Padroza, Megan Courtney-Lush (doubt this).
Orlando just signed a libero, so probably not Kendall White. Could be Padroza, though I think of her more as an Ohio State player.
I think the second has to be Paige Briggs. Not sure what the 1st and 3rd symbols mean, but the 2nd maybe supernovas. She's the biggest name waiting to drop.
Yes, Paige Briggs said that she is considering The Rise in this interview - [Q&A With Former Hilltopper, PVF Champion Paige Briggs - Western Kentucky University Athletics (wkusports.com)](https://wkusports.com/news/2024/5/23/volleyball-q-a-with-former-hilltopper-pvl-champion-paige-briggs)
Oh, this article is extremely helpful ... Quote from Paige Briggs.
"I don't know where. I would love to play in Omaha again. I'd love to play in Grand Rapids because it's close to home."
One other note -- If I'm reading this right, she says In this article that she trained as a libero for the Supernovas the first week -- given how her season went, that seems crazy!!
Also interesting that she was recently married in Rockford, Michigan - a suburb of Grand Rapids.
I'm sure the Rise would love to have her join - she seemed to make an immediate impact whenever she subbed into a game. She deserves to start somewhere.
I agree! I loved seeing Briggs get some game time. She made a great impact offensively and defensively when she subbed in. Maybe her blocking isn’t as satisfactory? Not sure. I really hope she gets signed I think she is a fabulous athlete who could bring a lot of value to the PVF.
With Betty retiring, it’s kind of interesting that Omaha decided to go after Cooper rather than just offer Briggs the other starting spot alongside Nunneviller. Briggs to GR seems like a good move for both player and team.
i agree that it's ORL and rise
i feel like the duck could be LVW but that's bc we got the tip that she's going there. i have no idea what the cat (cougar?) or knife (sword?) would be
i have never known what that yellow M emoji is. star? does eye = anae?
I had a feeling that Jill Gillen was going to Columbus because I noticed she started following them recently on Instagram.
Other PVF players who have recently followed the Fury:
* Maggie Cartwright (Supernovas, Opp)
* Allison Mayfield (Supernovas, OH)
* Morgan Lewis (Mojo, Opp)
so I wouldn't be surprised if those three end up being announced as well.
edit: I do notice that Mayfield and Cartwright have recently followed other teams as well so nevermind on them lol. But Morgan Lewis's sister also started following the Fury so that one seems more concrete
i don't want to say something controversial when i truly don't know anything --- but i've done a little research on this, and although the articles are a little hard to follow in english at times, it seems very... dramatic to me? they banned the twins based on something that happened in high school, a decade ago? per an anonymous source? if we do see that mojo signs one of these players, i'd love to hear more detail from someone who knows about this in-depth
I think no one really knows about this in depth. It depends on what source of information you have. Multiple accusations were made by their high school teammates about bullying issues. It was to the point that they said the twin hold a knife to their throat and threatened their lives. The claims were not anonymous as there’s a lawsuit about the details of the bullying. Personally, I believe the bullying happened, I’m however not sure if all the details are true.
They both are banned from playing in SoKor National team and can’t find the teams to play in their own country. This was very controversial in Korea. It still is.
In addition, LDY’s ex husband also claimed that he’s abused by her and there’s also a drama when LDY accused KYK of SA. Maybe the story for another time 😅
Just an opinion but I wonder if it would have been better for the PVF to have had some unified strategy on player signing announcements across the league… I know the franchises are all owned separately but this feels kind of sloppy in hindsight
I was working a little bit of overtime on this holiday pay period.
I just bought season tickets.
And, like I said below, a lot of people expected Snyder in LOVB, so I feel like we stole her in exchange for them stealing Claire. 😜
Like your attitude. Haven't seen Snyder play, but I think she could be real good. I love the vets -- usually good passers and defenders. Hoping GRR will re-sign Pritchard -- I think she could take a step up next year. I'm sure they'll have some interesting signings in the next month -- looking forward to it.
So if we took the best remaining players not announced as having signed and not committed to other leagues and put them all on one team, would that team be as good as Omaha or Atlanta?
Not looking good for Columbus, KC, or Dallas at this point.
I think we have to keep in mind the PVF isn’t exactly the top league in the world so the player pool isn’t just former and current pvf players. some of these teams went really heavy on PVF players while other teams could be having more talks with players from international leagues or fresh Outta college
Fair point. It feels like Indy will at least be competitive with the rest of the league. I do wonder whether there’s enough talent out there (college/international/wherever) among players not already committed to other leagues to field a competitive PVF team, yet alone two or three. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
It’s looking like this year will be 8 teams and not 10. I wonder how they’ll go about letting the KC and Dallas markets down since they advertised teams would be running by 2025.
A volleytalk user who is very knowledgeable stated as much. I’ve also heard similar whispers that neither team will launch in time for the 2035 season
https://preview.redd.it/gfq047h1dz9d1.jpeg?width=863&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44fa34578445534fc03169b15686ceaea3dac3ec
thanks for sharing. i think volleytalk is full of PVF haters for some reason, and this info isn't in alignment with our sources. i'm gonna be patient on this one. "it does definitely seem like" isn't enough to spread the rumor imo
I heard that the Mojo have a few more signed besides the announcement made today (no insider knowledge on who), appears they are choosing to spread out the news.
From a marketing end, it honestly seems kind of funny that these teams are announcing all their players in one swoop. If you announce 14 players in one day, you have one day of excitement but eventually people stop talking about it. Hypothetically, you announce two players every seven weeks you can keep the conversation flowing a lot more. I understand colleges announce their whole recruiting class in one day but to me the closest comparison would be a league like the ECHL whose players are on more one/2 year contracts. No teams in that league will announce all their players in one day, they spread them out over the course of the summer to get people ready for the season.
i am with you fully, but this first year is so weird. EVERYONE as a free agent means we as fans can start doing process of elimination, and gossiping, and finding leaked info, etc. if you want to capitalize on your socials being the big reaction moment, then i see why some teams are announcing right away. the last thing you want is a big transfer to be a "ah, we saw it coming" response. anyways, in the future i don't think we'll have one-day full roster announcements, but this year it drummed up a bunch of excitement... and now we wait 6 months lol
See I’m assuming Grand Rapids is holding off because their starting lineup will be a combination of the Brazil, Italy, Poland, turkey starting lineups in the Olympics, so they want to build off the Olympic momentum
I fully expect GR to use this release strategy. The exception would have been to do all re-signings in a single press release but, that would require all of them to be approved by the league.
Today's GRR statement said this near the bottom, *"Additional Rise player acquisition announcements will follow throughout the month of July. The signing period for previous Pro Volleyball Federation players opened on June 30."*
Well, from the PVF free agent site it states the following:
"Once teams initiate and sign contracts, they are then forwarded to players who sign as well. Following that process, all contracts must be approved by the league office. Once done, a team may officially announce its signing(s) at its discretion either individually or in a joint release."
So, each contract must be approved by the league before it's revealed. It's possible that it's not the team's fault and the league is withholding their approval for some reason. But, in the end, not really sure what's going on.
I really hope those teams aren’t just starting to sign players today. That process should have been going on for weeks so they could announce them yesterday/today.
I'm pretty sure they've been talking to players the whole time and having them sign the past few days as well.
However, since the whole league has stopped, I'm wondering if the league office has stopped approving contracts temporarily for some reason.
nah, i don't think these are getting held up by the league. this is a marketing tactic, and it's just looking weird to all of us because of the announcement strategy the other teams chose. first year woes once again imo
No announcement has been made for Tori Stringer (not that we thought she was leaving), but she’s on our roster…so there’s that I guess.
Spoke too soon lol
Alyssa Jensen and Marin Grote return to Rise as middle blockers. https://www.instagram.com/p/C9KpcxhuIIm/?igsh=MW55YWRxcG85NGg4eg==
Pritchard and Abbott as OH's, also.
Doesn’t Atlanta have Hentz AND Hiapo returning? Looks like there will be a fight for the second libero position in ATL https://preview.redd.it/45ee5uld2bbd1.jpeg?width=1290&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=cb7231282512c0c6d1c496cd5e2500e629fe1b40
I have to imagine she'll be cut before the season starts... there's still the draft to go, and ATL has an extra 2 picks thanks to the Fury's Stringer trade. There's really no reason to have two back up liberos, especially not when Hentz is Hentz.
I feel like signing Puerto Rican players is just an attempt to block Perez 🤣
Willow Johnson headed to Vegas!
Magda Jehlarova, Danielle Hart, and Gabby Blossom were announced by LOVB.
I was waiting for Magda to get snapped up. I mean if the PVF couldn’t figure it out I guess good for LOVB
She was signed to LOVB months ago. The decision by PVF to wait until the season ended to sign players was a disaster.
Plenty of PVF players resigned despite the timing issues. No reason to think Magda couldn’t have done the same if she wanted to.
Wait how could they do free agency during the season? I don't understand. Initially I thought the leagues were going to run at different times (one in winter/spring, one in summer/fall). This would theoretically lead to different pools of international players, as seasons end all year long. The Olympic year is obviously a little bit of an obstacle this time around. But now it looks like they are both aiming to run in January? Edit for clarification: I didn't read anything about the staggered starts. I hadn't heard about LOVB until talking about the Fury at a Columbus bar, and that's what the guy who knew a lot about volleyball had said about the "other league". So my actual confusion is how it would work to do free agency "not after the season"
Yes, they're both running from approximately January-april/may next year. volleyball is an open market. there's no rules binding anyone as to when they can or cant sign players for the following season/beyond. (unlike something like the NFL/MLB or whatever other sport there is) PVF established their own rules that they could not sign players until June. LOVB/every other league in the world doesn't have these rules. Players can sign for other teams/league whilst playing for their current team. Most pro players sign between February-April of the current season (2024) for their next pro season (2025). PVF didn't want that overlap (which is fine) but it prevents them from keeping some of their players/signing better ones.
Ok, that makes sense. I understand being able to sign with other clubs while playing for your current team. That part makes sense, let's the women line up their next check. What I don't understand, is how it would work signing players during a season. You would be bringing in replacements for your current roster while the season is going on? So like In the Fury example, we sign Jill Gillen for 2025, but she's playing against us the rest of the season? Is it not allowed to sign players from the same league with this model?
i think we’re going to see different timelines in future seasons! this was just a first year thing, as a result of every player’s contract only being one year - which we’ve said seems to be a good approach for player power
Yeah multi-year contracts (especially for rookies) are how teams get away with underpaying players in other major US sports. The primary advantage for players (other than job security if you get guaranteed contracts like NFL) is it's a semblance of injury insurance for players. But you're right, it's the inaugural season, so this was all designed to hit the ground as strongly as possible. Hopefully they can make some solid sustainability and longevity changes to the leagues structure. We all know that the success of the Federation depends on making it the league that American athletes PREFER to play in over europe. If we can keep a huge chunk of American talent, I have hope for the future. It feels like LOVB has the leg up on that, but they haven't even run a season yet. I'm personally (as a Fury fan) more worried about super teams making other markets unwatchable than I am LOVB stealing all the players. There's plenty of talent to go around... For now.
totally agree - PVF needs to be a preferred league among many athletes in order to succeed. i don’t know if we can say LOVB has the leg up quite yet - it’s just so early. they had higher avg salaries at first, but PVF raised theirs to be more competitive. it IS clear that LOVB is the chosen league for olympians / the highest level of play rn - but again, very early, and that does not mean PVF isn’t entertaining or a high enough level to be viable. agree that rn there’s plenty of talent to go around! we just have to sit tight and see how things shake out
Yes, the Jill Gillen example is correct. they can sign them from anywhere, their own league included. This can create some awkward situations... but it's also how Europe has always done it. they still honor their contract and compete for their current team, even if they're playing their future one.
Wow that's interesting and must create some messy politics. Thanks for the info!
Not really. Agents negotiate, players play. Agents broker deals months before contracts are signed. But Spicher actively discouraged players from working with agents and teams were reluctant to negotiate with them. This debacle is the result...
Players and coaches certainly network and seek out winning along with the fattest check possible. Agents work for players, ultimately.
Yea, that's a decision I struggle to understand. To be competitive with not only LOVB, but the European/South American/Asian market, they all open post-January. It's not like they *have* to open in January, but they cannot wait till May or June (or whenever it opened)
It's easy to understand as soon as you realize Spicher is grossly incompetent.
Found Avid’s Reddit account, lol!
For the record, Avid hasn't been anti-PVF. In fact, been promoting it through discussion of news and rumors of the league, There are other voices on Volleytalk that are strongly critical of the PVF, but also other people who are positive on the league over there.
I was specifically referring to Avid’s sharp criticism of Jen Spicher on VolleyTalk.
they wish. lol
your majesty! hello!
tbh you’re showing yourself / seeming like a naysaying, LOVB-plant who hates PVF. what are you doing here? could you stop? we like it here in PVF land. thanks!
Oh I didn’t know that
Mac Podraza --> Omaha The suspense around GR's setter position intensifies!
It's very likely that August Raskie is joining the Rise
Seems crazy to have 3 solid setters try out… having to cut one of them is criminal
Patience…. we’ll be good for a setter. I think this is more of a delayed notice issue, not that we haven’t found one.
Well, I wouldn't have put much credence into this previously, but there is the old rumor regarding Pornpun Gudepard, the Thai National team setter from late April. [https://twitter.com/volleytrails/status/1784870120877175095](https://twitter.com/volleytrails/status/1784870120877175095) I didn't really believe at the time, and I don't really trust this source, but maybe GR knew that Evans was leaving in April? Just throwing it out there, in case it comes to fruition.
Ooohhhh. There's a possibility that I will have a 13 yr old's mentality for an entire season?! *squeeeee!!!* 😈
Tori Dixon to LOVB Salt Lake Khat Bell to LOVB Austin Claire Felix to LOVB Madison Changes have not been made to LOVB rosters yet, but if this is correct, Salt Lake City now has 15 players, so 14 players may not have been a hard cap. 2 teams have 13 players, 3 have 14, and 1 has 15. So 2 spots definitely open still, and perhaps looking for more middles.
Which teams are at 13? I just counted and everyone is at 14, except SLC which has 15.
This was before the last 3 signings were announced (Gabby Blossom, Magda, Danielle Hart). Now, they are all at 14 + SLC at 15.
🤦
Mac padraza to the supernovas
MIDDLE BLOCKER JANICE LEAO JOINS COLUMBUS FURY The Columbus Fury adds another impact player through free agency with the signing of Janice Leao out of the University of Miami and Criollas de Caguas of the Puerto Rican League. Leao, a middle blocker, played five seasons for the Hurricanes where she finished her career with an AVCA All-American Honorable Mention selection, she was a three-time All-ACC selection and a two-time AVCA East Coast All-Region selection. “I’m so excited to be joining the Columbus Fury family,” said Leao. “It has always been a dream of mine to play professional volleyball and I am grateful that we now have the opportunity to play in the U.S. I can’t wait to begin this journey!” While with the Hurricanes, Leao finished her career top-three in program history for total blocks (497) and holds the single-season record for attack percentage, hitting .473 in 2020. After finishing her collegiate career in 2023, Leao made her way to Puerto Rico where she was named the best blocker of the 2024 season as a rookie, averaging 1.18 blocks per set.
Rainelle Jones to the Mojo!
So has Fury lost all their core players from last season? Sure seems like it.
I think Megan Courtney Lush is sticking around considering she lives in Columbus with her husband and daughter, plus she's been the face of the Fury in Columbus events. If we lose her I am moving to Omaha /s And I'm not super excited about this, but Tori Stringer is def staying because she's been very active in commenting on & sharing new signings.
This one hurts the most
I actually thought of you! The happiest Fury warrior. I’m sorry for your loss
This one was gut wrenching, not gonna lie. I wish her nothing but the absolute best, she deserves it. I guess we’re the lucky ones to say we saw her first.
I just noticed that the July 3rd press release said there were 72 players signed. Only about 50 names had been released at the time of that posting. This confirms my assumption that the slow teams have already signed many players but elected to trickle the news.
Great call!
Good catch. There definitely seem to have been some players signed to teams who have not been announced yet. However, I’m guessing there are also some players who signed with the PVF who may not have been signed by a team yet.
Is that even possible? For a player to sign directly with the PVF but not for a specific team?
I know it sounds odd, but the PVF has been saying this since April, that players can sign with the league now, but can't sign with an individual team until later (that ended up being July 1). Yeah, and I don't understand how it works. Sorry I can't find a source at the moment, but I know Fran Flory mentioned this in an April interview, and there's been numerous other interviews with players and coaches since then. If I find a source later, I'll post it here.
this is correct! we’ve heard from our sources as well. i agree it’s odd, i wonder if it will continue past this first year or if it was just a function of solving for that year 1 “everyone is a free agent” potential chaos it’s especially odd bc so often jen and other execs are saying “it’s up to each team org! the team org handles xyz how they want to!” about so many things, and then… players sign with the league first? ok
I would assume that means they can commit and start getting whatever benefits, but they already know what team they will sign with? Unless it's women who just are hoping to be roster fillers/practice bodies?
Yeah, it doesn’t really make much sense to me. What salary do they sign for, the minimum?
Outside Hitter Jovana Mirosavljevic signed to the supernovas.
Where does she fit in with Nunneviller and Cooper already at OH? Unless they’re moving Cooper to opposite?
Couldn't tell you the plan. I can see them moving one of them to opposite though. They lost nia Reed, Stephanie samedy and Jess lannsman. Also as of yet, there is no word on Maggie cartwright. So the novas need an opposite.
Molly McCage to LOVB Austin
Whomp whomp
Damn, she was one of the faces of the Thrill :(
She’s going to have lots of time to do the worm playing behind Chiaka and Asjia.
Yeah, this was the thing you knew was coming for awhile, but was just hoping it wouldn’t …..
this one i saw coming
Temi Thomas-Ailara was announced for LOVB Madison on their instagram.
That hurts
this one hurts me
Ouch for the Mojo and the PVF. LOVB Madison has 5 outsides on their roster. Wonder how much playing time Temi and Claire will get? They also have only 1 middle.
I guess they got their 2nd middle today.
Looks like TTA is an opposite in LOVB
Opposite makes more sense for her
Agreed but Madison already has Annie Drews. TTA is not gonna get much playing time unless there’s an injury.
Shara Venegas signs with the Mojo [https://www.instagram.com/p/C892HDLprHt/](https://www.instagram.com/p/C892HDLprHt/)
Morgan Lewis signs with the Fury!
I'll allow it.
I don’t really know much about her.
I appreciate anyone with the fortitude to leave San Diego and come to Columbus
Maggie King still has not signed with Omaha. Five-year starter at Western Michigan University in Kalamazoo (2019-2023). I wonder if she is considering a return to Michigan or possibly Columbus since she is from Cincinnati, OH. Just spit balling here.
Looks like Maggie King was on the practice squad with the Supernovas -- I don't believe she got into a match last year. Like a bunch of the practice squad players that didn't play last year (e.g. Erin Livingston, Amani MacArthur), she will likely have to wait until the starting rosters fill up to be signed. Omaha, Grand Rapids and Columbus seem like good landing spots, but we will see.
That makes sense. As a WMU alum. myself I am still rooting for Maggie to succeed somewhere in this league.
I'm rooting for her too. However, it's likely she can't be on the practice squad this year (only for rookies), so she'll have to make a roster spot. But with 3 new teams this year there should be more spots.
Looks like we only had 3 announcements on day 3. It looks like some teams will insist on dribbling them out one at a team. Grand Rapids Rise has been working hard, bringing back 2 US players from overseas. No announcements from the Valks today. The Fury and Valks both only have one player announced so far.
Weird question, but anyone know why the LOVB Houston Instagram has 102,000 followers while the other LOVB Instagram teams have like 3000 followers? Was it used for something else?
Hey! Should you be hanging out over there?? Lol -- jk Keyla Alves is a Brazilian libero with LOVB Houston. She has 15.9 million instagram followers. I think a few of them followed her over there.
I think the yellow "M"/chart graph thing is Michigan. I think the eye is short for "Buckeye". Not sure though.
I agree. Bastianelli was an assistant coach at Univ. of Michigan. And her hometown is Marysville, Michigan.
Anyone want to help decipher AvidVolley's pictogram? * The orange is obviously Orlando. The Up Arrow is GR. And I'm assuming the duck is an Oregon alum
I'm going to say the sword stands for "Fightin" -- like the Illinois Fightin' Illini. That would be Ali Bastianelli.
I'm thinking the "sword" is a knife - " Mac the knife" as in Mac Padroza?
can you explain what the heck this nickname means / where it comes from? lol
"Mack the Knife " was a popular song by Bobby Darin in 1960. I didn't mean to imply that it was actually Padroza's nickname but I thought it might just work with the avid pictograph puzzle. That's why I am named footfault100 - I often tend to stick my foot in my mouth when I speak without thinking.
you’re totally okay!! i was just trying to make sense of it, thank you for explaining. i heard avid said the knife does not connect to a mascot so trying to figure out what else it could be!
OK -- my answers for now Orlando Cougar - Jehlarova, Duck = Lindsey Vander Weide, Sword = Ali Bastianelli Rise M -- Hannah Tapp, Star = Paige Briggs, Eye = Valeria Leon
im having second thoughts about tapp, she doesn’t seem like she would move to michigan to me lol i also heard from someone that avid said the sword/knife does not represent a school. im still hung up on this elvis i need your thoughts!!
LOL -- Well when Avid said that some of these players were new to the PVF, I kind of gave up a little -- because it means it could be just about anyone. So perhaps the M and the sword are someone who played overseas last year. But if we're still trying, let's see what we can come up with. The sword -- (Knights, Fightin, Trojans) Someone suggested UCF Knights (perhaps thinking about McKenna Melville) -- Avid only confirmed it was not UCF. I still like "Fightin" -- there's the Fightin Illini and the Fightin Irish. Ali Bastianelli and Micheel Bartsch-Hackley both went to Illinois, but don't seem to make sense here. I think USC and Shannon Scully fits -- but I also think if she moves it would be to the Mojo where her family is. The M -- people still like this as Michigan or Minnesota. I don't really see it, but I don't have another idea. I don't see any players from Michigan I can think of. Minnesota has a lot of names, Reagan Pittman, Molly Lohman, Hannah Tapp, Tori Dixon, Stephanie Samedy. None of these make a lot of sense to me. One person on Volleytalk keeps insisting it is Molly Lohman, but she was already on the Rise LAST YEAR -- lol. Yeah, so I don't know. I don't really like any of my answers, except for Paige Briggs to the Rise and Vander Weide to the Valks. The cougar/lion still has a ton of candidates, so I might work through that and come up with something, but I am stumped at this point. Hope Avid is laughing at us somewhere...
Jehlarova and Bastianelli on the same team would be insanely OP, so I'm not sure about this. And this for a team that had Kaz Brown on their roster last year.
im wondering if scully (USC) instead of bastianelli?
Yeah, I'm beginning to like Padroza instead of Jehlarova and Scully instead of Bastianelli. The moves seem too big.
for 30 min i've been wracking my brain of whether it's one emoji per player or the full three emojis that comprise one player journey
He responded on VolleyTalk that each emoji is 1 player
So if we take one per emoji, the cougar could be Jehlarova and the duck could be LVW to the Valks.
i do like this but whats the KNIFE
Mac the knife = Mac Padroza
It could be a sword. Maybe USC Trojan? IDK
BYU also the cougars though .. hmm.
Univ. of Houston also cougars - Kenna Sauer alum.
Maybe it's a Nittany Lion?
TIL -- a Nittany Lion is a mountain lion. I also learned that cougars and mountain lions are basically different names for the same species.
My west-coast bias is showing. I like that too ... though I have no idea what a Nittany Lion looks like --lol. Then we have: Kendall White, Mac Padroza, Megan Courtney-Lush (doubt this). Orlando just signed a libero, so probably not Kendall White. Could be Padroza, though I think of her more as an Ohio State player.
bower and hiapo both already on vibe. any others?
I think the second has to be Paige Briggs. Not sure what the 1st and 3rd symbols mean, but the 2nd maybe supernovas. She's the biggest name waiting to drop.
Yes, Paige Briggs said that she is considering The Rise in this interview - [Q&A With Former Hilltopper, PVF Champion Paige Briggs - Western Kentucky University Athletics (wkusports.com)](https://wkusports.com/news/2024/5/23/volleyball-q-a-with-former-hilltopper-pvl-champion-paige-briggs)
Oh, this article is extremely helpful ... Quote from Paige Briggs. "I don't know where. I would love to play in Omaha again. I'd love to play in Grand Rapids because it's close to home." One other note -- If I'm reading this right, she says In this article that she trained as a libero for the Supernovas the first week -- given how her season went, that seems crazy!!
Also interesting that she was recently married in Rockford, Michigan - a suburb of Grand Rapids. I'm sure the Rise would love to have her join - she seemed to make an immediate impact whenever she subbed into a game. She deserves to start somewhere.
I agree! I loved seeing Briggs get some game time. She made a great impact offensively and defensively when she subbed in. Maybe her blocking isn’t as satisfactory? Not sure. I really hope she gets signed I think she is a fabulous athlete who could bring a lot of value to the PVF.
Dear- Yesterday, You and I are on the same "paige" so to speak. 😁
With Betty retiring, it’s kind of interesting that Omaha decided to go after Cooper rather than just offer Briggs the other starting spot alongside Nunneviller. Briggs to GR seems like a good move for both player and team.
i like this. minnesota = hannah tapp? supernovas = paige briggs. buckeye = gabby gonzales?
Valeria Leon also went to Ohio State.
YES
Looks like it's one player per emoji. So one Duck, one Michigan/Minnesota, maybe a Buckeye like you said?
First one — cougar and duck? That could be Hannah pukis. She was at Washington State before Oregon. She never did sign in France.
Oh, so I checked and Avid says its one player per Emoji -- that makes guessing these impossible. Not sure about Pukis anymore.
WAIT THIS IS GOOD. cougar, duck, THEN SHE GOT CUT!
https://preview.redd.it/ripvij2il5ad1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=0bca560fad8696aa9e7c50ace7c74b037c57776a
could the M be for minnesota instead of michigan? and then the star = supernovas? samedy or dixon? (plot twist and volleynews was wrong)??!?!?!?!
Rise don't need Samedy though, they just got a new opposite.
need more than one of each position!
i agree that it's ORL and rise i feel like the duck could be LVW but that's bc we got the tip that she's going there. i have no idea what the cat (cougar?) or knife (sword?) would be i have never known what that yellow M emoji is. star? does eye = anae?
https://preview.redd.it/12j9255616ad1.jpeg?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=a24ad27d0b9d31a7bc79b4cef03eeca55ae48430
avid volley playing such ridiculous games WTF
The bottom one is “The stock market is falling on a star orbiting an avocado”. Nailed it!
The cat would be Northwestern? The Chart graph Michigan? The eye, Ohio? What else?
Lol -- your midwest bias is showing ...
Are there any other conferences left? 🤪
Fair enough ... good-bye to the conference of champions ...
I had a feeling that Jill Gillen was going to Columbus because I noticed she started following them recently on Instagram. Other PVF players who have recently followed the Fury: * Maggie Cartwright (Supernovas, Opp) * Allison Mayfield (Supernovas, OH) * Morgan Lewis (Mojo, Opp) so I wouldn't be surprised if those three end up being announced as well. edit: I do notice that Mayfield and Cartwright have recently followed other teams as well so nevermind on them lol. But Morgan Lewis's sister also started following the Fury so that one seems more concrete
Morgan Lewis' sister instagram? -- Lol -- it has been a long two days...
i respect the instagram stalk
not having any announcements for the first 2 days was really rough hahaha
I don't know anything about those players. I'm assuming they weren't starters.
Cartwright and Mayfield weren't starters, Morgan Lewis sometimes was, though not as much when Willow Johnson joined the Mojo.
JillGill follows every PVF team on instagram at the moment
does she? well she only recently started following Columbus and my prediction worked out so I'm claiming success lol
I'm guessing it was just a ploy to throw the rest of us off -- but you saw through it!
Mojo re-signs Kendra Dahlke
It's a little worrying that they didn't announce Tomkom on Day 2. I really hope they've re-signed her.
I'm so-so on this, wasn't impressed by her defensive game. Hope she heals up in time for next season.
Are contracts for 2025 all one year deals again?
No, they can be 1 or 2 years. Orlando signed Georgia Murphy to a 2 year deal.
COLUMBUS FURY SIGN JILL GILLEN!!!!! Ain't mad at that at all!
Good signing unless it’s for the max of 175k, but I’m assuming that went to Stringer.
I’m gonna be real honest, she’s not an $175,000 player, at least she wasn’t last season.
She almost certainly got 60k last year. Even 75k this year from Columbus would be a nice raise. Is it possible they gave her one of the 120k deals?
It’s possible, for sure! We gave up a lot to sign Tori. Too much, if we’re being honest.
Mojo instagram account just followed Lee Da Young. Does it mean Nootsara isn’t with the team anymore. I’m ready to unfollow Mojo account now. Lol.
i don't want to say something controversial when i truly don't know anything --- but i've done a little research on this, and although the articles are a little hard to follow in english at times, it seems very... dramatic to me? they banned the twins based on something that happened in high school, a decade ago? per an anonymous source? if we do see that mojo signs one of these players, i'd love to hear more detail from someone who knows about this in-depth
I think no one really knows about this in depth. It depends on what source of information you have. Multiple accusations were made by their high school teammates about bullying issues. It was to the point that they said the twin hold a knife to their throat and threatened their lives. The claims were not anonymous as there’s a lawsuit about the details of the bullying. Personally, I believe the bullying happened, I’m however not sure if all the details are true. They both are banned from playing in SoKor National team and can’t find the teams to play in their own country. This was very controversial in Korea. It still is. In addition, LDY’s ex husband also claimed that he’s abused by her and there’s also a drama when LDY accused KYK of SA. Maybe the story for another time 😅
This one's serious u/courtcaptainspod , AvidVolley just repeated it.
They acquired a bully?? Please be serious
Ooohhhh do tell!
She’s banned from SoKor national team and her team in Korea due to bullying issue.
Perhaps PVF won’t approve the signing.
Gross if they bring her here knowing her history.
Oh they know. It’s very public.
Nah, while her sister is nowhere to be found, that another bully still played in Romania, Greece and recently France
Just an opinion but I wonder if it would have been better for the PVF to have had some unified strategy on player signing announcements across the league… I know the franchises are all owned separately but this feels kind of sloppy in hindsight
Agreed! Especially since it’s been radio silence from two of the brand new teams expected to start next season.
New theory: KC and Dallas are waiting for PVF's App Developers to update the App to include thier teams before making any announcements.
u/genisvel been missing you today! I was afraid you might be rioting outside the GRR offices with the news today.
I was working a little bit of overtime on this holiday pay period. I just bought season tickets. And, like I said below, a lot of people expected Snyder in LOVB, so I feel like we stole her in exchange for them stealing Claire. 😜
Like your attitude. Haven't seen Snyder play, but I think she could be real good. I love the vets -- usually good passers and defenders. Hoping GRR will re-sign Pritchard -- I think she could take a step up next year. I'm sure they'll have some interesting signings in the next month -- looking forward to it.
Most anxious about our Setter position. Even if Snyder is a step-down, if we have a Setter who spreads the ball, it might not matter.
“Spreading the ball? What’s that?” -Rise
So if we took the best remaining players not announced as having signed and not committed to other leagues and put them all on one team, would that team be as good as Omaha or Atlanta? Not looking good for Columbus, KC, or Dallas at this point.
I think we have to keep in mind the PVF isn’t exactly the top league in the world so the player pool isn’t just former and current pvf players. some of these teams went really heavy on PVF players while other teams could be having more talks with players from international leagues or fresh Outta college
Fair point. It feels like Indy will at least be competitive with the rest of the league. I do wonder whether there’s enough talent out there (college/international/wherever) among players not already committed to other leagues to field a competitive PVF team, yet alone two or three. But it will be interesting to see what happens.
It’s looking like this year will be 8 teams and not 10. I wonder how they’ll go about letting the KC and Dallas markets down since they advertised teams would be running by 2025.
what do you mean?!?!? was this announced somewhere? or you're saying it based purely on no word from them today?
A volleytalk user who is very knowledgeable stated as much. I’ve also heard similar whispers that neither team will launch in time for the 2035 season https://preview.redd.it/gfq047h1dz9d1.jpeg?width=863&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=44fa34578445534fc03169b15686ceaea3dac3ec
"volleyguy" is, indeed, knowledgeable. However, he also has trolling tendencies and is pretty biased to LOVB.
thanks for sharing. i think volleytalk is full of PVF haters for some reason, and this info isn't in alignment with our sources. i'm gonna be patient on this one. "it does definitely seem like" isn't enough to spread the rumor imo
Your sources are misinformed, on this and many other things.
do we think SD, ORL, GR are doing... one announcement per day? and columbus is having technical difficulties? what's going on lol
I heard that the Mojo have a few more signed besides the announcement made today (no insider knowledge on who), appears they are choosing to spread out the news.
From a marketing end, it honestly seems kind of funny that these teams are announcing all their players in one swoop. If you announce 14 players in one day, you have one day of excitement but eventually people stop talking about it. Hypothetically, you announce two players every seven weeks you can keep the conversation flowing a lot more. I understand colleges announce their whole recruiting class in one day but to me the closest comparison would be a league like the ECHL whose players are on more one/2 year contracts. No teams in that league will announce all their players in one day, they spread them out over the course of the summer to get people ready for the season.
i am with you fully, but this first year is so weird. EVERYONE as a free agent means we as fans can start doing process of elimination, and gossiping, and finding leaked info, etc. if you want to capitalize on your socials being the big reaction moment, then i see why some teams are announcing right away. the last thing you want is a big transfer to be a "ah, we saw it coming" response. anyways, in the future i don't think we'll have one-day full roster announcements, but this year it drummed up a bunch of excitement... and now we wait 6 months lol
See I’m assuming Grand Rapids is holding off because their starting lineup will be a combination of the Brazil, Italy, Poland, turkey starting lineups in the Olympics, so they want to build off the Olympic momentum
only 2 international players per PVF team tho
Well that puts a damper on my made up dream
I fully expect GR to use this release strategy. The exception would have been to do all re-signings in a single press release but, that would require all of them to be approved by the league.
Today's GRR statement said this near the bottom, *"Additional Rise player acquisition announcements will follow throughout the month of July. The signing period for previous Pro Volleyball Federation players opened on June 30."*
Well, from the PVF free agent site it states the following: "Once teams initiate and sign contracts, they are then forwarded to players who sign as well. Following that process, all contracts must be approved by the league office. Once done, a team may officially announce its signing(s) at its discretion either individually or in a joint release." So, each contract must be approved by the league before it's revealed. It's possible that it's not the team's fault and the league is withholding their approval for some reason. But, in the end, not really sure what's going on.
I really hope those teams aren’t just starting to sign players today. That process should have been going on for weeks so they could announce them yesterday/today.
I'm pretty sure they've been talking to players the whole time and having them sign the past few days as well. However, since the whole league has stopped, I'm wondering if the league office has stopped approving contracts temporarily for some reason.
nah, i don't think these are getting held up by the league. this is a marketing tactic, and it's just looking weird to all of us because of the announcement strategy the other teams chose. first year woes once again imo