It’s barely been two weeks since Ally Batenhorst left the Omaha Supernovas to pursue her Olympic beach volleyball dreams. Now, the entire Pro Volleyball Federation is poised to make a massive change. And that’s all thanks to Major League Volleyball, which, back in January, announced its arrival, having raised over $100 million in investments, with Supernovas founder Danny White being a part of it.

The Omaha Supernovas were already set to join the MLV for its debut season, but now, as per the latest reports, the whole PVF is merging with the MLV for a combined value of $325 million. Now that’s huge news for the still fledgling pro volleyball scene. However, the merger will cross the $300 million mark thanks to an additional $40 million from other PVF, NBA, and MLS team owners.

“The DeVos family led the $40M investment. Other investors include Sac Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé and Olympic beach volleyball champ Kerri Walsh Jennings. D.C. United owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan are also investing and will be granted an expansion team, as will Ranadivé,” Sportico’s Kurt Badenhausen posted on X. The PVF raised this $40 million as part of the transaction, as per Sportico.

“The two leagues will operate under the MLV banner and is billed as an evolution of the PVF,” they initially reported. While the NBA’s Sacramento Kings owner Vivek Ranadivé and MLS’s D.C. United owners Jason Levien and Steve Kaplan invested big to earn expansion teams, and the DeVos family already owns a Pro Volleyball Federation team.

Besides owning the NBA’s Orlando Magic, they also won the Pro Volleyball Federation’s Grand Rapids Rise. While the MLV and PVF have yet to make the merger official, Sportico reported that an insider hinted at a possible reveal later this week. However, this $325 million merger is a far bigger deal than the money suggests.

The Pro Volleyball Federation and MLV merger is huge for the sport

The PVF merging with the MLV will arguably be pro volleyball’s biggest win so far. It also confirms that “The MLV will include the sport’s most popular team, the @OmahaSupernovas,” added Kurt Badenhausen. Leading the Pro Volleyball Federation with an average of 10,925 per game, the Supernovas set the standard in their latest season. A whopping 13,486 people packed the CHI Health Center in Nebraska to watch the home team take on the Atlanta Vibe in January’s season opener. Needless to say, the Supernovas contributed significantly to the league’s total attendance numbers.

430,000 fans attended 116 matches to watch the eight PVF teams battle for the title. Now with Vivek Ranadivé, Jason Levien, and Steve Kaplan getting their own teams, that number will climb to 10. As per Sportico, the league expects no less than 16 teams to be part of the MLV by 2028. While that might sound too optimistic, volleyball popularity is skyrocketing.

Before their inaugural season, League One Volleyball raised $160 million in funding. Meanwhile, AU Pro Volleyball Championship has been filling the gap with some fall volleyball action since 2021. And it’s not just the pro scene. USA Volleyball reported 333,208 junior girls (ages 11-18) registered with clubs as of July 2024. That’s a 40% increase since 2013-14. So it’s no wonder investors are betting big on the sport.