Maddie Hayes hits as members of League One Volleyball (LOVB), a professional women’s volleyball league, practice in North Salt Lake on Tuesday, Dec. 17, 2024. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News

A new professional sports team will play its first-ever home match on Wednesday night near Salt Lake City.

LOVB Salt Lake is part of the League One Volleyball Pro League, or LOVB for short (pronounced “love”). LOVB, a new women’s professional volleyball league, began its inaugural season earlier this month.

LOVB Salt Lake has already played three matches, including the first-ever LOVB match on Jan. 8, which it won. But Wednesday will be the first time it plays in front of its home crowd.

Here’s what you need to know about LOVB Salt Lake and its home opener.

What is LOVB?

Unlike most sports, professional volleyball wasn’t well developed in the United States until recently. LOVB is part of a wave of new options, which also includes Athletes Unlimited, the Pro Volleyball Federation and Major League Volleyball, which was announced on Thursday.

Prior to the launch of these leagues, American women who wanted to pursue professional volleyball careers had to play overseas.

“The ambition is that this league will be the next major league in the United States, and I feel really confident with the launch pad that we have right now. I feel grateful to be a female athlete that is still competing kind of in this changing of the tide a little bit, and hopefully, I think each of us just want to leave our mark in the legacy that we helped inspire the next generation,” LOVB setter Jordyn Poulter told the Deseret News in December.

But LOVB is trying something different than the previous domestic leagues.

All of the six LOVB professional teams are owned by LOVB, which is also a youth club volleyball organization with clubs located across the country.

Each of the teams practice in an existing LOVB club team facility. This setup allows the club’s youth players to see the new opportunities now possible for them in the sport of volleyball.

Who plays for LOVB Salt Lake?

The LOVB Salt Lake roster features some names that collegiate volleyball fans in Utah might recognize.

Former University of Utah volleyball star Dani Drews and former BYU Cougars Mary Lake and Roni Jones-Perry play for LOVB Salt Lake.

Both Drews and Jones-Perry had previously played professionally overseas. Lake had taken a break from volleyball the last five years since leaving BYU and worked as a CPA before becoming a mom and joining LOVB Salt Lake.

“I had never imagined that I would be playing with Roni Jones-Perry again, but I’m so happy that I am. It’s so fun just being with her,” Lake told the Deseret News last week. “It’s so fun playing with Dani because we were always against the net, and I knew Dani was really good. But being on her same team, I’m like, … ‘I wish we would have been on the same college team.’”

The roster also includes two Paris Olympians: Poulter and Haleigh Washington, who are two of the league’s founding athletes.

How to attend LOVB Salt Lake’s home opener

LOVB Salt Lake’s first home game starts at 7 p.m. MST Wednesday night.

Tickets for Wednesday’s home opener can be purchased on Ticketmaster. General admission tickets have already sold out, but, as of Tuesday, there were still tickets available from $50 to $105.

The match will be against LOVB Houston and will be played in Bruin Arena at the Lifetime Activities Center in Taylorsville, Utah. It’s the home venue of the Salt Lake Community College Bruins.

LOVB Salt Lake will play the majority of its home matches at Bruin Arena, excluding two matches on Feb. 7 and 8 at the Maverik Center for Weekend with LOVB.

How to watch LOVB Salt Lake’s home opener

For fans unable to attend the home opener in person, the match will be streamed on LOVB Live. The match can be accessed by creating a free LOVB Insider account.