League One Volleyball -- or LOVB, pronounced "love" -- is less than a month away from opening its inaugural season. It's the first of its kind, a professional volleyball league allowing athletes the opportunity to play pro in the United States.
LOVB Salt Lake has a stacked roster with some familiar faces from the Utes and Cougars, who get to play in front of their hometown crowd again.
"It's such an incredible opportunity. I feel so grateful and excited. It feels very full circle to be back playing at home," said Brighton High and Utah Ute alum Dani Drews.
Drews has spent her post-collegiate career playing abroad, most recently in Japan.
"Playing overseas, it has a lot of really cool parts to that but it's also a big sacrifice. You're leaving pretty much anyone and everything that you know so to be able to come back and still get to do this as my career, I don't even have words to express how seriously stoked I am," said Drews.
West Jordan native and former BYU Cougar Roni Jones-Perry has spent the last five years overseas, but she and her husband have dreamed of getting to play the sport she loves closer to family.
"We've had multiple conversations, like if we could live at home and still do this... could you imagine what that'd be like?" said Jones-Perry. "Then I started getting calls and hearing things about it [LOVB] and then when we found out that there's a team in Salt Lake City, I was like, 'This feels like a dream.'"
LOVB is also connecting to the youth and community. One of their priorities is to make sure the youth players know that they have access to the professionals, not just at Club V, but also at other clubs in Utah.
"With the opportunity for players to come to games in their home state, I'm hoping that we can inspire and mentor these other athletes and show them that it is possible to reach the next level," said Drews.
Jones-Perry added: "LOVB is doing a great job of integrating this into the youth. They're seeing women that they can look up to and strive to be in similar positions. I think that this is really something special."
LOVB Salt Lake begins its inaugural season on Jan. 8 in Atlanta. The team's home opener is on Jan. 22 at Salt Lake Community College.
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