For the second year in a row, professional and youth volleyball athletes will compete beside one another at this weekend’s LOVB Classic in Kansas City, Missouri.
All six LOVB Pro squads will again play in the LOVB Classic, a three-day event held at Municipal Arena. Each team will play one match that counts in the regular season standings. LOVB Salt Lake and LOVB Austin open pro play on Friday, February 13, followed by LOVB Atlanta and LOVB Nebraska on Saturday, February 14 and LOVB Madison and LOVB Houston on Sunday, February 15.
At the Kansas City Convention Center across the street, more than 550 club teams and 7,000 athletes will compete in the nation’s biggest junior volleyball tournament. Of LOVB’s 86 youth clubs, 30 will send teams to Kansas City to compete alongside League One’s pros.
In addition to playing their match, LOVB pros will be heavily involved with Triple Crown and its Youth athletes. Among the festivities planned for LOVB’s athletes are:
- Autograph sessions
- Meet-and-greets at Triple Crown
- Autographs and photos after each LOVB Classic match
- A clinic hosted by LOVB Nebraska
LOVB Pro’s coaches are also getting into the act. Every head and assistant coach will meet with club directors and coaches live at the tournament during and in between club matches. The Pro coaches will observe matches, cheer on their youth counterparts and more.
The LOVB Classic is also a homecoming for three Pro athletes. Alexis Hart (Nebraska) is from Kansas City, and both Callie Schwarzenbach (Kearney, Mo.; Madison) and Audriana Fitzmorris (Overland Park, Kan.; Nebraska) are from the surrounding area. Furthermore, Emily Thater (Nebraska) and Maya Sands (Houston) both played collegiately at the University of Missouri just two hours away.
Further establishing the bond between the LOVB Classic and Triple Crown, 22 Pro athletes played at Triple Crown during their youth careers.
LOVB Salt Lake vs. LOVB Austin | Friday, February 13 at 6:30 p.m. Central/5:30 p.m. Mountain | Watch on ESPN+
The LOVB Classic opener pits league-leading LOVB Salt Lake (7-1) against the defending league champions LOVB Austin (5-4). Salt Lake enters the match riding a six match win streak, not having suffered a defeat since January 10 at Madison. Austin, meanwhile, has played far more volleyball than any other team, having gone to five sets in six matches already.
Salt Lake has overwhelmed opponents with a balanced, efficient offense led by setter Jordyn Poulter. The two-time Olympic medalist has set Salt Lake to a .295 hitting efficiency. Outside hitter Alexa Gray leads the squad with 108 kills while middle blocker Serena Gray has broken out to become an automatic scorer in the middle, hitting .620 so far in 2026.
Austin is powered by the two-pronged attack of opposite Madi Skinner and outside hitter Logan Eggleston. Skinner is second in the league in total points and sets, and Logan is third. Defensively, libero Kotoe Inoue is among the league leaders in digs per set and good pass percentage.
LOVB Atlanta vs. LOVB Nebraska | Saturday, February 14 at 4:30 p.m. Central/5:30 p.m. Eastern | Watch on ESPN+
LOVB Atlanta (2-5) and LOVB Nebraska (3-5) celebrate Vollentine’s Day with their second matchup of the season. On January 18, Nebraska handed Atlanta its first-ever three-set defeat with timely late-set runs. Nebraska opposite Kimberly Drewniok led all players with 15 points, including 12 kills on a .545 efficiency, and added 12 digs for a double-double. Jordan Larson and Emily Thater also scored 10+ points, and libero Lexi Rodriguez made 10 digs in the win.
Drewniok leads Nebraska with 117 points this season, most from the attack. Ana Carolina da Silva and Emily Thater have been formidable at the net with 24 and 21 blocks, respectively, while Rodriguez opened the year with seven consecutive matches of 10+ digs.
Across the net, opposite Tessa Grubbs leads Atlanta with 135 points but has been ruled out due to an injury suffered earlier this month. After Grubbs, a host of athletes have been involved as 12 different players have scored for the team so far. Reigning LOVB Outside Hitter of the Year McKenzie Adams tops the list 53 kills and 70 total points.
LOVB Houston vs. LOVB Madison | Sunday, February 15 at 4:30 p.m. Central | Watch on ESPN+
Houston (5-3) and Madison (2-6) round out the Classic with their third matchup of the season on Sunday. Houston enters the match on a scorching-hot five-match win streak, moving from the bottom of the league standings into the second position. Madison has been the opposite story, winning their first two matches of the year but nothing since, including a brutal stretch of three five-set losses in a row.
Houston’s resurgence has been bolstered by opposite Jordan Thompson, who leads LOVB in points, kills, points per set and kills per set. Thrust into a starting role due to injury, setter Kaisa Alanko has been stellar at leading the offense. Her setting efficiency of .316 tops the league, and she set Houston to the second-best attack efficiency mark in league history just February 11. Rookie libero Lauren Briseño has also shown great improvement during the streak, making double-digit digs four times and posting a season dig percentage of .838.
For Madison, Temi Thomas-Ailara has broken into the starting lineup this season, leading the team with 104 points despite largely playing on the left side. Fellow opposite and true right-side player Gong Xiangyu has also been huge for the team, scoring 91 points and providing excellent defense with a team-best 85 digs. Olympic silver medalist Lauren Carlini has posted four assists/digs double-doubles so far this season.
All three LOVB Classic matches will be streamed live on ESPN+. Tickets are available for each match at lovb.com/classic.
