The newly formed National Volleyball Association men’s professional league has yet to announce its schedule, but it’s going to kick things off Friday in Las Vegas with its NVA Showcase.
There are eight teams competing and the league features plenty of stars, including 2008 Olympic gold-medalist Lloy Ball, 2012 Olympian Russell Holmes and AVP beach star and former AVCA National Player of the Year Taylor Crabb. The complete rosters are listed below.
The event at the UNLV Recreation & Wellness Center in Las Vegas — with $50,000 in prize money — is an exhibition event that finishes Sunday. The league’s inaugural season is scheduled to run from January through April.
The eight teams competing are the Academy United (San Francisco, Calif.), Arizona Sizzle (Tempe, Ariz.), Blizzard Volleyball (Lake Forest, Calif.), Lights out VBC (Chicago, Ill.), Icemen (Chicago, Ill.), Rising Tide (Santa Barbara, Calif.), Team LVC (Albany, N.Y.), and Team Pineapple (Angola, Ind.).
Ball relishes the opportunity to play professionally in America again.
“When the Premier Volleyball League stopped two years ago, a lot of us were very upset,” Ball the News Sentinel of Fort Wayne, Ind. “We had put a lot of time energy and money into that, it was devastating because it was taken away by things we couldn’t control.
“Now we have a second chance. Even if it’s just for me to play one year and then become a coach, this is going to be fun. The chance to continue to play in some kind of professional league, that’s all we really wanted.”
All of the Showcase matches on its court one will be live-streamed. For more information visit the NVA website. The league plans to have round-robin season, but dates have yet to be announced.
NVA Showcase rosters
Academy United (San Francisco, Calif.)
Taylor Crabb
Spencer McLachlin
Peter Edwards
AJ Nally
Jeffrey Schmitz
Denny Falls
Ryan Stuntz
Riley McKibbin
Evan Barry
Fred Stahl
Thomas Amberg
Curt Toppel
Conrad Kaminski
Beau Vandeweghe
Arizona Sizzle (Tempe, Arizona)
DJ Nelson
Jake Penolio
Jake Nuneviler
Bryan Lewis
Taylor Harrington
Robert Esser
Drew Staker
Nathan Saunders
Micah Steiner
CJ Berg
Connor Dougherty
Vince Zanzucchi
Srdjan Nadazdin
Nick Gibson
Lucas Behringer
Blizzard Volleyball (Lake Forest, Calif.)
Ryan Meehan
Maikel Bastida
Denny Falls
Ryan Stuntz
Riley McKibben
Evan Barry
Fred Stahl
Thomas Amberg
Curt Toppel
Conrad Kaminski
Beau Vandeweghe
Icemen (Chicago, Ill.)
Peter Jasaitis
Tim Falknor
Joe Bortak
Piotr Dabrowski
Shaun Powell
Lucas Yanez
Joseph Smalzer
David Evans
Cordt Withum
Jeremy Dejno
Russell Corbelli
BJ Boldog
Matt Callaway
Jay Petty
Team LVC (Albany, N.Y.)
Christopher Hosley
Michael Pelletier
Ricky Vega
Joseph Norton
Andrew Fishman
Shane Smith
Andrew Witkofsky
Jon Keller
Lansana Rogers
Eric Martin
James Hosley
Jordan Varee
Daniel Glamack
Michael Iandolo
Aaron Ahloe
Thanks for the correction! I used to play with a guy named Steve McKibben, so I have a weakness for that particular typo. Thanks for keeping us straight! – Ed