volleyball team

Los Angeles is getting another pro women’s volleyball team.

Major League Volleyball announced it will expand to L.A. in 2027, adding another team to the growing professional volleyball market.

The team will be co-owned by billionaire Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, who also owns the Los Angeles Times and is a minority owner of the Lakers. He will operate the team alongside Ben Priest, a former investor of MLV’s Omaha Supernovas, one of the league’s first teams.

Sportico reported the duo are paying an expansion fee around $15 million-$20 million to join the five-year-old operation.

The L.A. team will be the 11th franchise in MLV, which merged with the Pro Volleyball Federation before last season to consolidate the competition. However, League One Volleyball, known as LOVB, is still operating and has nine teams, including one joining the L.A. market in 2027.

MLV will also expand to Northern California, Minnesota and Washington D.C. in 2027.

Soon-Shiong joins a contingent of billionaire investors in MLV. Several NBA, NHL and MLS owners have ownership stakes in teams across the startup.

“From my perspective, this is really a feeling like when the Lakers started many, many decades ago,” Soon-Shiong told Sportico. “The opportunity in women’s sports is growing, and Los Angeles is obviously a very important market.”

The two volleyball leagues have vastly different models. MLV is looking to establish itself in the fabric of the pro sports markets like other leagues, while LOVB has ties to youth volleyball clubs and feeder teams.

MLV and PVF merged after sharing a similar vision and joining forces to avoid cannibalizing the market. LOVB has teams in or projected to be in six markets. MLV lost its San Diego franchise, which ceased operations after the 2026 season.

The two volleyball teams coming to L.A. will join the WNBA’s Sparks and NWSL’s Angel City FC as local pro women’s sports teams. Los Angeles also has a team in the upstart Women’s Pro Baseball League, but it will play the entire 2026 season in Springfield, Ill.

Hawaii brought a taste of the rainbow on Saturday to the Pauley Pavilion.

The Hawaii men’s volleyball team defeated Long Beach State in five sets to reach the NCAA men’s volleyball national championship for the first time since winning it all in 2022.

The team will face UC Irvine, which continued its hot streak with a win over No. 4 seeded Ball State Saturday. The unseeded Anteaters upset No. 1 UCLA earlier in tournament, denying the Bruins a chance to play for a title on their home floor.

Long Beach played a semifinal close to home, but the Rainbow Warriors were determined not to stumble after falling to UCLA in a national semifinal last season.

“We all learned a lot from the loss last season,” Hawaii sophomore Justin Todd said. “We learned that we have to stay healthy, going to the end of the year and getting better at practice overall.”

After the win, Hawaii veteran head coach Charlie Wade said the Rainbow Warriors, UC Irvine and Long Beach have all represented the Big West Conference well.

“Since the inception of the Big West Conference, it’s been the strongest conference for volleyball,” Wade said. “This is the third time two Big West teams will be playing each other in the championship.”

Hawaii rallied to take an early 11-7 lead in the first set against Long Beach Saturday night. The Rainbow Warriors continued to pile on points in the first set, leading14-9 lead before the Beach called its first timeout.

The Rainbow Warriors kept up pressure, winning the first set 25-15. Long Beach held off a Hawaii rally to win the second set 25-18. The teams traded leads in the third set before Hawaii pulled away for a 25-21 win.

After trailing nearly all of the fourth set, Hawaii earned back-to-back kills that gave it a 21-20 lead. The Rainbow Warriors held on for a 25-22 win to punch their ticket to the national title match.

In the other semifinal played Saturday, UC Irvine defeated Ball State 3-1 (25-19, 23-25, 27-25, 25-19). The Anteaters got a big boost from middle block Trevor Clark, who tied his career high with 14 kills and led the team with six blocks (one solo). Redshirt freshman setter Cameron Kosty had 53 set assists and nine digs.

UC Irvine (21-8) and Hawaii (29-5) play Monday at 4 p.m. at Pauley Pavillion for the NCAA championship. The match will air on ESPN2.