Three investment groups have committed a combined $100 million in new funding to League One Volleyball, which owns dozens of junior clubs across the country and will operate a professional league set to launch in January.

League One Volleyball, branded LOVB and pronounced “LOVE,” announced Thursday that Los Angeles-based private equity firm Atwater Capital is the lead investor, joined by existing New York-based investors Ares Management and Left Lane Capital.

The new investment comes on top of the $60 million LOVB has raised from, among others, Olympian Lindsey Vonn, basketball stars Candace Parker and Kevin Durant, and entertainers Amy Schumer and Chelsea Handler.

“As the sport of volleyball continues to grow, not only in size but in popularity, we are humbled to roll up our sleeves alongside leading investors like Atwater, Ares and Left Lane Capital to enable volleyball to become the next big league,” said LOVB co. -founder and CEO Katlyn Gao said.

Founded in 2020, LOVB owns 58 junior clubs with more than 16,000 athletes in 26 states and 66 locations. The LOVB said about 600 players who have trained at its clubs compete at the college level.

The LOVB Pro will begin play on January 8 with teams in Atlanta, Houston and Salt Lake City as well as Austin, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Omaha, Nebraska. Among the players are 17 Olympians, including 10 members of the 2024 silver medal-winning Team USA.

LOVB Pro is the third professional league in the United States, joining the Pro Volleyball Federation and Athletes Unlimited. ESPN will carry 10 LOVB games on its linear networks and 18 others will be shown on ESPN’s streaming platform. AP