Pro Volleyball Federation potpourri as inaugural season began on Wednesday

Nootsara Tomkom: San Diego Mojo: The first non-OH on our list, the 5-foot-5 Nootsara is a bundle of energy and enthusiasm on the court as one of the world’s elite setters. She has been a member of the national team in her native Thailand since 2001, has been named best setter of the Asian championships five times and took the best setter award in the FIVB World Grand Prix in 2012 and 2016. Nootsara, 38, also has competed in international leagues in Spain, Switzerland, Azerbaijan, Turkey and (since 2018) back home in Thailand. But fans who watch Athletes Unlimited have marveled at her talents over the last two seasons. She was sixth on the AU leaderboard in 2022 and 13th in 2023. Nootsara is cat-quick on defense and recorded seven matches in 2023 with double-figure digs, including a high of 18. The wily setter’s ability to mix it up could be key for the Mojo, who have high-quality middle hitters and an excellent opposite (there were two, but lefty Willow Johnson was suspended and has since signed with a pro team in Korea), but don’t have a true to-go terminator on the left side.

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The inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation season launches on Wednesday, so the wait to see how American fans will react to the latest attempt to establish women’s volleyball as a viable professional sport will soon be over.

The PVF has some strong positives. The Omaha franchise already has generated solid ticket sales in the volleyball-crazed state of Nebraska. The Columbus team was successful in signing the best player in college volleyball and the league’s No. 1 overall draft pick, Asjia O’Neal. All of the franchises will play in arenas that should come off as big-league on TV to casual fans, if seats seen on camera range can be filled. And rosters are graced with skilled and talented athletes who should ace the eye test.

The startup venture does have some negatives to overcome. The PVF was unable to bring aboard any of the stars of the USA Olympic team that won the gold medal in the 2021 Tokyo Games. Most of the name value of its top players stems from their accomplishments in the non-traditional Athletes Unlimited league that receives minimal mainstream exposure. And the deal the PVF was able to scare up for national TV puts it on a third-tier cable channel that apparently won’t televise a PVF match until the conclusion of the college-basketball regular season.

Since the PVF played no exhibition matches, VolleyballMag has no option other than play the problematic “Who’s best on paper?” game. The resources-rich Omaha Supernovas seem to hold a significant “paper” edge over the rest of the league, with the pins-potent Atlanta Vibe perhaps the next best team. We’ll find out quickly whether paper bears much weight, since the ‘Supernovas and Vibe clash in the PVF’s opening salvo at Omaha’s CHI Health Center on Wednesday night (8 p.m. Eastern, Stadium streaming sports network).

For a preview of all the teams, https://volleyballmag.com/pro-volleyball-federation-news-and-notes-012224/