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DENVER (KDVR) — Imagine having to constantly play the sport you love away from home. 

“We have to go play overseas if we want to play professionally,” Jordan Larson, two-time Olympian said. 

That’s the usual way professional volleyball players in the United States continue their career, but change is on the horizon.

“So wait … playing in the States? What is this?” Larson said. 

This is what it is — A network of next generation professional sports leagues called Athletes Unlimited has created a pro indoor volleyball league. For two-time Olympian Jordan Larson, this is exactly what she needed. 

“I’m definitely more towards the end of my career than the beginning, so maybe going overseas for an X amount of months isn’t quite as important for me then just getting quality reps and resting my body,” Larson said. 

It’s been a long time coming, but finally, this will be the nation’s first professional women’s indoor volleyball league.

“It’s huge and even you just saying it gives me instant chills because I think about the girls that are coming right out of college and how great of an opportunity it is for them,” Larson said. “Overseas is just hard. You’re by yourself sometimes up to eight to nine months.” 

Athletes Unlimited leagues make the game a little different too. Here is how the matches work: 

  • Individual athletes earn points based on team wins and individual performance and become the champions in team sports.
  • Points can be earned on every play, and the leaderboard changes constantly. 
  • Teams will change each week, with the top four athletes in the standings serving as captains and drafting their teams. 

“So you’re going to have an overall versus a team, and they have done some research with pro sports and found out that fans don’t necessarily like to follow the whole team, they like to follow their favorite player,” Larson said. “This allows people to see where their player is and who they get to pick and follow for the week.” 

The new changes are unique, but that adds to the excitement. 

“I think we are still trying to figure out what is the new normal. We are all just used to playing overseas, and now this is us and we get to do our own traditions,” Larson said. 

First serve for the 2021 Athletes Unlimited season starts Feb. 27 and ends March 29 with all games in Dallas. They have also agreed to broadcast agreements with CBS Sports Network and FOX sports. The matches will also be streamed on Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Dailymotion and Twitch. 

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