As our USA Women’s volleyball Olympic team has been hard at work in Paris, LOVB club operations has been hard at work stateside! In an effort to strengthen our community ties, some of our partner clubs participated in Olympic watch parties to cheer on our girls in stars and stripes. Over the span of seven days, LOVB hosted six watch parties at six different club facilities across the country. In a collaborative effort, LOVB operations worked closely with the local markets to create a unique atmosphere for our League One and USA Women’s volleyball fans.
Starting on July 29th, Premier Nebraska and Madtown Juniors hosted the first watch parties to kick off the Olympic volleyball tournament. While our USA women lost in a five-set-thriller against China, the watch parties in the Omaha and Madison markets garnered national attention. Our Premier Nebraska girls were featured on the NBC broadcast of the match, shining a light on the amazing volleyball community in Nebraska. “Having the opportunity to have NBC there was just another way that the girls could feel the professional volleyball coming instead of only hearing about it.”, said club marketing intern, Marriah Buss.
Additionally, we partnered with a local bar in each market so fans not associated with the local clubs could watch too. Our bar-takeover watch parties offered snacks and drinks for viewers along with fun trivia questions for the chance to win prizes like free tickets to the first match of the season and LOVB merchandise. One lucky fan at each market won a miniature Mikasa volleyball signed by the Team USA LOVB athletes! The fans also got a chance to meet some of the in-market pro players. Emily Thater, LOVB Omaha athlete, was in attendance for the Omaha watch party at Good Life Gretna, a local bar and restaurant. “I was so grateful to meet some of our LOVB Omaha fans! I was especially impressed with the knowledge of volleyball they all seemed to share”, Thater said. “It’s going to be a special environment in Omaha this season. We’ve got some loyal fans behind us.”
From July 31 to August 4, our club partners in Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Austin, Texas hosted their watch parties as Team USA went up against Serbia and France. As we watched our USAV women go on to earn a 2-1 record to advance out of pool play, our connection between club and pro came to life. Thank you to our partner club directors, players and their families who showed up and showed out for Team USA! We can feel the energy building for the upcoming season and in just a few short months the chance to watch these incredible players in person will be a reality.
