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LOVB BRINGS MORE FIREPOWER TO THE COURT BY ADDING KAISA ALANKO, JULIA BROWN, CARLY DEHOOG, MARY LAKE AND JESSICA RIVERO MARTIN TO ITS PRO SQUAD
As the league continues to gear up for its pre-season, LOVB today revealed it has added internationally renowned talent: Kaisa Alanko, Julia Brown, Carly DeHoog, Mary Lake and Jessica Rivero Martin to its pro roster. These five athletes bring a strategic mix of collegiate, national team and international playing experience, with team assignments announced later this year.
"As LOVB accelerates towards our pre-season, our reputation for being an athlete-first league continues to proceed itself,” said Tom Hogan, director of sport for LOVB Pro. “With the additions of Kaisa, Julia, Carly, Mary and Jessica, LOVB is gearing up to not only bring a whole new level of play to professional volleyball in the US, but capture the zeitgeist as we bring women’s sports to all new heights.”
Originally from Vaasa, Finland, Alanko is a setter who has played professionally for more than a decade. She has helped lead teams to gold in the German Bundesliga, Finnish Cup and German Cup. As a member of the Finnish National team, she won silver at the 2017 European Golden League and was honored as Best Server at the 2018 tournament. She has played for teams in Finland, Italy, Poland, France and Germany.
An outside hitter from Davidson, North Carolina, Brown is the 2017 AVCA East Region Player of the Year from NC State. She's a 2x All-ACC player and earned AVCA All-East Region team honors twice. She has played professionally in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Sweden, Austria and France, and has helped lead teams to gold at the 2020/2021 Austrian Cup, silver at the 2017/2018 Swedish Cup and bronze at the 2022/2023 Challenge Cup.
Hailing from Ontario, California, DeHoog is an All-American outside hitter from the University of Washington, where she also earned All-Pac 12 and All-Pacific North Region team honors. She has played professionally in Sweden, France and Poland. She was recognized as the Best Scorer and Best Opposite at the 2018/2019 Swedish Cup, and Best Opposite in the 2018/2019 Swedish League.
A libero from Palm Springs, California, Mary is an All-American from Brigham Young University. She helped lead her team to the 2018 NCAA Championship semifinal, and was named the West Coast Conference Defensive Player of the Year. As a member of the US National Team, she has won gold at 2019 FIVB Volleyball Nations League as part of the US National team.
Born in Cuba, outside hitter Rivero Martin grew up in Spain playing championship-level volleyball from a very young age. She joined the Spanish U-18 National team in 2008, and has been on the senior team since 2010. She has helped lead teams to gold in the 2012/2013 Spanish Liga Iberdrola, 2012/2013 Spanish Cup and Spanish Supercup, and the 2022/2023 Italian Cup A2. She was recognized as the Best Server in the 2019 European Golden League, and Best Server in the 2013/2014 German Bundesliga.
Founded in 2020, LOVB built the largest volleyball club business in the United States, in just four years, and has its pro league launching in November 2024. LOVB has been deliberate in its approach, focusing on building from the ground-up versus top-down like other leagues. By focusing on building its club business first and then strategically choosing markets where it can tie its pro teams to its clubs, LOVB is creating a real pathway for American professional volleyball to be built from the grassroots-up, and opportunities for club players to train alongside professional athletes, a first in American sports.
To enable LOVB’s Founding Athletes to focus on defending their 2020 Olympic gold medal, LOVB Pro is intentionally starting its inaugural season after the 2024 Paris Olympics. Pre-season will start in November 2024, with first serve in January 2025 and the LOVB Pro Championships in April 2025, with teams in the volleyball-obsessed markets of Atlanta, Austin, Houston, Madison, Omaha, and Salt Lake to start.
