For the first time in Orlando history, professional volleyball comes to the Central Florida region as the Pro Volleyball Federation kicks off its inaugural season. The Orlando Valkyries begin their initial year by taking on the Atlanta Vibe on Friday, January 26 at 7 p.m. The match will take place at Addition Financial Arena and will be streamed on the Bally Live app. Tickets for the game are still available and fans can visit the Orlando Valkyries website for additional information.
The Vibe opened their season on Wednesday night against the Omaha Supernovas with a victory, 3-2 (26-24, 25-23, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13). Atlanta boasts two players on the Preseason All-League Team, as well as a projected second-place finish in the standings. Todd Dagenais, head coach of the Vibe, returns to the University of Central Florida campus, where he coached the university's women's volleyball team from 2008 to 2022.
Valkyries Players to Watch:
Adora Anae joins the Valkyries with six years of professional experience, having played volleyball globally in South Korea, Turkey, Puerto Rico, Ukraine, and Greece. Throughout her tenure abroad, she was awarded Best Outside Hitter in the Puerto Rican League and Best Scorer in the Korean V-League. On top of that, she was part of two championship teams in Puerto Rico and Greece. Prior to breaking into the professional scene, she was a standout at the University of Utah. Anae was the first-ever player to be named to the 1st-Team Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. She is the school's all-time single season kills leader with 501 and was the first player in program history to earn back-to-back AVCA All-American honors and the first player to ever be named to the All-AVCA First Team.
Kaz Brown also brings years of professional experience with her to Orlando. Her five years of playing professional volleyball included stops in Germany, France, Ukraine, and Greece. At the University of Kentucky, she was a standout player and earned three-time All-SEC and three-time AVCA All-Region honors. Brown ended her collegiate career as the Wildcats’ career record holder for total blocks, solo blocks, and block assists. Because of her college play, she was selected to the US Collegiate National Team in 2016-17.
Jill Gillen was acquired via trade during the league's College Player Draft. She attended the University of Arkansas where she made an impact immediately as an Outside Hitter and was selected to the SEC All-Freshmen Team. During the rest of her time with the Razorbacks, she was named to the AVCA All-South Region Team and the All-SEC Team three times each.
Vibe Players to Watch:
Leah Edmond is one of the two Vibe players selected to the Preseason All-League Team. In Atlanta’s first match, Edmond led the Vibe to victory with 29 points on the night. She has three years of professional experience between Puerto Rico and the US. She was a former teammate of Orlando’s Kaz Brown at the University of Kentucky. During her time there she was a four-time AVCA All-America and All-Region selection and earned SEC player of the year in her junior and senior seasons. She finished her career as the school's all-time leader with 1,978 kills and 4,655 attack attempts. She also holds several Wildcats records, including the rally-scoring era record with 539 kills during her sophomore season and 40 service aces in 2017.
Morgan Hentz joins Edmund as part of the Preseason All-League Team. A libero, Hentz is a member of the U.S. National Women's Volleyball Team. With the national team, she was a top contributor, guiding the U.S. to a silver medal at the 2023 NORCECA Championship. More recently, she was a part of the 2023 FIVB Road to Paris Olympic qualifying team. She has additional professional experience playing a season in Germany. At the college level, she was a three-time First-Team AVCA and VolleyballMag.com All-America selection at Stanford University. She helped lead the Cardinals to three NCAA Championships. She solidified her name in the Stanford program history books as one of three players with 2,000 or more digs and set the record for most career digs with 2,310.
Alli Linnehan was second to only Edmond in points in Atlanta’s first match with 16 on 13 kills, two blocks, and one ace. She joins the Vibe with two years of professional experience from France and the U.S. In addition to her professional experience, she was part of Team USA and helped lead them to a silver medal at the 2022 NORCECA Pan American Cup Final Six Tournament. She joins her former University of Kentucky teammate Leah on the Vibe. Over her four-year career at UK, Linnehan earned AVCA All-American Honor three times. She played a pivotal role in leading the Wildcats to the 2020-21 NCAA Division I Championship and four SEC championships.
This will be the first meeting of the Valkyries and the Vibe this season. The two teams will face off three more times following the home opener.
ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
Pro Volleyball Federation is REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL and the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America. Pro Volleyball Federation will begin play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players and elite players from around the world. Our entire focus is on ensuring that our level and quality of play, our treatment of players, the quality of our event presentations, and our day-to-day fan experience is world-class and the very best offered in North America. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.
ABOUT ORLANDO VALKYRIES
The Orlando Valkyries, proud member team in the Pro Volleyball Federation – the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America. The Valkyries will play out of Addition Financial Arena, located in the heart of the University of Central Florida campus, and will begin play in January 2024. Home opener and season tickets for the inaugural season are on sale now. For more information on how to get tickets, contact the Orlando Valkyries sales department at (321)-244-4600 Ext. 113, email Tickets@OrlandoValkyries.com, click on www.OrlandoValkyries.com visit the Addition Financial Arena box office, or go to the Ticketmaster website: https://www.ticketmaster.com Fans can follow the team on Facebook or via Twitter Instagram, and TikTok - @ORLValkyries or visit OrlandoValkyries.com.
* Orlando Valkyries, Pro Volleyball, DIG IT! *