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By Bill Corey for LVSportsBiz.com
Combine one of the fastest growing girls sports in the U.S. with the fast-growing sports market of Las Vegas and you have the newest professional sports team in Las Vegas.
The Vegas Thrill, a new women’s professional volleyball team, made its home debut at The Dollar Loan Center arena in Henderson Thursday.
The Thrill lost, three sets to one, to a team from Omaha, Nebraska. But the excitement of another women’s sports team in the competitive Las Vegas sports market seemed to eclipse the match’s outcome.
The Thrill said 3,974 tickets were scanned for the Thrill’s home debut. Ticket prices ranged from $33 to $118, with the season lasting 24 matches for 12 on the road and 12 at the arena in the Green Valley Ranch section of Henderson The last match is May 11, with the top four teams making the playoffs.
The newly-formed Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) was launched October 11, not leaving much time for Thrill team president Ruben Herrera to hire coaches, staff and players. The team’s first game was Oct. 7 — about four months later — in Omaha against the Supernovas.
The Thrill then played its first of a dozen home games Thursday night.
The crowd of nearly 4,000 included two NFL quarterbacks — former Raiders QB Derek Carr and current Raiders quarterback Aidan O’Connell. Several Las Vegas Aces players attended, too.
Before this volleyball league was formed, college volleyball players who wanted to play professionally had to go overseas to play.
The U.S. won a gold medal in women’s volleyball in the 2020 Olympics, so the country does have the talent.
The volleyball league wants to pay the players a livable wage of $60,000 a season, with the possibility of a $1 million dollar payout divided among players on the team that wins the league championship in late May.
Last month, Thrill player Molly McCage said there were other income opportunities for players.
For example, players like herself can play in a six-week, made-for-TV, round-robin volleyball league in the fall hosted by Athletes Unlimited. A player can earn between $6,000 and $25,000 depending on bonuses for wins in the Athletes Unlimited format.
Others can find seasonal jobs to supplement income much like many NFL and MLB Players did more than 50 years ago.
All Vegas Thrill matches are broadcast locally on the Fox Sports Network (Cox channel 125). In addition
each match is shown on the PVF YouTube Channel. More than 5,000 presumed out-of-towners watched last night’s Thrill home match match on YouTube. The numbers for the local broadcast are not yet available.
Volleyball is a growing girls sport. Over at Mandalay Bay, there are 10,000 teenage girls are in Las Vegas this weekend for a volleyball tourney and college coaches here to scout and recruit.