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Kelsey Robinson Cook is one of the most decorated American volleyball players of all time. An icon of the sport — a standout. Yet in her everyday life, she’s used to blending in.

That all changed the moment she stepped inside Rikki’s, a women’s sports bar in the Castro, where volleyball fans instantly recognized the three-time Olympic medalist.

It’s that enthusiastic, deep-rooted, and still-under-cover local passion for the sport that led League One Volleyball (LOVB) to bet on San Francisco. A new professional women’s sports franchise, LOVB SF is following Bay FC and the Golden State Valkyries into the market in January 2027. 

“We have the bold ambition to be the Bay Area’s next great sports team,” newly appointed team president Stephanie Martin told The Standard.

After witnessing a Bay Area-based NWSL team and WNBA franchise launch in back-to-back years to record attendance numbers and instant cultural relevance, big aspirations are the norm amid a local women’s sports boom.

With roughly a year to go before LOVB SF takes the court, Martin, who also joined the team’s women-led ownership group, will spearhead the buildout of the franchise. With 15-plus years working in the local sports scene, Martin led marketing efforts for the 2013 America’s Cup and Super Bowl 50 and joined the LOVB executive team in 2023 before moving into her role with the San Francisco franchise in January.

Bay FC and the Valkyries set a lofty precedent, but they also offer a credible blueprint for Martin’s team to follow.

“Both of those organizations really understood that you want to be a part of the community first. You want to listen and engage with the community early,” said Martin, who is already planning a team-naming contest and a mascot-creation competition to engage local fans.

Martin has sought advice from Valkyries president Jess Smith and Bay FC’s Founding Four (Brandi Chastain, Leslie Osborne, Danielle Slaton, and Aly Wagner are all members of LOVB’s ownership group), who all knew the market was underserved. 

“There has been such a demand for women’s sports here for so long that this fanbase is unparalleled,” Martin said. “It’s incredible to see it skyrocket.” 

As LOVB SF’s ownership group sees it, the case for professional volleyball in San Francisco has already been written — just as it was for soccer and basketball. 

The Bay Area has one of the strongest volleyball cultures in the country, anchored by Stanford’s dynasty (10 NCAA championships) and bolstered by successful programs at Saint Mary’s, the University of San Francisco, Santa Clara, and Cal. Youth volleyball clubs dot every corner of the region and adult recreational leagues fill courts across the city. By LOVB SF’s estimate, around 300,000 people play adult recreational volleyball in the Bay Area. 

The team could host games anywhere, but LOVB SF is committed to playing matches inside San Francisco city limits.

“San Francisco is a place where volleyball has a really robust community already,” Martin said. “It’s a community that already cares about volleyball, understands it, understands the values of what it stands for.” 

The team is scouting venues, targeting an arena that can hold 3,000 fans with the hope of growing into a larger, permanent home over time. 

“You go to a Valkyries game and it’s the best time you could have. Bay FC games, same thing. It’s inviting, welcoming, and it’s a party. Those are the experiences we want to create,” Martin said. 

As easy as Bay FC and the Valkyries might have made it look, launching a franchise and building a fan base is daunting. For Martin’s crew, it’ll be soup to nuts each day until the first match in 11 months. And for LOVB SF, there’s an added challenge.

If the NWSL and WNBA are young, 12 and 29 years old, respectively, then LOVB is a newborn. Only in its second season, LOVB doesn’t have an established fanbase. It does, however, have a media rights package that places matches on ESPN and USA Network and a content hub within Victory+, a streaming service that also airs NWSL games.

Without stars with household names — an element that has propelled both the WNBA and NWSL to massive recent growth — Martin and the ownership group know the lack of awareness around players represents LOVB SF’s biggest hurdle. That’s why they’re hosting weekly LOVB watch parties at Rikki’s and eager to connect future players with local youth clubs.

Martin is also confident that once people experience the action live, selling the product will be easy. Volleyball, she says, is uniquely electric because it’s fast-paced, highlight-heavy, and dramatic. Olympic viewership backs that up, too, as volleyball consistently ranks among the most-watched events. 

To thrive in San Francisco and beyond, LOVB also must outpace its competitors as it’s one of three pro domestic volleyball leagues, in addition to the Pro Volleyball Federation and Athletes Unlimited. LOVB views its club-to-pro model as a differentiating quality that can make the league sustainable. 

Several players came up through LOVB-affiliated clubs, training in the same gyms where they now compete at the highest level. The organization also works with high school athletes and their families to demystify recruiting, NIL deals, and career pathways in the sport, all to make volleyball feel less like a dead end and more like a viable profession. 

That philosophy carries into how LOVB compensates players, who earn base salaries of $60,000, receive year-round healthcare, and live in housing provided by the league during the season. 

“One of the things that gets me fired up is being part of a team that’s owned by women who have done it in their spaces … it’s going to create an environment that athletes want to play in, be a part of, and feel loyal to — to start and end their careers in San Francisco,” Robinson Cook, who played pro volleyball abroad for more than 12 years and is part of LOVB SF’s ownership group, said.

If LOVB SF succeeds, the next generation of local volleyball stars will be able to spend their entire careers in the United States. And it won’t just be Rikki’s where the top players are treated like celebrities.