HENDERSON (KTNV) — The Las Vegas valley officially has a new professional sports franchise. On Monday, the Professional Volleyball Federation announced the Vegas Thrill will take the court in 2024.
The team will be led by legendary volleyball coach Fran Flory, who spent 31 years as a head coach for college volleyball teams, including Louisiana State University, where she led the school to nine NCAA tournament appearances, seven SEC West titles, and an SEC championship in 2009.
She said whenever she was originally approached about the Pro Volleyball Federation, she thought co-founders Dave Whinham and Stephen Evans were crazy.
"I thought there was no way this was going to work. They met with me about two years ago. Six months after that, they came back and showed me the plans and I thought this might actually work," Flory said. "The interesting thing about them is this is not necessarily about the sport. It's about the entertainment. It's about the people. It's about the athletes. It's about more than the sport and I think that's what makes them unique."
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Before committing to coaching the Las Vegas team, she turned to a "dear friend": Nikki Fargas, who is President of the Las Vegas Aces. The two shared an arena at LSU when Flory was coaching the volleyball team and Fargas was coaching the women's basketball team. Both looked back at their time at LSU and said they always had fun working together.
"There would be times when her team would be practicing. We would wait and our team would be ready to go after them," Fargas said. "One of the best memories was when we warmed up, we'd do a layup drill. I'd call the volleyball players over and say hey guys, before you leave, why don't y'all join us in the layup drill? It was so fun to see the volleyball and women's basketball teams do some drills together."
"I loved going and playing basketball with her," Flory said. "They all shot half-court shots before game days and stuff. The privilege for me is Nikki asked me to address her team a few times. When you're willing to let somebody talk to your team, the trust and the confidence and the respect that showed, that's probably one of the many times that I thought you know what, this friendship is real. The respect from both sides was evidenced in that way."
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So when it came to deciding on coaching in Las Vegas, Flory said she knew who to call.
"She was one of the first people I called when I was considering the job," Flory said. "Many times at LSU, we sat in each other's office trying to figure things out and help each other. I called her and said should I do this? What do you think? She said yes. Come. It's amazing out here. I'm going to take a lot of advice and seek a lot of counsel with her."
Whinham said Las Vegas was on their radar since day one and he's glad Flory will be leading the team.
"We've wanted Vegas as our lucky seven team very badly. We knew if we brought it that we'd be able to attract great crowds. We knew if we brought it, we would be able to build the types of partnerships that are required for this to be successful," Whinham said. "On the court here, it starts with our coach, Fran Flory."
The team had about 50 days to assemble a roster, which Flory said they were able to do thanks to a great front office and coaching staff.
"We're a little late to the party but nobody on our staff and in our franchise is afraid of hard work," Flory said. "I have an incredible associate head coach in Denise Corlett from Stanford. I have an amazing assistant coach with Melody Nua and we have a great analyst in Russ Rose. We have over 100 years of volleyball experience on our staff. That's a lot of connections and a lot of people. It's been fun to research and figure out who fits together and who doesn't and we're not finished yet."
One player that will joining the Vegas Thrill this year is Las Vegas native Berkeley Oblad. She graduated from Coronado High School and was the 2015 Nevada Gatorade Player of the Year before going on to play at the University of Utah.
"I think I was in the beginning of volleyball really growing here. In high school, me and maybe just a couple of other girls were the only ones who played club. At Coronado, we won back-to-back state championships so that was exciting," Oblad said. "I went to Utah because I had some extended family there. I knew I didn't want to be too far from home because I would get a little homesick but I wanted to be away just far enough to be independent and grow up a little bit. Utah is just where it felt most at home and it was a great experience and I wouldn't trade it for the world."
Oblad went on to play overseas in Hungary, France, and Taiwan. She said she never dreamed a professional volleyball team would be in the valley but that it's good to be home.
"It's unreal. We hadn't had a hometown team, growing up at least, and now we have so many and I'm stoked to be part of one of those teams that are here," Oblad said. "This is a dream that I never thought would happen. I'm so grateful for the opportunity. I don't think the girls on our team quite realize yet what it means to play in Vegas but they're going to get it. Vegas is a great community to be part of."
The team starts mini camp today as they prepare for the 2024 season.
"Volleyball is a game of rhythm and timing. We have to find what that is," Flory said. "We get to be in the gym for a short time for the next two days. We'll begin to kind of find that but it takes time to find a rhythm. It takes time to connect. It's going to take some time and we're going to stub our toe a few times before we get there but so will everybody else."
As for Flory, she said she's been part of a lot of starts over the course of her career and it's rewarding to see all of the hard work help a sport she loves continue to grow across the U.S.
"I've been part of the beginning of NCAA sports sponsoring women's athletics. We played for the AIAW way back in the 70s. I saw the beginning of the NCAA investing and it takes an investment to make sports go. I helped start beach volleyball across the country, in college. When you have women that are willing to fight and step forward for the sport that they love, and for me it just happens to be volleyball, the growth has been incredible," Flory said. "This year, for the first time, we're seeing that work and all of those hours, all of that time and effort pay off. I told the founders of Pro Volleyball Federation there could not have been a better year to launch this league. It's really rewarding to be on the other side and get to be part of something, another start."
Fargas echoed that sentiment saying she's proud of Flory and another women's sports franchise getting their start in the valley.
"It's our time. We've been competitive. We've had great athletes. We've had great games. It's now being recognized and being seen on a larger and national scale and I think that's what we've been missing," Fargas said. "To be able to have a city that has a lot of attention, where you have over 40 million tourists that come here and the local community that supports these teams, that's what you're seeing. It's our time. The product on the court is just as good and even better."
Fargas added that she is wishing Flory luck as she starts the new venture, although Flory better watch out because she might recruit some players for the Aces.
"Coach Fran talked about culture and commitment and that's what this community has been built on. I think it's going to carry over in their attendance and there's a great group of women who are going to be representing us on that court," Fargas said. "We might have to steal some of them to play a little basketball because they're very tall. But really, this is about the community coming together and supporting each other."
The Pro Volleyball Federation's inaugural season kicks off on Jan. 24, 2024. The Vegas Thrill will play its first game on the road on Feb. 7 with the home opener set for Feb. 15, 2024 at The Dollar Loan Center. The team is also taking deposits for season tickets on their website.
There are seven teams taking part in the 2024 season and another two squads have been announced for the 2025 season. They will be located in Dallas and Kansas City. According to Whinham, the league is just getting started.
"We believe that we have the assets, we have the athletes to have the premiere volleyball league in the world, men or women. It's a goal for us. We're not going to get there in year one but that's a goal," Whinham said. "Morgan Hentz, who is a player for our Atlanta team, out of Stanford, been a member of Team USA, had a good explanation. She said the reason women's volleyball played at a high level is more exciting than a lot of other sports is because something cool happens on every point. I think that sums it up. We're not a niche league. We're not a minor league. We're stepping out at the highest level of competition and I think people are going to be blown away when they see it."
