The Pro Volleyball Federation began its inaugural season on Wednesday, with 11,624 fans showing out in Omaha to watch as the Atlanta Vibe took on the Omaha Supernovas.

It was the largest crowd to ever watch a professional volleyball match in the United States.

11,624 of YOU!

No place like Nebraska ♥️ pic.twitter.com/lkKSxvqZ2H

— Omaha Supernovas (@OmahaSupernovas) January 25, 2024

And the crowd got a show. While the Supernovas dropped their opening two sets, they rallied to take it to five sets. Atlanta avoided the reverse sweep, however, taking the fifth set after going down 15-13.

“History was made tonight,” Atlanta’s Alli Linnehan said. “That’s what we just kept saying. History is being made and it’s just so awesome that we get to be a part of it.”

Atlanta coach Todd Dagenais conceded that it was about more than just the road win.

“As much as we’re excited about this road win,” Dagenais said, “that’s nice. But I think it was an incredible to share the court with them tonight with such an great crowd and I’m so happy for the league to pull this off.

“This is the dream that we all bought into. This is what we wanted to be a part of and I think we gave the fans of volleyball, of the PVF, we gave them a great match and something they can be excited about.”

“It was a spectacle, it was an event, it was something amazing that happened and we were so proud to be part of it,” Omaha coach Shelton Collier said. “This was breaking ground for a professional volleyball league and there could have been 800 people and a poorly played match and it was an incredible match with an incredible crowd, an incredible atmosphere.”

The South Carolina Gamecocks are officially without their star Chloe Kitts, with the university announcing Monday that the forward will miss the 2025/26 NCAA basketball season after sustaining an ACL tear to her right knee.

"We hate this for Chloe, who has worked incredibly hard to become the best version of herself on the court this season," South Carolina head coach Dawn Staley said in a team statement.

"While this isn't how I hoped my senior season would go, I'm trusting God's timing and purpose," Kitts wrote in a social media post on Monday. "I'll continue to lead, support, and push my team from the sidelines. We have big things ahead!"

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

A starter for the the Gamecocks since the 2023/24 NCAA season, Kitts helped South Carolina bring home a national championship in 2024.

Last season, the then-junior earned an All-America honorable mention for a season in which she averaged 10.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game — both career highs.

Kitts was particularly potent in the 2025 postseason, snagging the MVP title at both the SEC tournament and in South Carolina's NCAA regional en route to a national runner-up finish for the Gamecocks.

Though South Carolina is now gearing up for the 2025/26 NCAA season without their leader in the paint, the Gamecocks are perhaps uniquely capable of overcoming a big-name loss like Kitts, with the team boasting a full 10-player rotation and one of the deepest collegiate benches in recent years.

"[Kitts's] teammates are capable of stepping up, and I know that her competitive fire and tenacity will be felt from the sidelines as she pours what she can into them to ensure our team's success," said Staley.

Star striker Temwa Chawinga is nearing yet another trophy, as the 2024 NWSL MVP and Golden Boot winner lifted her No. 1 Kansas City Current over No. 4 Gotham FC with her 15th goal of the season on Saturday — taking the lead in the 2025 scoring race.

Chawinga's 51st-minute tally secured the 2-0 victory, as the 2025 Shield-winners became the first-ever NWSL team to reach 20 wins in a single season — and the first to ever snag more than 60 points in a single campaign.

The Malawian international is now just the second player in league history to score at least 15 goals across multiple seasons, joining former NWSL star Sam Kerr's 2017, 2018, and 2019 runs for Sky Blue and Chicago.

With two regular-season matchdays left, the 2025 NWSL Golden Boot race is down to Chawinga and Gotham FC attacker Esther, with the Spain star chasing the Kansas City standout with 13 goals of her own.

Besides the two-goal advantage, Chawinga also currently holds the edge in momentum, with the Current striker scoring in her last four NWSL matches while Esther has been silent on goal since September 13th.

Trailing Chawinga and Esther in this year's Golden Boot race with a still-impressive 10 goals apiece are No. 8 Racing Louisville's Emma Sears and No. 14 Chicago Stars' Ludmila.

The Las Vegas Aces won the 2025 WNBA Championship in Friday's Game 4, sweeping the Phoenix Mercury to put a bow on the league's longest-ever season — while also starting the clock on its next CBA.

"We have great players," Aces guard Chelsea Gray told reporters, stressing the importance of the upcoming deal after helping secure Las Vegas's third title in four years. "You need to treat them like that."

Like many teams across the league, the Aces have just one player under contract for 2026 — rookie Aaliyah Nye — after a rash of now-free agents opted to sign one-year contracts in anticipation of salary shifts in the upcoming CBA.

With the October 31st deadline looming, negotiations are likely to extend past that mark amid mounting tensions between players and WNBA commissioner Cathy Englebert in recent weeks.

"I think they'll work it out somehow, I hope — I haven't been consulted," said Aces owner Mark Davis.

Davis also joked about making Becky Hammon the best-paid head coach in the WNBA, with the Las Vegas manager currently pulling in $1 million annually — four times the single-year supermax player contract under the league's current CBA.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Salary structure a tipping point in WNBA CBA negotiations

As for the players union, the WNBPA says they're aiming to expand revenue sharing, while the league is reportedly looking to keep salary structures mostly intact.

"It's basically the same system that we exist in right now," WNBPA president Nneka Ogwumike told ESPN in August. "When you approach it from the perspective of their response to our proposal, yes, money is more, but ultimately if you look at the growth of the business, the money relative to the percentage of everything is virtually staying the same."

According to Front Office Sports, the most recent WNBA offer included an $850,000 supermax contract plus a veteran minimum near $300,000.

The WNBA will likely have until the end of 2025 to strike a deal, but with little common ground emerging thus far, the potential for a work stoppage looms large.

Chicago Sky forward Angel Reese is staying busy, announcing yet another high-profile partnership as she gears up to become the first-ever professional athlete to walk in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show next week.

The WNBA star will take to the lingerie company's catwalk in New York on Tuesday, October 15th.

"Stepping into a dream: From Angel to a Victoria Secret ANGEL," Reese posted to Instagram on Thursday. "I'm finally getting my wings — I'll be walking the Victoria's Secret 2025 runway show for the first time, and it feels like destiny. Wings on, heels ready."

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Just Women’s Sports (@justwomenssports)

Hitting the runway is just the latest entry on Reese's growing resume, with the 23-year-old most recently stepping in as the new face of Juicy Couture and launching a signature shoe with Reebok while becoming the cover star of the WNBA edition of NBA 2K26.

Even more, she'll soon make her feature film debut, playing herself in a cameo in the upcoming political thriller A House of Dynamite, which drops on Netflix on October 24th.

But first, Reese will make Victoria's Secret Fashion Show history.

"Angel Reese, welcome to the runway," Victoria's Secret wrote in a promotional post on Thursday. "The first professional athlete angel... major is an understatement."

How to watch Angel Reese in the Victoria's Secret Fashion Show

The 2025 Victoria's Secret Fashion Show will air live on at 7 PM ET on Tuesday, October 15th on Prime.