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Avoli Celebrates Anniversary with Exclusive Retail Partner, New NIL Athletes

SCHEELS continues to dominate the volleyball court.

Michael Ehrlich

Avoli VOL I and Avoli VOL II
Avoli VOL I and Avoli VOL II / Avoli

The only athletic brand dedicated exclusively to women and girl volleyball players celebrated their first birthday in a big way. Portland-based Avoli blew out the candles with a $2.1 million funding round, a new exclusive retail partner and seven college athletes joining the brand as NIL ambassadors.

Kicking off the Summer with a new marketing campaign, the brand announced NIL partnerships with three of the top college volleyball athletes Anna DeBeer of Louisville, Lauren Briseño of Baylor and Alia Williams of Dayton. The trio star in the brand’s “Hits Different” campaign, featuring the Avoli VOL II Mid shoe.

In addition to the initial trio, Avoli will collaborate with former and current professional and college volleyball players across a variety of activations - including content creation, affiliate marketing, in-person camps and events, product feedback and internships - with such athletes as Marianna Singletary of Texas, Delaynie Maple of Indiana, Reilly Heinrich of George Washington and Karly Klaer of Chicago State, among others to come soon.

"In our first year as a company, we’ve seen an unprecedented demand for our footwear amongst the volleyball community, and our partnership with SCHEELS will make Avoli shoes more widely accessible to women and girl athletes around the country," said Rick Anguilla, Co-founder of Avoli. "SCHEELS’ dedication to quality and an excellent customer experience aligns perfectly with our mission at Avoli, and we look forward to working together to grow the sport of volleyball.”

The brand's footwear collection - a variety of colorways of the Avoli VOL I and Avoli VOL II Avoli - can be found now at leading sports retailer SCHEELS in select stores across the United States. This marks the brand's first exclusive retail partner.

“We are proud to partner with Avoli and look forward to bringing their top-tier volleyball footwear to select stores across the U.S.,” said SCHEELS. “We look forward to introducing the Avoli brand to our dedicated customers, and bringing products designed specifically for women and girl athletes to our shelves.”

Founded in 2023 by Nike and lululemom alums Mark Oleson and Rick Anguilla, Avoli looks to continue the brand's massive moment with the upcoming college volleyball season. Expect more collaborations, colorways and activations to come from Avoli as they look to disrupt the footwear industry, on volleyball player at a time.

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Further Reading: Reebok and Recess team up on the pickleball court.

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Michael Ehrlich

MICHAEL EHRLICH

Michael Ehrlich is a seasoned sports marketing executive with experience across the global sports brand, athlete representation, media and education sides of the business. The Founder and CEO of Playbook Marketing, Ehrlich consults with brands on all things NIL and athlete partnerships, advises student-athletes on their personal brand building endeavors and is an adjunct professor at his alma mater, the University of Southern California where he teaches a course on athlete communications and marketing. As a writer, his previous bylines include Boardroom, Business of College Sports, DIME Magazine and UPROXX, among others. You can follow him across social media at @MichaelEhrlich and reach out via michael@playbook-marketing.com

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