Photographing volleyball challenges me to anticipate the play and continue learning. The emotion offers a glimpse into the personalities on the court. Through my photographs, I hope to help more people discover the athletes and the sport that keep me coming back.
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Texas took the rivalry in three sets in a sold-out Gregory Gym. The Longhorns paired efficient hitting with a decisive serving run, while Texas A&M kept pushing in the third. Original photographs and the match milestones tell the story of a difficult road afternoon for the Aggies.
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Texas A&M defeated Tennessee in four sets at Reed Arena on October 30. Kyndal Stowers matched a program record with her sixth consecutive double-double. Career highs from Margot Manning and a season-best blocking effort helped the Aggies secure consecutive top-10 wins.
Read articleThe athletes making the most of NIL are not treating it as a bonus. They are treating it as a business. Here is the mindset shift and the practical steps that separate them from everyone else.
Read articleMost recruiting profiles look identical. Here's what the ones that actually get noticed have in common, and the role professional visual content plays in making that happen.
Read articlePitt swept SMU in three sets at Moody Coliseum on October 11, 2026, answering a loss to the Mustangs four days earlier. Olivia Babcock led Pitt with 20 kills, while Favor Anyanwu led SMU with 11 and Victoria Harris reached 1,000 NCAA career digs. These seven photographs show players on both sides of the net.
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I returned to San Marcos with my camera for two Texas State volleyball matches at Strahan Arena. The Bobcats beat Gonzaga in four sets on October 8, then fell to Washington State in four on October 10. These photographs follow the attacks, celebrations and sideline exchanges from both days.
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Great content does not just show culture to the outside world. When done right, it reinforces and deepens the culture within the team itself. Here's how that works.
Read articleYour NIL value is not fixed. It is built through your performance, your audience, and the quality of the content attached to your name. Here is how professional photography is one of the highest-leverage investments an athlete can make in that number.
Read articleThere is a difference between needing a photographer and needing a content strategy. Here are five signs your program has crossed that line, and what to do about it.
Read articleWalking into your first NIL conversation without the right visual content is like showing up to a job interview without a resume. Here's exactly what you need to have in place before that first meeting.
Read articleHouston's sports culture is one of the richest in the country, with elite youth programs, deep community roots, and a recruiting landscape that rewards athletes who show up prepared. Here's why it matters for brand-building.
Read articleThe off-season is when most athlete brands go quiet. It is also when the best ones do their most important brand-building work. Here's the strategy most athletes are missing.
Read articleChampionship photos are among the most valuable content a program ever creates. Most teams never use them to their full potential. Here's what intentional use of that content actually looks like.
Read articleNIL conversations have expanded well beyond college campuses. Club sport athletes who understand this are building brands that open doors before they ever put on a college uniform.
Read articleCollege coaches are watching long before they reach out. Here's what they are actually looking for on social media, and how athletes can make sure what they find works in their favor.
Read articleOmaha, Nebraska, a mid-market city far from the traditional coastal power centers, just rewrote the playbook for professional volleyball. Through record-breaking attendance, a near-league split, and a historic merger, the Omaha Supernovas proved that women's professional volleyball is not just viable in America—it’s sustainable.
Read articleA good photo is technically correct. A story worth telling changes how someone feels. Here's what separates the two, and why it matters for every team and athlete investing in visual content.
Read articleTexas produces elite athletic talent. The athletes in this state who understand NIL and start building early are closing deals that most of their peers do not know are available to them.
Read articleHow Title IX, Flo Hyman’s advocacy, and decades of investment in girls’ volleyball built the pipeline that now fills arenas for professional women’s volleyball in the United States.
Read articleClub season is where careers get made and missed. Volleyball players who show up with professional content already in place have a head start that most of their competition never closes.
Read articleThe play is not the story. The moment before it and the moment after it, that is where the real content lives. Here's how intentional sports photography finds what everyone else misses.
Read articleKerri Walsh Jennings is not just the greatest beach volleyball player of all time; she is rebuilding the sport’s entire ecosystem—from K-12 development and collegiate scholarships to a unified professional league that finally lets American athletes build careers at home.
Read articleBefore a brand writes a check, they run through a mental checklist on every athlete they consider. Here is what is on it and how to make sure you are ready to check every box.
Read articleOne good photo is a moment. A season of intentional content is a brand. Here's what changes for a program that commits to visual storytelling from day one of the season to the last game.
Read articleFive weeks of pro volleyball in one catch-up: USA women lead the VNL at 7-1 after Quebec and the Philippines, the men rally in Ottawa, and the AVP League hits CBS, Aspen, Miami, and Vegas.
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At the Chautauqua Institution—an American forum for ideas since 1874—Kerri Walsh Jennings will share a stage with Broadway stars, a bishop, and global diplomats. Her presence there marks a turning point: volleyball is no longer just a sport, but a force in culture, institution-building, and women's leadership.
Read articleNot all sports photographers are built the same. Here's what actually matters when you are choosing someone to capture your athlete or program, and what most people overlook.
Read articleFor forty years, every attempt at professional women’s volleyball in the U.S. folded within three seasons. Then a post-Title IX generation, social media, and serious ownership turned a graveyard of failed leagues into a $325 million ecosystem with three viable pro competitions.
Read articleMost athletic programs are sitting on compelling stories they never tell. The gap between what a program is and what the world sees is costing them — in recruiting, in community support, and in brand equity.
Read articleCourtside at the 1984 Olympic women’s volleyball final, two legends shared one net and unknowingly stepped into futures that would redefine their sport: Flo Hyman, the Flying Clutchman, and Lang Ping, the Iron Hammer.
Read articleNIL sponsors have a short list of things they actually need from an athlete partner. Professional visual content sits near the top of that list. Here is why and how to deliver it.
Read articleA few weeks ago I argued that Houston is becoming the volleyball capital of the South. Here is the proof: more than twenty greater-Houston girls signed NCAA Division I volleyball letters in the Class of 2026, from Stanford and Nebraska to the Ivy League. These are seventeen of them I had the chance to photograph this season, and where they are headed next.
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From a childhood in poverty to Olympic gold as both player and coach, Lang Ping’s journey from national icon to global volleyball architect shows how true coaching genius transcends borders, politics, and even the weight of being a symbol.
Read articleParents invest in camps, showcases, and club fees. Very few invest in the content that ties it all together. Here's what that missing piece costs — and what it returns.
Read articleFlo Hyman was more than the most feared spiker in volleyball. As the first female scholarship athlete at the University of Houston, a 1984 Olympic silver medalist, and a relentless advocate for gender and civil rights, she reshaped both her sport and the landscape of women’s athletics before her life was cut short at 31 by undiagnosed Marfan syndrome.
Read articleEvery team posts scores, graphics, and highlights. Almost none of them stand out. Here's why your social media blends in, and the shift that changes everything.
Read articleI've spent enough of this spring on LOVB and MLV floors that the last week of May feels less like a transition and more like a reset. The 2026 USA Volleyball Nations League rosters are set, the MLV postseason awards are out, LOVB just announced its tenth franchise, and Taylor Crabb and Andy Benesh added another trophy in Huntington Beach. Here is what happened in the seven days before the VNL whistle blows in Quebec.
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For fifty years, every attempt to build a sustainable women’s professional volleyball league in America failed. This post traces the six major efforts—from the co-ed International Volleyball Association in 1975 to today’s multi-hundred-million-dollar ecosystem—and sets up an eight-part series on how the sport finally broke through.
Read articleSomeone is telling your story. The question is whether it is you. Here's why athletes who own their narrative own their career, and how intentional content makes that possible.
Read articleThe shot that stops a feed is almost never the one you set up. It is the one you were ready for. Here's what separates reactive photography from real storytelling.
Read articleI shot all three matches of the 2026 MLV postseason at Comerica Center, semifinals through the deciding fifth set on Saturday. The expansion Dallas Pulse closed it out 3-2 over the Omaha Supernovas in the first five-set final in league history. Sofia Maldonado Diaz took the Championship MVP with five kills in fifteen points. Here is the story from the photo line.
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Three professional volleyball franchises in one state. Two Olympic medalists on one Houston roster. The volleyball capital of the South is forming and most people have not noticed.
Read articleAn NIL portfolio is the single most important asset a deal-seeking athlete can build. Here's what goes into one that actually opens doors with brands and sponsors.
Read articleUCLA saved seven match points to reach the NCAA beach final against Stanford. Major League Volleyball's bracket is set for Frisco. The week the trophies start getting handed out.
Read articleThe photos capture peaks. But there is an entire world on the volleyball sideline that the camera alone would miss. Here is what it actually feels like to be there.
Read articleProfessional sports photography is not an expense. It is an investment with returns that show up in recruiting, community engagement, sponsorship, and brand equity. Here's how to see it that way.
Read articleAddison and Avery Junk are twin beach volleyball players from Redondo Beach, and they are headed to Florida State. I watched them go four and two at the AVP Austin Open as high school seniors against a pro Contender field. I asked them about the commitment, the court, and what they hope Seminole fans say four years from now. Avery gave me the sentence I could not stop thinking about.
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Volleyball is outperforming the NBA, F1, and Wimbledon in key global markets. The numbers behind the sport's rise are staggering and most people have not caught up yet.
Read articleA media day is not just a photo session. Done right, it sets the tone for everything that follows. Here's what separates a forgettable shoot from one that actually works.
Read articleLOVB Austin repeats as champions in a golden set thriller over Salt Lake, while the Major League Volleyball playoff race tightens with five matches left in the regular season.
Read articleClub volleyball programs invest in coaching, facilities, and competition schedules. Almost none of them invest in how their athletes look when college coaches are watching from a distance.
Read articleChampionships come and go. A program brand is built to last longer than any single season. Here's how intentional content creates something that endures.
Read articleHouston survived a five-set playoff war. Austin made a statement in three. And across professional volleyball, the stakes just changed.
Read articleTwo professional volleyball leagues. Over $200 million in combined funding. Olympic-caliber talent on both sides. The question nobody can avoid is whether both can coexist.
Read articleNIL sponsors are not just buying your athletic performance. They are buying your audience, your image, and your content. Here's what brands actually look for before they write the check.
Read articleNebraska knocked off first-place Houston with a season-best .405 hitting night. Austin swept Salt Lake in a do-or-die playoff push. Dallas ran its streak to eight. This was the week nobody blinked across LOVB and MLV.
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Coaches are scrolling your athlete’s profile before they ever make a call. Here’s what they’re actually looking for — and what most athletes are missing.
Read articleNebraska pulled off the rarest feat in volleyball from two sets down. The MLV All-Stars sold out Orlando. And a bench player in San Diego changed everything.
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Nobody remembers the score the way they remember the feeling.
Read articleNIL did not create the opportunity. It just made it official.
Read articleEvery sporting event gets photographed. Fewer stories get told.
Read articleCollege recruiters have seen thousands of highlight reels. Most look exactly the same.
Read articleIf you love high school volleyball,Volleypaloozais one of the biggest showcases of talent you’ll find all season. Held just north of Austin, this annual tournament brings together powerhouse programs from across the state, with a handful from outside of Texas, to compete at a high level of play before all eyes become focused on district play.
Read articleThere’s nothing quite like the buzz of a new season — the mix of adrenaline, pride, and possibility that fills the room as high school athletes gear up for what’s next. On July 24, I had the opportunity to photograph a Media Day forLamar Consolidated ISD, an event powered by the incredible team atVYPE Media. As a photographer, I thrive on moments like these — where athletes bring their full energy and personality to the set.
Read articleHeading to Dallas for the USAV Nationals from June 30 to July 3? So am I—and I’m bringing my camera! As a professionalsports and actionphotographer, I’ll be capturing the energy, emotion, and unforgettable moments of the tournament. Whether you’re looking for team coverage or individual highlights, I’ve got you covered with flexible options designed to fit every need and budget.
Read articleWhether you are a high school athlete aiming for the next level, a proud parent trying to support the journey, or a coach building a brand that a community can support,sports photographyplays a powerful role in telling your story. But not all sports photography is the same. There are two distinct styles—Action Sports Photography vs. Media Day, or sometimes called Hype Sports Photography— and each serve very different purposes. As aSports & Action Photographer, I love both and believe that leveraging the value of both will help you with the goals you are working so hard to accomplish.
Read articleAs a photographer in Katy, TX who specializes inSports & Action Photography,I’ve seen firsthand the power of a well-captured image. In today’s competitive athletic landscape, standing out to college recruiters takes more than just talent — it requires a professional presentation along with relational networking skills, all of which position the student athlete as a desirable asset for a college program. Professional photography is a tool that helps elevate the presentation and professionalism of an athlete.
Read articleAt the moment, graduation ceremonies in our Katy, TX school district are coming to a close. Those who were juniors are now our new seniors! These amazing incoming seniors find themselves neatly nestled in the calm before storm. The ideal time to get your professional senior portraits on the calendar is now. Before the school year kicks off with sports, homework, and college prep, there’s one important opportunity you don’t want to miss: your senior portrait photo session.
Read articlePreparing for your senior portrait session involves more than just picking a date and time. It requires careful planning and consideration, from selecting an ideal location around Katy that reflects your personal style to choosing outfits that highlight your individuality. Whether you're aiming for classic elegance, editorial edge, or modern flair, these preparatory steps will ensure your senior portraits are a true reflection of who you are at this moment in your life. Let's delve into how I,Matt Powell, would love to help you make your senior portrait experience in Katy, TX, a memorable one.
Read article"Several scientific studies have shown that the difference between high-level and low-level teams primarily depends on the continuous intensity with which the team can sustain prolonged play times."
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