Avoli Launches With Volleyball-Specific Footwear, Gear

When Avoli (pronounced ah-volley) founders Mark Oleson and Rick Anguilla found out their daughters were racing back to the hotel room following an all-day youth volleyball tournament just to be the first to get the hair dryer to dry their sweat-soaked sneakers, the two footwear industry veterans knew there was a fresh opportunity.

Avoli, a volleyball-specific brand launching this July, puts a focus on equipment designed for a single intention: volleyball. From the brand’s inaugural footwear to a new kneepad to on-court shorts, the former Nike, Adidas, Under Armour and Lululemon executives took their athletic gear know-how and funneled it into what is now the number-one participation team sport for girls in the United States.

When the pair’s daughters started playing competitively, the two footwear and apparel experts wanted to give their daughters—and the entire sport—something more specific. “There is a product void to be filled and we felt that because half the kids were wearing basketball shoes,” Anguilla tells me. “Is there a culture to be tapped into? We looked into that and there sure is. We heard how hard it was to find volleyball product, nothing is really made for volleyball.”

While volleyball shoes exist on the market, many players still choose basketball shoes. And some of the shoes marketed as volleyball are more generic court shoes. “I was looking around on the courts and nothing players were wearing was biomechanically laid out for the sport,” Oleson tells me. “The girls are amazing athletes and working incredibly hard and doing it in this gear that is secondary. How do we put design intention behind that?”

That’s where Avoli, which recently closed a $1 million seed round, took shape, from the foot up. The new Avoli shoe, launching first in a low and following this fall with a mid-height version, starts with a last that fits a female foot and comes modeled off the splayed position seen when jumping. Already, that gives the shoe a singular fit in the industry, especially when compared to the overtightening going on with a men’s-lasted basketball shoe.

Then came a focus on jumping, especially for a sport where the players jump up to four times as much as in basketball. Eliminating the heel-to-toe running design found in many court shoes, Avoli places cushioning in the forefoot to handle the compression unique to volleyball and ups the cushioning on the heel to help with pivoting and rotating while ensuring a dampener and spring system provides the volleyball-specific balance of energy return and energy absorption.

Inspired by a mountain bike, the spring and dampener system has a high energy return. The foam compound was designed specifically for volleyball—this isn’t a quick-rebound foam as found in running—and the geometry of the footbed was meant to eliminate pressure points, especially in the heel. “The spring and dampener model is based on how athletes are jumping and landing,” Oleson says, focusing on energy absorption without making the shoe feel dead. The midsole includes a moderator plate to support the athlete’s foot.

The outsole includes an aggressive tread pattern with octopus-styled suction cups for grip and a compound designed for the court. The way the outsole rolls into the upper ensure no hard edges, so that even when the foot lands at 85 degrees, it naturally moves back to flat.

A heavily padded heel collar helps with both fit and comfort and a midfoot strap wraps the entire foot for stability. A molded cage helps hold the foot into the splayed position.

But Oleson says they still needed to deal with the ventilation issue, creating a full 360-degree system that pushes air and humidity out from the bottom and sucks fresh air back in. Along with multiple holes in the non-critical contact points on the outsole, the entire midsole comes perforated to ensure full ventilation. The upper is also completely breathable for full 360-degree ventilation.

“This is not recommended for winter wear,” Anguilla jokes about the full breathability of the indoor volleyball shoe.

The result, Oleson says, is a shoe that “fits a lot better, is designed specifically for the sport, adds cushioning to hold the heel in and has a ventilation system. I feel we have a real unique proposition for these athletes, and they tested remarkably well.”

Along with the focus on footwear, the Avoli team, which has a female-led design team, improved knee pads from a sock-like material to a ballistic-grade foam made to slide and reduce the abrasion that creates bruising. Shorts also get a makeover, designed not from a flat position, but from the squatting position.

“These are simple solves,” Oleson says, “because the design intention behind a lot of the kit wasn’t what was happening on the court.”

The Avoli launch will include performance footwear in a range of colorways, along with a recovery slide and sleeves.

Avoli plans to roll out the range of products via unique NIL deals with key collegiate athletes and remain active in volleyball clubs across the country.

“It has been really cool watching the kids react to stuff, from the 12-year-olds to the college players, they are so excited someone is recognizing their sport,” Anguilla says. “People describe volleyball as hidden in plain sight and they are not getting shoes made for them. The reception has been great. We want to give them something they can be proud of and rep for their sport.”

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/timnewcomb/2023/06/12/avoli-launches-with-volleyball-specific-footwear-gear/