PVF Omaha Supernovas

First-Place Supernovas Battle Mojo in Thursday Night Road Test

February 18, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


Omaha Supernovas battle the San Diego Mojo
Omaha Supernovas battle the San Diego Mojo
(Omaha Supernovas)

OMAHA, Neb. - The first-place Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska's professional volleyball team and first Pro Volleyball Champions, hit the road for a rematch against the San Diego Mojo Thursday night at Viejas Arena in San Diego.

With the Columbus Fury defeating the Vegas Thrill on Monday night, the Supernovas are officially in first place in the PVF standings with a 7-3 record. Omaha enters Thursday leading the league with five sweeps this season, including two straight-set victories during their current three-match winning streak.

After starting the season 2-2, the Supernovas have won five of their past six matches. Most recently, Omaha took down the Mojo in a sweep on Sunday, February 16 at home in front of 12,768 fans at the CHI Health Center - marking the second-largest crowd in U.S. Pro Volleyball history. Reagan Cooper tallied a match-high 11 points with 10 kills on a season-best .444 hitting percentage. 2025 PVF All-Star Brooke Nuneviller put down nine kills on a .409 clip with zero hitting errors while also adding 11 digs and her first ace of the season.

San Diego aims to snap a five-match losing streak Thursday night at home. The Mojo have won only two of the last 17 sets during their slump with their last win being a four-set victory over the Indy Ignite on January 24.

Game Details

Matchup: Omaha Supernovas (7-3) at San Diego Mojo (3-7) | Thursday, Feb. 20th | 9:05 p.m. CST | Viejas Arena, San Diego, Ca.

Watch: VBTV | Broadcast Crew: Tanner Collins (PxP), Lori Thomas (Color)

Listen: Supernovas Radio Network | Broadcast Crew: Grant Hansen (PxP)

Match Notes

Season Series: Third of four meetings, one of two at Viejas Arena.

All-Time Series: Omaha leads 4-3 (Feb. 16, 2025, last matchup, 3-0 Omaha).

VBTV Streaming Information

How to Watch VBTV

VBTV is accessible through any web browser and can also be streamed via the VBTV App, available on iOS and Android devices through the Apple App Store and Google Play Store. Additionally, fans can watch through the app on Apple TV and Chromecast devices.

Free Access for U.S. Viewers

PVF matches will be streamed free of charge for U.S. fans on VBTV (account registration required). International viewers will need to create an account and purchase a subscription to access the stream.

Where You Won't Find the Match

Thursday's match will only be available on VBTV and will not be streamed on the PVF YouTube Channel. The VBTV App is not available on the Roku Channel Store, and the match will not air on cable or any local channels.

Supernovas-Mojo Connections

San Diego middle blocker Leyla Blackwell and assistant coach Noel Carpio both have connections to Nebraska. Blackwell spent her final season of college volleyball at Nebraska helping the Huskers to the National Semifinals. Carpio spent two seasons (2018-2019) as an assistant on Creighton Volleyball's staff under Kirsten Bernthal Booth.

Libero Shara Venegas has a robust history with Omaha setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson, sharing the court together on the Puerto Rico National Team, including the country's lone appearance at the 2016 Rio Summer Olympics. She also competed against Valentín-Anderson in the Puerto Rico league from 2010-2017 as well as 2021-2023. Venegas has also been teammates with Supernovas rookie Valeria Vazquez Gomez on the national team over the past couple of years.

Kayla Lund was teammates with Vazquez Gomez for three seasons (2019-2021) at Pittsburgh including an NCAA Semifinal Appearance in 2021.

Brooke Nuneviller will reunite with a trio of Mojo players and coaches who spent time together at Oregon. San Diego players Lauren Page (2018) and Ronika Stone (2018-2019) were teammates with Nuneviller while Mojo head coach Tayyiba Haneef-Park was an assistant in Eugene for the 2022 season.

Mojo middle Rainelle Jones spent the 2024 PVF season with the Columbus Fury alongside current Supernovas Kaitlyn Hord and Reagan Cooper.

Jenaisya Moore and Mac Podraza were part of the same recruiting class at Ohio State, spending four seasons with Buckeyes (2019-2022), reaching two NCAA Regional Semifinals.

Supernovas All-Stars

Three Supernovas were named to the inaugural PVF All-Star Match, which is slated for Saturday, February 22 in Indy. It will be the first-ever volleyball match broadcast live on CBS. First serve is set for 12:30 p.m. CST. Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller, middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord and libero Camila Gómez were named All-Stars. Every team in the PVF is represented on the two 12-person rosters. The two squads will be led by Dave Shondell of Purdue and Georgia Tech's Michelle Collier. Hord will be on Team Collier while Nuneviller and Gómez will team up as part of Team Shondell.

Hitting the Century Mark

Supernovas head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn achieved her 100th career win as a head coach in last Sunday's 3-0 sweep over the San Diego Mojo. Kuhn amassed 76 wins as head coach at Texas A&M and has earned 24 with the Supernovas. Bird is already the winningest coach in PVF history with 24 wins and a PVF title.

Offensive Blastoff

The Omaha Supernovas offense has recorded team hitting percentages of .250 or higher in six of the last seven matches. That's after posting clips of .187 and .131 in two of the first three matches of the season.

In fact, Omaha has finished with hitting percentages of .250 or above in seven of the 10 matches this season. The Supernovas offense reached that mark only nine times during the entire 2024 season.

The .309 team hitting percentage in Omaha's sweep over Indy on Feb. 6 marked only the fourth time in franchise history that the Supernovas have topped the .300 mark and the first time in the 2025 season.

Hording the Net

Hord has been one of the premier blockers in the league through the 2025 season. The former Husker and Nittany Lion leads the PVF in both total blocks (33) and blocks per set with a 0.94 mark. Hord's seven blocks in the five-set win over the Vibe on opening night set a Supernovas single-match record. Also, she is only one of four players in the PVF to record seven or more blocks in a match this season. The Kentucky native also sits fifth in hitting percentage with a .337 clip through 104 attacks, 40 kills and five errors.

Clutch Killer

Nuneviller produces offense when the Supernovas need it most, which is late in sets. On Feb. 6 at Indy, the Oregon alum recorded seven of her team-high 14 kills when Omaha was at five or fewer points away from winning the set, otherwise known as the red zone.

In the scenario that either the Supernovas or opposing team has reached the red zone, Nuneviller has scored 50 of her 148 season points. That equals 34% of her total point production.

Defensive Dominance

The Supernovas have one of the best defenses in the PVF, leading the league in opponent efficiency with a .189 clip - 23 points higher than second-place Atlanta (.212). Part of that stat comes from the two matches against Columbus when the Fury hit .015 & .036 in back-to-back matches vs. Omaha on Jan. 24 and Jan. 31. The block has also been a major factor with Omaha second in the PVF in blocks per set at 2.58, despite only being fifth in total blocks (93).

The Dig Patrol

The Supernovas have been one of the best defensive teams in the PVF, leading the league in digs per set (17.08) and sixth in total digs (615).

That effort is spearheaded by three of the best ball control defenders in the league with libero Camila Gómez, setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson and Nuneviller. All three sit inside the top ten in both total digs and digs per set.

Gómez leads the trio with a team-high 140 digs (3rd in PVF) and 3.89 per set (2nd). Her 31 digs against Atlanta in the season opener broke a single-match franchise record. That number is also tied for second in most digs during a single match in PVF history.

Valentín-Anderson is tied for fourth in the league and leads all PVF setters with 130 total digs while being fifth with 3.71 digs per set. She's recorded at least 11 digs in seven of the 10 contests this season including a season-high 21 against San Diego on Jan. 19th.

Nuneviller, who is a former libero, is tied with Valentín-Anderson with 130 total digs and is seventh in digs per set (3.61). She leads all PVF attackers in total digs while being second in digs per set.

The Cooper Curve

2024 PVF Rookie of the Year Reagan Cooper has recorded a team-leading nine aces (5th in PVF) and 0.28 per set (4th). The second-year pro has already surpassed her rookie year total when she had eight aces in 82 sets last year in Columbus.

Cooper became the first Supernovas player to put down an ace in three or more consecutive matches since Bethania De La Cruz. De La Cruz accomplished that feat in seven-straight contests en route to the 2024 PVF Server of the Year. Cooper recorded an ace in the first six matches of the 2025 season.

Cooper is still one of the most dangerous attackers in the PVF, posting 3.69 kills per set, which is fifth in the league, while her 118 total kills are 10th. Her 134 points on the season is also 10th among all players in the league.

The Kansas graduate has played her best as of late, hitting above .345 in five of the last six matches including a season-best 18 kills on the road vs. Atlanta (2/8) and a season-high .444 clip last time out against San Diego at home on Feb. 16.

In the last six matches alone, Cooper has averaged 3.79 kills per set on a .335 hitting percentage with four aces across 19 sets.




Images from this story

Omaha Supernovas battle the San Diego Mojo
Omaha Supernovas battle the San Diego Mojo
   



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