First-Place Supernovas Eye Postseason Berth with Road Trip to Vegas, San Diego

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PVF Omaha Supernovas

First-Place Supernovas Eye Postseason Berth with Road Trip to Vegas, San Diego

April 9, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


Omaha Supernovas opposite hitter Kelsie Payne
Omaha Supernovas opposite hitter Kelsie Payne
(Omaha Supernovas)

OMAHA, Neb. - The first-place Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska's professional volleyball team and first Pro Volleyball Champions, embark on their first road trip in weeks with a chance to become the first team to secure a spot in the 2025 PVF Championship.

The Supernovas head west for a pair of key matches, beginning Thursday, April 10, against the Vegas Thrill at Lee's Family Forum-the same site as the upcoming PVF Championship. They'll then face the San Diego Mojo on Saturday night, April 12, at Viejas Arena.

Omaha has the opportunity to punch its ticket to the postseason as early as Thursday against the Thrill. To clinch a berth, the Supernovas must either win both matches this weekend or have both Vegas (8-12) and Grand Rapids (9-12) reach 13 losses. The earliest clinching scenario comes with a win over the Thrill on Thursday, paired with a Grand Rapids Rise loss to the Orlando Valkyries that same night.

The Supernovas have been on a tear since the calendar turned over to March, winning six of their last seven matches with the only loss being to Indy on March 22. Omaha extended its winning streak to three matches last Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the Valkyries at home. Superstar outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller tallied a match-high 17 kills and 10 digs while the Supernovas set a franchise four-set record for most blocks with 14. Middle blockers Kaitlyn Hord and Kayla Caffey spearheaded that effort with five blocks apiece while Caffey added five kills and three aces to increase her team-leading total to 16.

Vegas and San Diego enter the weekend battling to stay alive in the playoff race, but both teams will need to snap out of its current struggles. The Thrill enter Thursday riding a 1-10 stretch since starting the season 7-2 while the Mojo have lost four of its last five including a five-set defeat to the Atlanta Vibe Tuesday night in San Diego.

Game Details

Matchup: Omaha Supernovas (15-5) at Vegas Thrill (8-12)

When: Thursday, April 10 at 9 p.m. CDT

Where: Lee's Family Forum, Henderson, Nev.

Watch: Roku Channel | Broadcast Crew: A.J. Kanell (PxP), Madison Fitzpatrick (Color Analyst)

Listen: Supernovas Radio Network | Broadcast Crew: Grant Hansen (PxP), Renee Saunders (Color Analyst)

Match Notes

Season Series: Tied 1-1 | Third of four meetings, two of two at Lee's Family Forum

All-Time Series: Omaha leads 4-2 (March 28, 2025, last matchup, 3-0 Omaha).

Game Details

Matchup: Omaha Supernovas (15-5) at San Diego Mojo (7-14)

When: Saturday, April 12 at 8 p.m. CDT

Where: Viejas Arena, San Diego, Calif.

Watch: PVF YouTube | Broadcast Crew: Tanner Collins (PxP), Lori Thomas (Color Analyst)

Listen: Supernovas Radio Network | Broadcast Crew: Grant Hansen (PxP), Renee Saunders (Color Analyst)

Match Notes

Season Series: Omaha leads 2-1 | Fourth of four meetings, two of two at Viejas Arena.

All-Time Series: Omaha leads 5-3 (February 20, 2025, last matchup, 3-1 Omaha).

...

Supernovas-Thrill Connections

Three members of Omaha's 2024 championship-winning team face off against their former franchise. Libero Kendall White, middle blocker Sophie Davis and outside hitter Allison Mayfield take on the Supernovas after winning the inaugural PVF title last season. White was the starting libero for Omaha while both Davis and Mayfield came off the bench. Davis made the Supernovas 2025 Training Camp roster but was waived before getting picked up by Vegas.

Mayfield goes way back with Omaha head coach Laura "Bird" Kuhn, who was an assistant coach for Kansas in 2011 when Mayfield was a senior.

Omaha's Brooke Nuneviller reunites with former Oregon teammate and Thrill opposite Willow Johnson (2018-2019).

Supernovas setter Mac Podraza spent her final season of college at Penn State where she crossed paths with Thrill rookie Camryn Hannah in 2023. Omaha's Kaitlyn Hord was teammates with White in 2018 and 2019 as Penn State reached a pair of NCAA Regional Finals.

Omaha's Phoebe Awoleye and the Thrill's Mary Shroll spent their 2022 college season together as teammates at Loyola Marymount.

Vegas middle blocker Layne Van Buskirk was a senior in 2019 at Pittsburgh when Supernovas outside hitter Valeria Vazquez Gomez joined the Panthers as a freshman for their lone season together.

Supernovas-Mojo Connections

San Diego middle blocker Leyla Blackwell and assistant coach Noel Carpio both draw 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.

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 at Pittsburgh for three seasons (2019-2021) 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.

Playoff Bound?

With a league-leading 15-5 record, the Supernovas are on the brink of becoming the first team in the PVF to punch its ticket to the 2025 PVF Championship in Vegas from May 9-11. Omaha needs to either win both matches this weekend or have both Grand Rapids (9-12) and Vegas (8-12) reach 13 losses. The Supernovas can clinch as early as Thursday with a win over Vegas and a loss by Grand Rapids to Orlando.

Road Warriors

The Supernovas have the biggest home court advantage in pro volleyball, but they've also been mighty on the road. That includes the league's best road record at 8-2.

In fact, Omaha is the only team in the PVF to have a road record above .500. Atlanta and Orlando have split their road schedule this season with a 5-5 record.

The Supernovas have won a PVF record six-straight road matches dating back to Feb. 6 at Indy. Omaha also looks to match the franchise record for consecutive wins (4), which they've already equaled twice this season.

Nuneviller Makes History

Nuneviller eclipsed the 500-kill mark in her Supernovas career on 3/13 at Indy and now sits with a total of 585 kills in her two seasons with Omaha. With 18 digs on 3/15 versus the Valkyries, she became the first player in PVF history to achieve 500 kills and 500 digs. Setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson also reached a milestone against Indy, recording her 1,000th career assist with the franchise. Her Omaha career total stands at 1,114. Middle blocker Kaitlyn Hord became the third player in PVF history to reach 100 career blocks with four stuffs against Indy on 3/22. Her league career total stands at 109 blocks in 143 sets, which is a 0.76 blocks per set mark.

Milestones to Watch

K. Caffey: 1 kill away from 100 on the season.

K. Hord: 4 blocks away from breaking the PVF single season blocks record (70). Needs 10 blocks to become Omaha's all-time blocks leader.

C. Gómez: 9 digs away from reaching 300 on the season.

K. Payne: 9 kills away from 100 on the season.

B. Nuneviller: 15 kills away from 600 career kills with the Supernovas.

N. Valentín-Anderson: 35 digs from 400 in her Supernovas career.

Defensive Dominance

The Supernovas lead the league in opponent efficiency with a .204. They've held opponents to a hitting percentage below .200 in nine of the 20 matches this season, which includes a season-low .167 clip for the Orlando Valkyries, who have the top offense in the league. The Supernovas are also one of the best blocking teams in the PVF with a 2.61 blocks per set mark, which is second in the league. Omaha has recorded double-digit blocks in 10 of the 20 contests this season.

Caffey Chaos

In matches with at least 10 swings, Caffey became the first player in PVF history to hit over .400 in six-straight matches when she did so from March 5 at Columbus to March 30 versus Grand Rapids.

During that span the Chicago native compiled 61 points (2.77 P/S), 40 kills (1.82 K/S), 15 blocks, six aces and a .420 overall hitting percentage.

Caffey has been serving as a maestro, putting down eight aces in the last four matches. That's seen her catapult up the league leaderboards ranking fifth in aces with a team-high 16. Plus, she's 9th in kill percentage (.399) and just outside the top ten in blocks with 39.

Hording the Net

Hord has been the premier blocker in the PVF so far in the 2025 season. The former Husker and Nittany Lion leads the league in total blocks (67) and ranks second in blocks per set with a 0.94 mark. Hord's seven blocks in the five-set win over the Atlanta Vibe on opening night set a Supernovas single-match record. She is also one of five 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 .332 clip through 208 attacks with 83 kills and only 14 errors, which is second fewest among middle blockers.

A"Nune"ther Level

After averaging over 12 kills and digs per match last season, Nuneviller has raised her game for the 2025 season.

Nuneviller enters Thursday third in the PVF in kills per set (3.88), fourth in kills (279), and fourth in total points (300).

The Chandler, Arizona native is one of only five players in the league this season to record 20+ kills and 15+ digs in a match. That was on opening night when she poured in 22 kills and 17 digs while hitting .340.

The Oregon product has been averaging 14.0 kills and 12.6 digs per match through 20 contests this season.

Nuneviller put up her 11th double-double of the season on 4/5 versus Orlando with a match-high 17 kills on a .306 hitting percentage alongside 10 digs.

The Dig Patrol

The Supernovas have been one of the best defensive teams in the league as they currently sit third in the PVF in digs per set (16.54) and seventh in total digs (1,191). However, Omaha has played the fewest number of sets in the league with 72 which is due to its league-leading eight sweeps. Libero Camila Gómez leads that effort with a team-high 292 digs (3rd in PVF) and 4.06 per set (2nd). Her 31 digs against Atlanta in the season opener broke a single-match franchise record. That total is tied for the second-most digs recorded in a single match in PVF history. Nuneviller, who is a former libero, is second on the team behind her teammate with 251 digs (seventh in PVF) while her 3.49 per set is fourth in the league.




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Omaha Supernovas opposite hitter Kelsie Payne
Omaha Supernovas opposite hitter Kelsie Payne
   

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