Omaha Supernovas Name U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Luka Slabe as Head Coach
MLV Omaha Supernovas

Omaha Supernovas Name U.S. Olympic Gold Medalist Luka Slabe as Head Coach

August 6, 2025 - Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


New Omaha Supernovas Head Coach Luka Slabe
New Omaha Supernovas Head Coach Luka Slabe
(Omaha Supernovas)

OMAHA, Neb. - Omaha Supernovas, the world's leading professional volleyball franchise, are thrilled to announce U.S. Olympic Volleyball Gold Medalist Luka Slabe (Slaw-BAY) as the franchise's new head coach. With a distinguished coaching career that includes an Olympic gold medal and three Volleyball Nations League titles, Slabe will lead the franchise into the next era as the Supernovas ramp up to compete in Major League Volleyball, which is set to begin play in January 2026.

Joining Slabe is Thomas Robson, who returns for his third season with the Supernovas. The Wisconsin native has had an instrumental role in Omaha's on-court success over the past two years, highlighted by the Supernovas winning the first Pro Volleyball Championship in 2024 and helping guide a retooled roster in 2025 to the league's regular-season title.

"I'm thrilled to join the world's leading professional volleyball franchise in the Omaha Supernovas," said Slabe. "I can't wait to contribute to the organization's immense success and take on new challenges both on and off court as we work to grow the sport. I'm especially looking forward to connecting with NovasNation and the incredible community that makes volleyball so special in Nebraska, while building on the tremendous team culture and continuing to position us to compete for the MLV Championship."

"It's tremendously exciting to welcome Luka as the new head coach of the Omaha Supernovas," said Mendenhall. "He brings a unique blend of deep volleyball knowledge and elite player development expertise, making him the perfect fit for the next era of our franchise. It's rare to find someone with his skill set and leadership presence, and I know NovasNation will embrace him right away. We're also thrilled to have Thomas Robson returning for this third season as assistant coach. His experience and contribution to our championship culture will be invaluable as we build toward winning another MLV Championship."

Slabe has been a coaching mainstay for USA Volleyball, currently serving as an assistant coach for the U.S. Men's National Team since 2024. Slabe will continue in that role during the Supernovas offseason as he helps lead the U.S. Men into the 2028 L.A. Olympics.

Before a brief three-year stint as head coach for the North Carolina State women's volleyball program, Slabe was the defensive coordinator and blocking coach for the U.S. Women's National Team.

"Having worked alongside Luka during two different Olympic cycles, I know what an exceptional coach Omaha has signed - which also leaves me thrilled that our work toward LA28 will continue," said Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and current head coach of the U.S. men's national team.

The Slovenian helped usher in the golden era of women's volleyball for Team USA as the Americans won the country's first-ever gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, plus three-straight FIVB Volleyball Nations League titles in 2018, 2019, and 2021. He also carries experience as the head coach for the Slovenia men's team, where he lifted the team's world ranking over two years.

Slabe is no stranger to the professional level with seven years of head coaching experience with pro teams across Europe from 2008 to 2015. In that time, Slabe's teams won six national and international championships alongside six runner-up finishes.

Heralding from Ljubljana, Slovenia, Slabe first came to the United States to play for the Brigham Young Men's Volleyball program as an outside hitter. He aided the Cougars to the 2001 NCAA Division I-II Men's National Championships and was part of the 2003 runner-up team two years later. Slabe later rejoined the program as an assistant coach from 2015 to 2017, totaling a 75-16 record with two NCAA runner-up finishes and a national semifinal appearance.




Images from this story

New Omaha Supernovas Head Coach Luka Slabe
New Omaha Supernovas Head Coach Luka Slabe
   



Major League Volleyball Stories from August 6, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central