Supernovas Carry Winning Form into Friday Clash vs. Grand Rapids
MLV Omaha Supernovas

Supernovas Carry Winning Form into Friday Clash vs. Grand Rapids

Published on March 19, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


Omaha Supernovas middle blocker Janice Leao
Omaha Supernovas middle blocker Janice Leao
(Omaha Supernovas)

OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Supernovas, the world's leading professional volleyball franchise, close out their March home slate Friday at 7 p.m. CDT with Cheer & Dance Night as they welcome the Grand Rapids Rise to Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center.

The match will air nationwide on CBS Sports Network and can be heard globally on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by flagship station KCRO 660 AM.

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Match Details vs. Grand Rapids

Matchup: Grand Rapids (6-11) at Omaha Supernovas (9-9)

When: Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. CDT

Where: Kiewit Court at CHI Health Center, Omaha, Neb.

Watch: CBS Sports Network

Listen: Supernovas Radio Network / Supernovas App

Match Notes

Season Series: Tied 1-1, Third of four meetings, one of two at CHI Health Center

All-Time Series: Omaha leads 9-2 (March 7, 2026, last matchup, 3-1 Grand Rapids); Omaha leads 5-0 at CHI Health Center

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The Supernovas have found their groove after snapping a six-match losing streak with a road sweep at Columbus on March 10. Omaha enters the weekend third in the league standings, holding the points tiebreaker over Orlando despite matching 9-9 records.

Veteran outside hitter Sarah Parsons has played a key role in the Novas' recent two-match surge. She set a three-set franchise record with 18 kills on a .441 hitting percentage against the Fury, adding 12 digs and one block for her fifth double-double of the season.

She followed that performance with an even stronger showing in front of a U.S. professional volleyball record crowd of 16,838 at CHI Health Center on March 14, helping lead the Supernovas to a four-set victory over the league-leading Indy Ignite. Parsons recorded a match-high 21 points with 19 kills and two blocks.

Middle blocker Janice Leão was equally impressive, setting a franchise single-match record with eight blocks while adding five kills on a .357 hitting percentage. She anchored a resurgent Omaha block that totaled 18 rejections, which was one shy of the franchise record. Leão's 14 points also matched a career high, previously set last season with Columbus in a five-set loss to the Supernovas in Omaha.

Grand Rapids enters Friday in a tight race to keep its postseason hopes alive, sitting seventh in the eight-team standings at 6-11 following a four-set loss to the Dallas Pulse on Wednesday at Van Andel Arena. Former Supernovas outside hitter and 2026 MLV All-Star Paige Briggs-Romine led the Rise with 19 points on 16 kills, two aces and one block, along with 13 digs for a double-double. Middle blocker Alyssa Jensen also turned in a strong performance, matching Leão with eight blocks. She added six kills and one ace to finish second on the team with 15 points.

Briggs-Romine continues her breakout third professional season, ranking sixth in the league with 235 total points and fifth with 4.05 points per set. Teammate Carli Snyder also ranks among the league's top scorers with 210 points and sits seventh with 12 aces.

Despite recent struggles, Grand Rapids remains one of the league's top blocking teams, ranking second at 2.68 blocks per set. That success has come even without Rhamat Alhassan, who led the team with 30 blocks before last appearing on Feb. 22. Jensen has since taken over the team lead with 31 blocks, ranking seventh in the league.

Friday will also mark libero Morgan Hentz's return to Omaha following her Feb. 13 trade to Grand Rapids in exchange for Elena Oglivie and a 2026 first-round pick. Hentz, one of two MLV All-Stars for the Rise, leads the league with 286 digs and averages 3.81 per set. She totaled 23 digs and six assists in Wednesday's match. Head coach Cathy George has continued to rely on second-year setter Camryn Turner, who has averaged 10.96 assists and 3.39 digs per set since entering the starting lineup on Feb. 26.

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NUNEVILLER, LONDOT NAMED ALL-STARS

The Supernovas will be represented by outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller and opposite Emily Londot at the 2026 AdventHealth MLV All-Star Match on Saturday, March 28, in Orlando at Addition Financial Arena. First set is set for 11 a.m. CDT on CBS and Paramount+.

Nuneviller earned her second consecutive MLV All-Star selection and is one of eight repeat honorees. She is also one of three players to return to the All-Star Match after winning a major league award last season, being named the MLV Outside Hitter of the Year.

Londot becomes the first homegrown All-Star in Supernovas history after being drafted by the Novas with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 MLV Draft.

She is one of four players on this year's roster to earn All-Star honors with the team that drafted her, joining Indy's Elena Scott, Columbus attacker Raina Terry and Dallas No. 1 overall pick Mimi Colyer.

The Supernovas now have five MLV All-Star honors in franchise history as the 2026 pair join Nuneviller, Camila Gómez and Kaitlyn Hord, who were 2025 selections.

THE PARSONS POWER SURGE

Veteran outside hitter Sarah Parsons has started in nine of her 16 match appearances this season and has played like one of the top attackers in MLV when penciled into the starting lineup. The former AVCA Player of the Year averages 4.49 points, 3.86 kills and 2.69 digs per set in her nine starts. If you only counted those, she would rank inside the top five in points and kills per set.

Her firepower has been on display over her last three matches, putting down a match-high 15 kills and team-leading 19 digs versus Grand Rapids on March 7.

She followed up by tallying her fifth double-double of the season with an 18-kill, 12-dig outing that also included a block and season-high .441 hitting percentage. Her 18 kills set a Supernovas three-set record for most terminations in a match, surpassing Parsons' previous record of 17 kills against San Diego in the season opener on Jan. 8.

After helping the Novas snap their six-matching losing streak in Columbus, Parsons registered a match-high 21 points to help the Supernovas outlast the league-leading Indy Ignite in a five-set battle on March 14. She logged 19 kills and two blocks with four digs across the five sets.

*Stats are from Parsons' 35 sets in her nine starts this season

Category Total Per Set League Rank

Points 157 4.49 4th

Kills 135 3.86 4th

Hitting % 389 Attacks 0.252 -

Service Aces 5 0.14 -

Blocks 17 0.49 -

Digs 94 2.69 -

LEAO IGNITES NOVAS BLOCK

Third-year pro middle blocker Janice Leao has spearheaded the resurgence of the Supernovas' block since re-entering the starting lineup on March 10 at Columbus.

Leao has helped Omaha to two straight wins, including snapping a franchise-long six-match losing streak with a sweep of Columbus. She recorded six kills on eight swings (.620) with one block in that match.

That performance set the stage for the best outing of her MLV career, as she set a franchise record with eight blocks while adding five kills on a .357 hitting percentage, tying a career high with 14 points.

The Miami (Fla.) product put up one of 13 matches in MLV history with eight or more blocks, and just the third such performance this season. Leao now accounts for two of those 13 outings.

She previously recorded eight blocks and tied a career-high 14 points as a member of the Fury against the Novas on April 25 last season.

Leao has also proven to be a late-season standout in her MLV career. Seven of her top nine point-producing matches have come in March or later, including five in April alone.

Blocks Player Opponent Date

11 Lydia Martyn (IND) Columbus Jan. 17, 2026

10 Ali Bastianelli (SD) Grand Rapids May 4, 2024

9 Ali Bastianelli (GR) Indy April 19, 2025

9 Ali Bastianelli (GR) Indy April 12, 2025

8 Alyssa Jensen (GR) Dallas March 18, 2026

8 Janice Leao Indy March 14, 2026

8 Azhani Tealer (IND) San Diego April 27, 2025

8 Janice Leao (COL) Omaha April 25, 2025

8 Ronika Stone (SD) Omaha April 12, 2025

8 Azhani Tealer (IND) San Diego Jan. 24, 2025

8 Layne Van Buskirk (VG) Omaha Jan. 17, 2025

8 Azhani Tealer (ORL) Vegas May 1, 2024

8 Molly McCage (VG) Omaha Feb. 7, 2025

DRAFT. DEVELOP. DELIVER.

As one of the youngest teams in the MLV, the Supernovas have relied heavily on production from their homegrown talent-especially when it comes to scoring points.

When examining which teams have drafted and developed players currently on their 2026 roster, Omaha is tied for third with four: OPP Emily Londot, MB Toyosi Onabanjo, MB Kiara Reinhardt and setter Brooke Mosher.

Omaha and Columbus stand out as the two teams most reliant on homegrown talent, ranking first and second in the percentage of points, kills and blocks produced by their drafted players. That's not surprising considering Reinhardt and Onabanjo are the Supernovas' two most recent first-round picks, while Londot has emerged statistically as one of the league's top-three opposites this season.

No. 7 overall pick Averi Carlson runs the offense for Atlanta, which helps explain why the Vibe lead the league by a wide margin in the percentage of assists coming from homegrown players.

Team Homegrown Players % Points % Kills % Blocks % Aces % Digs % Assists

Indy 6 22% 22% 18% 31% 38% 6%

Atlanta 5 19% 17% 22% 33% 24% 61%

Omaha 4 34% 33% 40% 38% 17% 5%

Columbus 4 47% 49% 38% 35% 19% 1%

Grand Rapids 4 11% 10% 12% 24% 10% 17%

Orlando 4 18% 14% 24% 46% 5% 1%

San Diego 4 25% 28% 14% 14% 20% 1%

Dallas 2 30% 33% 15% 23% 14% 1%

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Images from this story

Omaha Supernovas middle blocker Janice Leao
Omaha Supernovas middle blocker Janice Leao
   



Major League Volleyball Stories from March 19, 2026


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