Supernovas Spoil Fury Home Opener in Four-Set Win
MLV Omaha Supernovas

Supernovas Spoil Fury Home Opener in Four-Set Win

Published on January 10, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


Omaha Supernovas' Brooke Nuneviller
Omaha Supernovas' Brooke Nuneviller
(Omaha Supernovas)

COLUMBUS, Ohio - The Omaha Supernovas received a signature performance from franchise pillar and star outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller, plus a fourth-set spark from first-round pick Kiara Reinhardt, to outlast the Columbus Fury 25-22, 25-22, 24-26, 25-23 in its home opener Saturday night at Nationwide Arena.

Limited to a quiet night in Omaha's (2-0) season opener Thursday, the Oregon product showcased the talent that made her last season's Outside Hitter of the Year, notching match highs in both kills with 19 and digs with 18. Following her franchise record-breaking performance against San Diego, Sarah Parsons followed up by matching Nuneviller with 19 kills while adding 13 digs, a team-high four blocks and one ace to lead all players with 24 points. Opposite Merritt Beason equaled her kill total from the season opener with seven, plus an ace. The former Nebraska standout also showcased her defensive ability, logging 13 digs to reach double figures in each of the first two matches of the season.

Janice Leao struggled in her return to Columbus (1-1), where she played in 2025, opening the door for Reinhardt to shine when she entered the match to start the fourth set. The former Creighton All-American was successful on five of her seven swings, including an ace, to help Omaha close out the win. Elise Goetzinger slowed late but finished with eight kills and one block as the primary middle blocker option for most of the match.

Setter Sydney Hilley bested her assists-per-set mark from Thursday, racking up 51 total assists for 12.75 per set. She also tallied 10 digs, two blocks, two kills and one ace. All-League libero Morgan Hentz passed at a team-leading 67 percent positive rate, adding 17 digs and four assists.

Omaha produced a .202 team hitting percentage, adding nine blocks and four aces, but struggled with errors, committing 28 hitting errors and 14 service errors.

Columbus relied on the trio of Megan Lush with 12 kills, Raina Terry with 11 and Abby Walker with 10 for its offense. The Fury block was a factor all night, posting 17 blocks, including a match-high five from Lush. Columbus hit .161 with two aces.

The Supernovas return to Omaha to begin a three-match homestand, starting against rival Atlanta Vibe next Friday, Jan. 16, at the CHI Health Center at 7 p.m. CST.

Key Notes

For the second consecutive season, the Supernovas have started the year 2-0.

Omaha moves to 8-1 all-time against Columbus, tying Grand Rapids for the franchise's best record against an opponent. It is also the Supernovas' eighth straight win in the series.

The Supernovas set franchise records for most team assists with 63 and attacks with 188 in a four-set match.

Omaha has committed 14 service errors in only two games all-time, both at Nationwide Arena in Columbus.

Nuneviller posted 18 digs for the second straight match against the Fury. She also matched that total in Omaha's five-set win on April 25, 2025, at home.

Nuneviller surpassed 700 career digs in a Supernovas uniform Saturday night and now stands at 809.

Set One: Parsons continued her offensive onslaught by securing the first kill and point of the match. After Walker responded, Leao took care of a middle set from Hilley for a 2-1 lead. Both teams exchanged a slew of hitting and service errors before Regan Pittman-Nelson secured a block for a 6-4 Columbus edge. Goetzinger ran the slide for her first kill, but the Fury ran off three straight points from a Lush block and Walker overpass termination, forcing a Supernovas timeout at 9-5 Columbus. Goetzinger was successful on the slide again out of the timeout, but a Lush tip and hitting error extended the lead to five. A Fury attacking error sparked a 4-0 run for Omaha as Beason recorded her first kill on an overpass and Parsons earned her fourth block of the season to cut the deficit to 11-10. Columbus called a timeout, and Terry ended the Supernovas' momentum with a kill from the right side. An Omaha net violation and Walker kill put the lead at 14-10 Fury. Nuneviller produced her first points of the match with back-to-back kills, but Terry put another away for a 16-12 Columbus lead at the media timeout. Nuneviller and Goetzinger added a pair of points, but more errors kept the Fury lead steady at 19-15. Parsons sparked a 4-0 run for the Supernovas to tie the set at 19, but Lush snapped the run with a kill. A hitting error and Nuneviller kill gave Omaha a 21-20 edge, its first lead since 2-1. Following a Columbus timeout, the Fury won a long rally and Taylor Fricano secured another block to equal the score at 22. Beason elevated from the right side to give the lead back to the Supernovas. Another Fury hitting error gave Omaha set point, setting up a set-winning kill from Nuneviller for a 25-22 win.

The Supernovas once again overcame a slow start to hit .175 but recorded only one block and no aces. Nuneviller had her best set of the early season, securing five kills on 10 swings. The Fury hit negative at -.030 but stuffed five Omaha attacks with no aces.

Set Two: Each team committed an error to start the set before Terry blocked an Omaha swing for a 2-1 Columbus lead early. Parsons and Leao scored the next two points for the Supernovas, but a service error and Franco ace gave the Fury a 5-3 advantage. Hilley fed Nuneviller for back-to-back kills to tie the set. Goetzinger used the slide for two more kills before Hilley fooled Columbus with a dump for an 8-7 lead. Lush found seams in the Omaha defense, putting down a pair of swings to switch the lead back to the Fury. Parsons kept the back-and-forth action going with a kill and block for another lead change. Leao and Beason kept the Supernovas offense on pace with a pair of points. Nuneviller upheld her efficiency with two more kills while Parsons followed with a pair of terminations, highlighted by throwing a tight set off a Fury blocker to send the set to the media timeout at 16-14 Novas. Lush shoved a ball to the corner out of the stoppage, and a Nuneviller attack sailed wide to tie the set again. Nuneviller made up for her mistake, dropping in a tip from the back row before Parsons stuffed a Columbus attack for an 18-16 Omaha lead, forcing a Fury timeout. Lush responded with another kill out of the quick timeout, but Parsons answered. Fricano pounded down a pair of kills from the right side to keep the Fury within one. Terry put an attack wide on a long rally, and Beason followed with her second ace of the year. Pittman-Nelson terminated from the middle, but a Fury service error resulted in a timeout at 23-20. Goetzinger put Omaha at set point with another slide point, but a service error kept things alive. Columbus could not get it across the net for another error, giving the Supernovas a 2-0 match lead with a 25-22 set win.

Similar to Thursday, Omaha woke up offensively with a .349 clip, putting up 18 kills with only three errors. Parsons heated up with a team-high six kills while Nuneviller added five. Omaha had three blocks and Beason's lone ace. Columbus posted an improved .282 hitting percentage with two blocks and one ace. Lush was the offensive leader with six kills on a .385 clip for the Fury.

Set Three: An Omaha attack flew wide to open the third out of the intermission, but Parsons answered with a cross-court shot. The Supernovas went into a slump as a pair of errors, a Fricano kill and Terry block forced an Omaha timeout with Columbus jumping out to a 5-1 lead. Hilley identified a hole and put it down for a kill, but a Pittman-Nelson block kept the lead at three. Beason responded for Omaha, but an Ashley Evans setter dump and another Pittman-Nelson stuff had the Fury doubling up the Supernovas at 10-5. Emily Londot and rookie Brooke Mosher entered the match for their first action of 2026 as Nuneviller and Parsons posted back-to-back points after the change. A pair of Columbus blocks extended the lead once again, but a 4-1 run got Omaha back in it at 13-11 Fury. Nuneviller and Terry exchanged kills, but two more attacking errors and a Columbus block pushed the Fury lead to 19-14 for a Supernovas timeout. Nuneviller sparked Omaha out of the break with a point. A Fricano back-row attack was hammered wide, and Goetzinger stuffed Pittman-Nelson to force a timeout from the Fury side with the lead cut to 19-17. Lush put the team on her back with a kill and block to push the advantage to four. Goetzinger earned a kill on the slide before Parsons followed with a kill. Lush tooled the block, but a 3-0 run, stamped by a Hilley ace, tied the set at 22. Nuneviller served it into the net, and a Terry tool gave Columbus set point. Leao's attack was initially ruled wide, but a review saw a touch to keep the set alive. Parsons dropped in an ace to tie the set at 24, but a Walker tip and Fricano block gave the Fury a 26-24 extra-point win.

Omaha struggled against the Fury block, hitting only .080 with two aces and two stuffs. Parsons recorded six kills again while Nuneviller notched five. Columbus did not hit much better (.167), but its eight blocks made the difference. The Fury had just nine kills in the set, led by three from Lush.

Set Four: Reinhardt made her MLV debut by starting in the fourth set, opening the frame with her first career pro kill. Nuneviller followed with a kill for a 2-0 lead. Columbus fired back with kills from Walker and Terry before a Fricano block gave the Fury a 3-2 edge. Nuneviller evened the set again with a kill. Both teams exchanged blows before consecutive kills from Goetzinger and Reinhardt gave Omaha a slight 8-7 edge. Columbus quickly answered with back-to-back points before Reinhardt tied the score at nine with a kill. Beason and Reinhardt points sandwiched a Columbus error for a 3-0 run. Terry ended the rally, but two more Supernovas points, including a Reinhardt ace, gave Omaha its largest lead of the set at 14-11. Beason squeezed an attack through the block, but Pittman-Nelson ignited a Columbus run with a block and kill to tie things at 15. Hilley gave Omaha a slight 16-15 lead at the media timeout with a block, then followed with another stuff to make it a two-point advantage. An Evans joust win and Lush kill tied things again. Parsons regrouped to provide the Supernovas a 3-0 run with a pair of kills, forcing a Columbus timeout at 20-17. Walker and Parsons traded kills, but another Terry termination and Nuneviller error forced an Omaha timeout clinging to a 22-21 lead. Terry came up big again, putting away an overpass to tie the set. Reinhardt put the Supernovas ahead with a kill but followed with a service error. A Columbus net violation was confirmed after a review to give Omaha match point, which Norah TeBrake put away with a match-ending block to seal a four-set win for the Supernovas.

Omaha recorded a .218 hitting percentage in the set alongside three blocks and one ace as Reinhardt put away five kills on seven swings to lead all players. For the Fury, they hit .189 with two blocks and one ace. Terry and Walker shared the team high with five kills apiece, but Walker did so at a higher clip with a .455 stat line.

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Omaha Supernovas' Brooke Nuneviller
Omaha Supernovas' Brooke Nuneviller
   



Major League Volleyball Stories from January 10, 2026


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