Supernovas Top League-Leading Ignite Before Record U.S. Crowd
MLV Omaha Supernovas

Supernovas Top League-Leading Ignite Before Record U.S. Crowd

Published on March 14, 2026 under Major League Volleyball (MLV)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


Omaha Supernovas' Sydney Hilley and Sarah Parsons on game night
Omaha Supernovas' Sydney Hilley and Sarah Parsons on game night
(Omaha Supernovas, Credit: Omaha Supernovas)

OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Supernovas delivered in historic fashion Saturday night, toppling the league-leading Indy Ignite (14-3) in a thrilling five-set classic, 25-20, 25-23, 26-28, 22-25, 16-14, before a sold-out crowd of 16,838 at Kiewit Court inside the CHI Health Center for the most-attended U.S. professional volleyball match in history.

Shattering the franchise's previous record of 13,486 set on Jan. 10, 2025, the Supernovas (9-9) now own the top 19 U.S. professional volleyball attendance records, with Saturday also marking the team's 20th crowd of 10,000 or more. The franchise's all-time fan count has now eclipsed 382,000 across 36 matches in fewer than three full seasons.

The Novas' second straight win snapped Indy's franchise-long eight-match winning streak, with two of the Ignite's three losses coming against the Supernovas.

Outside hitter Sarah Parsons extended her stretch of standout play, compiling a match-leading 21 points on 19 kills and two blocks. Opposite Emily Londot recorded her fourth double-double of the season with 14 kills, 12 digs and three blocks. Fellow outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller followed suit, totaling 12 kills and 13 digs to secure her ninth double-double of the season and first since Feb. 8 at Orlando.

Janice Leao led the resurgent Omaha block, logging a franchise-record eight of the team's 18 blocks. She also added five kills on a .357 hitting percentage and one ace to tie her career high with 14 points. Fellow middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt had it dialed in from the service line, firing four of the team's five aces to set a new career high for the rookiefrom Creighton. She also chipped in four kills and three blocks.

Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 43 assists while adding 13 digs and two blocks, including the match-ending stuff. Libero Elena Oglivie collected 14 digs and three assists while carrying the load in serve receive with a team-high 40 of the Supernovas' 95 receptions.

The Supernovas ground out a .182 hitting percentage while finishing with 54 kills, 52 assists, 59 digs, 18 blocks and five aces.

Indy relied on a balanced attack with five players reaching double-digit points, including a team-high 14 apiece from middle blockers Lydia Martyn (12 kills, two blocks) and Blake Mohler (eight kills, five blocks). The Ignite finished with a .195 hitting percentage to go along with nine blocks, two aces, 71 assists, 76 kills and 85 digs.

The Supernovas begin a six-day break before returning to Kiewit Court inside the CHI Health Center for Cheer & Dance Night against the visiting Grand Rapids Rise on Friday, March 20, at 7 p.m. CDT. The match will be broadcast nationally on CBS Sports Network and can be heard worldwide on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by flagship station KCRO 660 AM.

Key Notes

Saturday also marked the fifth time the Supernovas have broken the U.S. Professional Volleyball record - four of which have been their own records. Janice Leao now holds the franchise record for most blocks in a single as both a member of the Novas and an opponent. The Miami (Fl.) graduate totaled eight blocks and a career high 14 points in a five-set loss as part of the Columbus Fury on April 25, 2025, in Omaha. Parsons' 21 attacks in the third set marked a new franchise record for most in a single set, eclipsing the 20 by Nunevillerin 2024. Kiara Reinhardt's four aces are the second-most Supernovas player and boosts her 2026 season total to 19, which is second place in the league and four ahead of third. The Novas move to 9-10 all-time in fifth sets, and 5-3 against Indy. The Supernovas' 56 attacks in the extra point third set also tied the franchise record. Indy's Mia Tuaniga posted an opponent record of 64 assists, eclipsing Sydney Hilley's 61 last season when she played for the Ignite. Indy's 76 team kill sand 71 assists are new opponent records, but so is the Ignite's 39 hitting errors, which is eight more than the previous high mark.

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Set 1: The Ignite opened the match with the first point on an Azhani Tealer kill for a 1-0 lead. Reinhardt and Parsons answered with kills from the right and left sides to give the Supernovas a 2-1 edge. The Novas then took control at the net during a four-point run that included three blocks from Parsons, Londot and Leao, along with a service ace from Reinhardt to make it 6-2. Indy responded with kills from Blake Mohler and Leketor Member-Meneh to cut the lead to 6-4, but the Supernovas answered with a five-point run fueled by Ignite errors and two Parsons kills to extend the margin to 11-4. The Ignite rallied behind Supernovas hitting errors and trimmed the deficit to 12-11. Leao stopped the run with a block to make it 13-11. Member-Meneh added a kill between back-to-back Nuneviller kills as the Novas maintained their lead at 16-12. Following a timeout, Nuneviller recorded another kill before Mohler and Anna DeBeer responded for Indy to cut the margin to 17-14. Tealer and DeBeer added kills as the teams traded points to 19-16. Parsons delivered consecutive kills, her sixth of the set, to extend the lead to 21-17. Member-Meneh scored from the back row and Tealer added another kill to make it 22-19, but the Supernovas closed the set after capitalizing on Ignite errors and a Reinhardt block to secure a 25-20 win.

The Novas hit .281 in the set with six blocks and one ace. Parsons led the Supernovas with six kills and one block for seven points. Indy hit .073 with one block and two aces. Member-Meneh led the Ignite with four points on three kills and one ace.

Set 2: Indy opened the second set with two quick points after a Member-Meneh overpass for a 2-0 lead. The teams traded errors early before a Tealer kill pushed the Ignite ahead 6-2. The Supernovas responded by taking advantage of three consecutive Indy hitting errors to pull within one at 7-6. Londot energized the Novas with a back-row kill, followed by a Nuneviller overpass and a Parsons kill to give the Supernovas a 9-7 lead. Indy tied the set with kills from Kayla Lund and Member-Meneh at 9-9. Nuneviller reclaimed the lead and Parsons followed with a block to make it 11-9. Member-Meneh recorded another kill for Indy, but Leao answered with a cross-court kill to push the Novas ahead 13-10. Parsons added another block heading into the timeout with the Supernovas leading 14-10. The Ignite responded with two kills before a service error ended the run and kept the Novas ahead 15-12. The teams traded errors and points as the Supernovas held a 16-14 advantage. Nuneviller scored from the right side and Reinhardt added a service ace before a service error cut the lead to 18-15. Lund then delivered back-to-back kills to bring Indy within one at 18-17. Out of the timeout, Indy committed a service error before the Supernovas answered with a hitting error to make it 19-18. Leao and Parsons followed with consecutive kills to give the Novas a 21-19 lead. Indy added kills late, but service errors slowed its momentum. An Ignite overpass gave the Supernovas set point and Londot sealed the set with a cross-court kill for a 25-23 win.

The Novas hit .139 with three blocks and one ace. Nuneviller and Parsons each recorded three kills, while Leao added two kills and one block. Indy hit .242 with three blocks and no aces. Martyn led the Ignite with four points on three kills and one block.

Set 3: Indy opened the third set but committed a double hit to tie the score at 1-1. Reinhardt followed with a block to give the Supernovas a 2-1 lead as the teams traded early errors. Camryn Hannah recorded two kills to keep Indy ahead 5-4. Additional errors from both teams kept the score close before kills from Mohler and Lund pushed the Ignite ahead 8-6 at the timeout. Nuneviller responded with a kill to cut the deficit to 8-7, but Lund and Martyn followed with consecutive kills to extend the lead to 10-7. The Novas scored on a Nuneviller kill and an Indy service error, but Hannah delivered two more kills as the Ignite moved ahead 13-9. After a Supernovas timeout, Londot recorded a right-side kill to trim the lead to 13-10. The teams traded errors before a DeBeer kill gave Indy a 15-12 advantage. Momentum continued to swing as kills from Nuneviller and Leao helped the Novas close the gap to 17-15. Reinhardt added a kill to make it 19-16 before an Ignite service error cut the deficit to two. Reinhardt and Londot added kills to tie the set at 19-19. Lund answered out of the timeout to give Indy a 20-19 lead as the teams began trading kills. Parsons and Leao each scored before a service error kept Indy ahead 22-21. Parsons tied the set again before DeBeer delivered two straight kills for a 24-22 lead. An Ignite hitting error and a Leao block tied the set at 24-24. DeBeer recorded another kill before a hitting error tied it again at 25-25. Tuaniga scored on a setter dump before a Reinhardt and Hilley block tied the set once more. Tuaniga delivered another dump to give Indy set point, and the Ignite closed the set 28-26.

The Supernovas hit .179 with five blocks and one ace. Parsons led the Novas with five kills. Indy hit .220 with no blocks or aces. DeBeer led the Ignite with six kills.

Set 4: Londot opened the fourth set with a kill as the teams traded early points to 3-3. A DeBeer kill answered an Indy error to keep the set tied at 4-4. Reinhardt followed with a kill and Leao added a block to give the Supernovas a 6-4 lead. Lund and Mohler recorded kills for Indy, but service errors kept the Novas ahead 8-7. A Lund attack sailed long before Londot delivered another right-side kill to make it 10-6. Indy errors and net violations followed while Leao added a kill and Londot recorded a block to extend the Supernovas lead to 13-9. The Ignite answered with a three-point run before a service error made it 14-12. Londot scored again before Reinhardt added another ace to give the Novas a 16-14 lead. A Supernovas service error and a DeBeer tip tied the set at 16-16. Leao and Londot followed with kills as the teams battled to a 19-19 tie. A Novas service error allowed Indy to take a 20-19 lead before Parsons tied the set with a kill. Martyn then recorded a kill and a Supernovas error gave Indy a 22-20 lead. After a timeout, Londot scored again but Tealer answered to maintain a two-point Indy lead. Londot recorded another kill before a service error gave the Ignite set point. Indy closed the set 25-22.

The Novas hit .107 with two blocks and one ace. Londot led the Supernovas with seven kills and one block. Indy hit .269 with four blocks and no aces. DeBeer and Mohler each scored five points.

Set 5: Lund opened the fifth set with a kill before Londot answered from the right side to tie it at 1-1. DeBeer followed with a kill before Reinhardt responded to keep the set tied 2-2. Reinhardt then delivered her fourth ace of the night to give the Supernovas a 3-2 lead. The teams traded errors as the Novas moved ahead 5-3. The Supernovas extended their lead behind a Parsons block and a Leao joust win to make it 7-3. Indy responded with a three-point run before Parsons ended it with a kill for an 8-6 lead. The teams traded points as the Novas held a 10-8 advantage. Londot recorded consecutive points to push the lead to 12-9. Martyn added a block before kills from Tuaniga and Member-Meneh tied the set at 12-12. A service error gave the Supernovas the lead again before Tealer tied it at 13-13. Parsons delivered a kill to give the Novas match point, but Tealer answered to tie the set once more at 14-14. After a long rally, Nuneviller recorded a kill and Hilley sealed the match with a block for a 16-14 victory.

The Supernovas hit .207 in the set with four blocks and one ace. Parsons led the Novas with four points on three kills and one block. Indy hit .167 with one block and no aces. Tealer led the Ignite with four kills.

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Images from this story

Omaha Supernovas' Sydney Hilley and Sarah Parsons on game night
Omaha Supernovas' Sydney Hilley and Sarah Parsons on game night
(Omaha Supernovas)		   



Major League Volleyball Stories from March 14, 2026


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