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PVF Omaha Supernovas

Supernovas Triumph Over Vibe in Five-Set Epic, Shattering U.S. Pro Volleyball Attendance Record

January 10, 2025 - Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF)
Omaha Supernovas News Release


OMAHA, Neb. - The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska's professional volleyball team and first pro volleyball champions, began its 2025 title defense with a victory over the Atlanta Vibe in a five-set thriller (22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13) Friday at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha.

The Supernovas reset its own U.S. Pro Volleyball record Friday night, witnessing 13,486 fans pack into CHI, surpassing their previous attendance record of 12,090 set last season. In less than two years of existence, the Supernovas franchise owns the top eight U.S. Pro Volleyball attendance records with six of those having at least 11,000.

The Supernovas' victory was fueled by 2024 PVF All-League First Team pick Brooke Nuneviller who led the charge as Player of the Game. The third-year pro delivered an impressive 22 kills and 17 digs showcasing her dominance on both offense and defense. Middle blocker and former Husker Kaitlyn Hord also made Supernovas history, breaking the franchise's single match blocking record with seven stuffs. Hord added 10 kills and recorded a .555 hitting percentage on the night.

Libero Camila Gómez, who signed with the Supernovas over the offseason from Grand Rapids, added another franchise record in her Omaha debut, tallying a single-match record 31 digs. Puerto Rico Olympian Natalia Valentín-Anderson dished out 48 assists and 17 digs with three kills to start out her second season in a Supernovas uniform. Reagan Cooper (8), Kelsie Payne (6) and Ally Batenhorst (6) all added offensively in a night where Omaha hit .187 as a team, but limited the Vibe to .155 hitting percentage.

Former Nebraska first team All-American Merritt Beason led Atlanta with 17 kills and a .347 hitting percentage in her professional debut. Middle blocker and Stanford product McKenna Vicini posted 11 kills on a .435 hitting percentage. Pia Timmer reached 11 kills while reigning PVF MVP Leah Edmond equaled that total with 11 of her own.

Set 1: The match began with Beason making an immediate impact for the Vibe, securing three of the team's first five points with two kills and a block to give Atlanta a 5-3 advantage. The opening set was filled with errors from both teams, but the set remained competitive with the Vibe keeping an arm's reach out front. Shelly Fanning mustered a kill, and a Payne error gave Atlanta a four-point edge at 18-14. A reversal on a block touch swung the momentum and killed a Supernovas comeback as Fanning closed the door for a 25-22 set win. Cooper led Omaha with four kills while Beason had four on her own.

Set 2: The Supernovas came out strong in the second set, jumping to an early 5-2 lead. Beason followed up with a key kill, tying the score at 8-8. Valentín-Anderson quickly responded with a setter dump and an ace to regain the lead for the Supernovas. The Vibe kept the pressure but Nuneviller's back-to-back kills shifted control to a 16-13 Omaha lead. Hord's sixth kill of the night followed by a Timmer hitting error extended the lead to 21-16. Back-to-back blocks from Aiko Jones and rookie Khori Lewis cut the Supernovas lead to 21-19, but a block from Hord and back-to-back stuffs from Payne led Omaha to close out the set with a 25-19 victory.

Set 3: The set started off tight with a 6-6 tie as points were traded back and forth. Tied at 10, Atlanta mounted a rally with a pair of blocks from Vicini and two kills by Edmond to give the Vibe a 15-11 advantage. Trailing 18-13, A string of four-straight points and three consecutive blocks helped the Supernovas close the gap at 18-17. Another Nuneviller kill tied the set at 20, but a 5-1 Atlanta run - highlighted by two Vicini blocks - gave the Vibe a 2-1 set advantage with a 25-22 game win.

Set 4: The Supernovas made a key adjustment in the fourth set, bringing in Batenhorst for Cooper, to fuel a 7-1 lead to start the set. Batenhorst secured her second kill of the match to help the Supernovas extend its advantage to 11-6. The momentum continued as Omaha extended the score to 15-9 off a Payne kill and block, forcing the Vibe to call a timeout. For the remainder of the set Batenhorst and Nuneviller took charge offensively, leading the Supernovas with four kills each. The Supernovas closed out the set 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set.

Set 5: The Vibe took control early in the fifth set, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Nuneviller quickly responded with two kills to tie the score. Batenhorst helped jumpstart a run with a kill that pushed the Supernovas ahead 8-5. Beason kept the Vibe in the game with back-to-back tallies, which narrowed the gap to 11-9, but Nuneviller answered with two more kills to extend Omaha's lead to 13-11. The match ended with another decisive kill from Nuneviller, who recorded six kills on seven swings in the set to seal a 1-0 start to the season for the Supernovas.

The Supernovas hit the road for the first time in 2025 on Sunday, January 12, to take on the Grand Rapids Rise. The match is set for a 5:00 PM CST first serve at Van Andel Arena.

Sunday's match will be the first-ever Pro Volleyball Federation showdown on FS1 with Paul Sunderland and Holly McPeak on the call.

Every match this season can be heard on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by its flagship station KCRO 660 AM as part of Walnut Media. The SRN can be heard in five states with the support of its affiliates in KXCB Bluffs Country 106.5 FM, Boomer Radio 106.7 FM, ESPN Tri Cities, KNCY in Nebraska City, KGMT in Fairbury and KSID-AM in Sidney.

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