OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s professional volleyball team in the newly-established Professional Volleyball Federation, has signed a quartet of former college standouts, including Kansas Jayhawk record holders Anna Church and Allison Mayfield, as well as national champion libero Gabby Curry and former UNK setter Maddie Squiers.
Church brings a rich background of international experience having played professionally for seven years in countries such as Germany, Switzerland, and France before returning to the U.S. Most recently, Church played for USC Münster in Germany and served on the team’s Player Council. Münster finished 7th in the Bundesliga, the highest level of professional play, and competed in the 2022 Western European Volleyball Zonal Association (WEVZA) Cup in Italy.
Church is all too familiar with Omaha. Coming to Kansas in 2015 as a transfer after three seasons at Saint Louis University, she helped lead the Jayhawks to their first Final Four in school history. The 2015 Final Four was held in Omaha, but the Jayhawks’ memorable season ended with a four-set defeat to Nebraska – who would eventually win the national championship. Church was instrumental as a defensive specialist, posting 2.06 digs and 0.19 aces per set in 95 sets that season. In August, Church was inducted into the University of Kansas Athletics Hall of Fame for her contributions during that historic season.
“My top moment from college volleyball was playing in the NCAA Final Four for KU in Omaha, 2015,” Church said. “After playing professionally overseas for so long, it is a dream come true to have an opportunity to play professionally back home in the United States. It feels like a full circle moment to return to and compete for such a great volleyball state. I can’t wait to get started playing in Omaha!”
Mayfield played for Kansas from 2008-2011 and finished her career as one of the most decorated Jayhawks in program history. Mayfield reset the school record books for a single season during her senior year, securing the most kills (462) and points (507) while having the highest kills and points per set (4.57) averages across one season. Mayfield earned an All-Big 12 honorable mention award that year while her 1,367 attacks remain the single-season record. Mayfield finished her KU career fourth all-time in career kills with 1,282.
“Allison is a veteran player with a strong history of success at the collegiate level and as a professional player overseas,” Supernovas Head Coach Shelton Collier said. “It will be exciting to have her experience and skills in our gym”
Mayfield parlayed her college success into a diverse overseas resume which includes stops in France, Switzerland, Finland, Peru, Greece, and Hungary. After finishing her second stop with Universidad San Martin in Peru, Mayfield returned to the U.S. to begin her coaching career. Mayfield spent the 2020-2021 college volleyball season serving as a volunteer assistant coach for Texas A&M, which was under the tutelage of Laura “Bird” Kuhn, former head coach of A&M and current assistant coach for the Supernovas. Mayfield just finished her second season as an assistant coach at South Dakota State.
“I’m elated to be signing with the Omaha Supernovas for this inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation,” Mayfield said. “Growing up in the Midwest, and playing for Kansas, I know there is no better fan base for volleyball in the country than in Nebraska. I’m so excited for this opportunity to finally be able to play closer to home again. The U.S. has been missing out on women’s professional volleyball for a long time now. I’m so excited to see how this league will assist in growing the sport even more in our country.”
Curry was a three-time SEC Libero of the Year during her four-year college career at Kentucky that spanned from 2017-2021. The Buford, Georgia native anchored the Wildcats’ defense in route to four SEC championships under Head Coach Craig Skinner who was a former assistant under Nebraska Head Coach John Cook. Curry capped off her career with a national championship in the spring of 2021 after Kentucky beat Texas 3-1 to become the first SEC school to win a volleyball national title.
“I couldn’t be more excited for this opportunity to compete at the highest level, further the game of volleyball that gave so much to me and grow in and through this living testimony while using this platform to further The Kingdom,” Curry said.
Squiers just wrapped up her second season as a graduate assistant at the University of Nebraska-Kearney (UNK) where she established herself as one of the best setters in program history. Playing under her father, Rick, Maddie was a two-time All-American for the Lopers earning second-team honors in both 2019 and 2021.
UNK went 90-11 with Squiers as the starting setter as she guided the Lopers to a national runner-up finish in 2019. She finished her career with over 6,200 assists and 1,600 digs with her 11.30 assists per set mark in Kearney fifth all-time in program history.
“It’s an honor to be included in the Supernova mini-camp,” Squiers said. “It really is an exciting time to be a part of the sport of volleyball, especially in Nebraska, and I look forward to seeing what the Supernovas and this league can do for the game.”
The Supernovas will begin their first-ever training camp in early January to finalize a 14-person roster for the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation beginning on January 24, 2024.
REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL competition will officially begin in the United States with the Omaha Supernovas hosting the Atlanta Vibe in the first match in league history at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha on January 24, at 7:00 p.m. CT. Nebraska supports volleyball better than anyone, as evidenced by the more than 92,000 fans that turned out this season for a collegiate match at the Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in August, setting a new world record for the highest attended women’s sporting event.
The Supernovas are one of seven U.S. teams for the 2024 inaugural season: Omaha Supernovas, Atlanta Vibe, Orlando Valkyries, Columbus Fury, Grand Rapids Rise, San Diego Mojo and Vegas Pro Volleyball. Two expansion teams, Dallas Pro Volleyball and Kansas City Pro Volleyball, have been announced for 2025. In Season One, the Pro Volleyball Federation will be showcased in three different U.S. time zones. Matches will take place on 67 different dates between January and May 2024, occurring on every day of the week.
The Supernovas will play 12 home matches and 12 away matches, for a total of 24 matches in the 16-week regular season. The full schedule is available on the team’s website, Supernovas.com. After the regular season, the Supernovas are aiming to be one of the top four squads in the standings that will compete for the Pro Volleyball Federation Championship in May. The location of the championship will be determined and announced at a later date.
Season Tickets are available at the team’s website and on the team’s app, available for download on smartphones and tablets.
ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas aims to be the premier home of professional volleyball throughout the world. The team is owned by global music sensation Jason Derulo and entrepreneurs Danny White and Chris Erickson, Co-Founders of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
Pro Volleyball Federation is REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL and the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America. Pro Volleyball Federation will begin play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players and elite players from around the world. Our entire focus is on ensuring that our level and quality of play, our treatment of players, the quality of our event presentations, and our day-to-day fan experience is world class and the very best offered in North America. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.