OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Supernovas recorded its first win in franchise history with a dominant 25-17, 25-19, 25-22 sweep of the San Diego Mojo Saturday night at the CHI Health Center.
The Supernovas (1-1) once again welcomed in a historic crowd as 11,403 packed the CHI Health Center to watch Omaha win its first match. That attendance mark is the second largest crowd to attend a women's professional volleyball match in the United States, falling just short of the 11,624 that saw the Supernovas take on the Atlanta Vibe for the first Pro Volleyball Federation match on January 24, hosted by Omaha..
Omaha's offense was in a groove from the very start eventually finishing with a .373 hitting percentage led by the match-high 13 kills of two-time Dominican Republic Olympian Bethania de la Cruz. After team captain Brooke Nuneviller went down with an injury, rookie Paige Briggs stepped up to fill that role, totaling eight kills on a .438 clip.
Tori Dixon hit .545 on the night with six kills to lead the middle attack while fellow middle blocker Danielle Hart hammered five kills. Omaha's block stood out throughout the night securing eight total blocks while San Diego had none.
Former Oregon standout Ronika Stone led the Mojo (0-2) with 12 kills while opposite Morgan Lewis recorded nine on the evening.The Mojo hit .250 on the night with two aces.
Set 1: The Supernovas grabbed the first point of the match off a Nuneviller kill. Nuneviller went on to get two more kills to bring the Supernovas' advantage to 4-2. A long rally midway through the set was ended by Dixon on an overpass kill to expand the Supernovas’ lead to 11-6. Following a Mojo timeout after a couple errors, the Supernovas held the lead through the remainder of the set with a net violation ending the set at 25-17. The Supernovas logged a .444 hitting percentage with Nuneviller posting five kills and a .714 hitting percentage to lead the team. Dixon added three kills of her own.
Set 2: Omaha jumped out to a quick 3-1 lead to start off the set. Briggs recorded her first kill of the night to put the Supernovas up 6-3. De la Cruz went on a 3-0 service run to prompt a Mojo timeout. She recorded an ace out of the timeout to extend the lead to 15-9. Allison Mayfield entered the match and recorded a block and a kill for the Supernovas to bring the score to 19-12. De la Cruz tallied her eighth kill of the match for the Supernovas to reach set point. Briggs finished the set at 25-19 with a kill from the outside. De la Cruz led the Supernovas with six kills while Briggs added five.
Set 3: The Mojo came out of the intermission firing as they took their first lead of the match at 4-3 after a slide kill by Stone. They extended their lead to 8-4, prompting a Supernovas’ timeout. Natalia Valentín-Anderson checked in and dialed up an ace. Briggs tied it up at 14 with an ace of her own. The teams traded points midway through the set, but back-to-back kills and a block by Hart put the Supernovas up 23-20. De la Cruz recorded her 12th kill of the match for set point and finished the set 25-22 with her 13th and final kill. The Supernovas recorded four blocks and three aces on the set.
The Supernovas end their three-match home stand on Wednesday, February 7 when they host the Vegas Thrill with first serve set for 7 p.m. CST at the CHI Health Center.
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 Thrill. Three expansion teams, Dallas Pro Volleyball, Kansas City Pro Volleyball and Indianapolis Pro Volleyball have been announced for 2025. The Supernovas will have 12 home and 12 away matches as part of a 24-match schedule across a 16-week regular season.
When the regular season concludes, 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.
ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas aim 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.