ORLANDO, Fla. - The Omaha Supernovas sprang to life in a dominant fifth set to defeat the Orlando Valkyries for the third time this season in a 25-19, 17-25, 25-18, 18-25, 15-6 five-set thriller Saturday night at Addition Financial Arena.
Supernovas team captain Brooke Nuneviller had one of her best matches of the season tying a match-high 20 kills on a .313 clip to go along with 18 digs which is also a match high. Allison Mayfield offered a spark off the bench with 12 kills on a .357 hitting percentage. The Kansas graduate also had 14 digs in what was her best performance of the inaugural season. Bethania de la Cruz and setter Sydney Hilley each had three kills while opposites Nia Reed and Jess Schaben-Lansman both had two tallies.
Middle blocker Hristina Vuchkova hit .350 on the night with nine kills and a match-leading five blocks. Tori Dixon added eight more kills and recorded four blocks of her own. The two starters combined to hit .310 with 17 kills and nine blocks against the Valkyries.
Natalia Valentin-Anderson grabbed the start at setter and dished out 15 assists with eight digs in just over one set. After Omaha fell behind in the second set, Hilley saw her first action since Feb. 21 at Columbus. The Wisconsin product handed out 33 assists and seven digs to lead an offense that hit .250. Libero Kendall White secured 16 digs for the second time in the last three matches to go with five assists.
Omaha reached double-digit blocks for the sixth time this season with 11. It’s also the first time the Supernovas had 10 or more blocks since they last faced the Valkyries at home on Feb. 18. In total, the Supernovas had 87 digs and 55 assists with five aces.
Orlando recorded a .191 hitting percentage as rookie Jill Gillen spearheaded the Valkyries attack with 20 kills on a .360 clip and 13 digs. Star attacker Adora Anae was the only other Orlando player to touch double-digit kills with 12 and 14 digs. Kaz Brown added nine kills and two blocks. Setter Wilma Rivera totaled 45 assists with 16 digs and one block.
The Valkyries dug out 72 attacks and dished out 51 assists. Orlando had seven blocks to go with four aces.
Set 1: The Supernovas grabbed a quick 3-0 lead out of the gate as Dixon recorded a solo block and took advantage of an overpass for a kill. Orlando cut the lead to 5-4, but fellow middle Vuchkova got her game going with back-to-back kills which was followed by a solo block to mark an 8-4 lead. The Valkyries fought back as Anae got into the action with a pair of kills. Brown joined her teammate on offense swatting down three early kills including one to tie the match at 12. Three-straight errors by Orlando put the Supernovas ahead 16-12, but an Anae termination ended the rally. Dixon capitalized on another overpass to extend the Omaha lead to 19-14 forcing a Valkyries timeout. Schaben-Lansman earned her first kill of the match one point later. Nuneviller followed with two consecutive kills and a solo block. A service error ended the Omaha run at 6-0, but it gave the Supernovas a commanding 23-15 lead. Orlando countered with a 5-0 run of its own behind the serving of Anae to cut the Omaha lead to 23-19. However, Nuneviller gave Omaha set point with a kill with her and Dixon combining on a block to hand the Supernovas a 25-19 set one win.
Omaha hit .233 in the set with Nuneviller leading the way with six kills on 13 swings containing only one error. Dixon swatted .400 in the set with four kills and two blocks. Vuchkova also had two kills while the Supernovas had four blocks, but no aces.
The Valkyries had a .156 hitting percentage as Anae and Gillen each totaled four kills. Brown recorded three kills while Azhani Tealer had two. Orlando had two blocks, but also no aces.
Set 2: Both teams were back-and-forth throughout most of the set, but it was de la Cruz for the Supernovas who kept up the pressure terminating three consecutive Omaha points to tie the set at four. Back-to-back points gave Orlando a two-point advantage and they held that lead at 12-10. The Valkyries controlled the set from that point as a Gillen ace and Brown solo block upped the lead to 15-10. Another Brown kill and ace extended the lead to 17-11. A Dixon kill ended the 5-1 run, but a 5-0 run soon followed to make it 23-13 Valkyries.
After a flurry of substitutions, Omaha rallied with a 4-1 run as Mayfield recorded a kill while rookie Maggie Cartwright earned a kill and back-to-back aces to make it 24-17. Orlando terminated on the next point to take the set 25-17 and tie the match.
The Valkyries hit .175 in the set as Gillen paced the offense with four kills while Brown, Anae and Shaïnah Joseph each had two kills. Orlando recorded one block and totaled its first three aces of the match.
Omaha only hit .077 with Nuneviller and de la Cruz each swatting down two kills. Dixon, Schaben-Lansman, Vuchkova, Mayfield and Cartwright each had one. De la Cruz and Vuchkova recorded the two blocks for the Supernovas while Omaha had three aces.
Set 3: Omaha began the set with another 3-1 lead off a Mayfield kill and Vuchkova solo block. That would be the biggest lead the Supernovas would hold for most of the set as each team exchanged blows. Trailing 5-3, Orlando staged a 3-0 run with kills from Gillen, Joseph and Brown. A 4-1 run later in the set put the Supernovas ahead 12-10 as Vuchkova had a block and kill in that span.
Tied at 15, Omaha took off as Cartwright and Nuneviller hit back-to-back kills to go up 17-15. The Valkyries cut the gap to one at 18-17, but a 3-0 run off the serving of Paige Briggs extended the advantage to 21-17 to force an Orlando timeout. Gillen ripped a kill to end the rally, but Omaha answered with back-to-back points, including a Hilley ace, to put the set at 23-18 Supernovas. A Hilley dump attack ended the set as Omaha popped off for a 7-1 run to win the third set 25-18.
The Omaha offense got rolling as it hit .364 in the set as Mayfield set the tone with four kills. Nuneviller and Dixon each contributed three more with Hilley dropping in two setter dumps. The Supernovas recorded two blocks and one ace.
Orlando hit .190 with Anae and Gillen tallying four kills apiece. Joseph had two kills while Aurea Cruz, M’Kaela White and Brown each totaled one. The Valkyries had one block and no aces.
Set 4: Orlando came out of the gates with a 4-1 lead as Joseph hammered down three of the four kills. Another Hilley ace and one more Nuneviller kill evened the set at six. Tied at 11 later in the set off a Mayfield kill, Orlando took the lead with a 3-0 run as Omaha committed two errors and a Gillen kill to shoot ahead 14-11. A Mayfield kill followed by a Dixon block cut the lead to 14-13, but the Valkyries responded with a 3-0 run to take an 17-13 advantage.
Nuneviller scored three consecutive kills for the Supernovas, but two more blocks put the Valkyries in a comfortable 22-17 lead. Hilley scored on another setter dump, but Orlando put away the set 25-18 to force a fifth set.
Orlando hit .324 as Gillen went off for six kills. Joseph mustered four kills while Brown recorded three. The Valkyries earned three blocks and one ace.
The Supernovas hit .150 in the set as Nuneviller paced the offense again with four kills while Vuchkova and and Mayfield each recorded three tallies. Omaha had two blocks to go along with one ace.
Set 5: The Supernovas charged ahead into the fifth set and dominated from the start going up 5-0. Nuneviller and Mayfield contributed two kills apiece in that run as well as a tally from Reed. Nuneviller spearheaded a 3-0 run later in the set with two kills and a Vuchkova block to extend the lead to 9-2. The Bulgarian middle blocker added two more kills to her total as Omaha’s advantage moved to 12-3. Reed notched her second kill to move the Supernovas to match point which was taken care of by Mayfield to deliver a 15-6 statement win in the fifth set.
Omaha hit an astounding .667 with 13 kills on 18 swings and only one error. Nuneviller added five of her 20 kills in the set on six swings. Mayfield totaled four kills while Reed and Vuchkova each had two. There were no aces in the fifth for Omaha, but they had a block courtesy of Vuchkova.
Orlando hit .105 as Gillen earned two kills. Anae and Joseph both had one as the Valkyries had no aces or blocks.
The Supernovas return to Omaha for a four-match homestand that lasts the rest of March. Omaha is next in action on Thursday, March 14 as they host the Atlanta Vibe in what will be a battle for first place in the Pro Volleyball Federation. First serve is set for 7 p.m. CST at the CHI Health Center.
Fans can listen to all the action on the Supernovas Radio Network which is led by the flagship station, 93.7 The Ticket. Radio coverage is also on 95.7 The Boss (Omaha), KRVN (Lexington), KOLT (Scottsbluff) and KTOC (West Point).
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 began 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 focus is on ensuring that the level and quality of play, treatment of players, quality of event presentations, and day-to-day fan experience is world class and the very best offered in North America. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.