HENDERSON, Nev. - The Vegas Thrill (2-1) opened the second week of play against the defending PVF champions, the Omaha Supernovas (2-1), and completed another reverse sweep on Friday night at the Lee's Family Forum. With the win, the Thrill have now claimed three reverse sweeps in franchise history, including one last Friday against Grand Rapids.
Vegas' Hannah Maddux opened the match with a service ace followed by an Omaha 4-0 run. After being down 6-3, Vegas scored a pair of points to cut the deficit to one. The Thrill and Supernovas battled back-and-forth in the middle of the first set, with Vegas climbing its way back and making it a one point affair, 13-12, but Omaha went on a 3-0 run and took another four-point cushion, 16-12. Vegas went on a run themselves and tied the match, 19-19. The Supernovas went on a 6-4 run to take set one by a 25-23 final. Omaha hit .227 compared to Vegas' .186 hitting percentage in the opening set. The duo of All-League first teammer Brooke Nuneviller along with Natalia Valentin-Anderson of the Supernovas tallied an impressive six kills and six digs, respectively, in set one.
Omaha started set two by going on a 4-0 run and went up by as much as six, 11-5. The Thrill put together three straight points to cut the deficit to five, 13-8, and battled back to then make it a four point match, 14-10. The Supernovas took care of business by going on a 9-4 and claim set two, 25-17. Through two sets, Omaha's Nuneviller tallied eight kills and 13 digs, while Valentin-Anderson posted a match-high 25 assists and collected a double-double with her 10 digs through two sets.
The third set was a tight back-and-forth battle from the start, as both teams traded points with Omaha leading 7-6. Camryn Hannah of Vegas, who made her Thrill debut, took the lead at 9-8 with her sixth kill of the match. Vegas went on a rally to retake the lead, 16-15, and after the match was tied 19-19. Both teams traded their next four points and the Thrill prevailed for the 26-24 set three win to force a fourth set.
The Thrill opened set four with a 3-0 cushion, however, the Supernovas would tally three straight points of their own to tie it 3-3. Vegas extended its lead, 11-6, their largest lead of the match. The Thrill would once again gain a five-point cushion, 15-10, along with a 17-12 lead. Vegas' 21-14 lead would extend their largest lead of the match and they never looked back, winning set four 25-17 to force a fifth and final set. Grace Loberg's six kills led the Thrill attack and Vegas hit .265 overall in the fourth set. It was all Vegas in set five as they took advantage of the momentum with a 7-0 lead. Omaha would post seven points on a run of their own, but the Thrill climbed back and secured the reverse sweep win with a 15-11 set five victory.
The Thrill were led by Allison Mayfield's double-double of 19 kills and 10 digs for a .267 tilt. Hannah notched a double-double of her own with 16 kills and 12 digs, while Loberg put together 17 kills and 12 digs. The Thrill's defense was superb, tallying a season-high 14 blocks and 82 digs. Alisha Childress posted a double-double of her own with 56 assists and 17 digs. Libero Teagan DeFalco posted a match tying-high 18 digs. The Supernovas were paced by Nuneviller's 18 kills and 17 digs and the Thrill held Omaha to a season-low .131 hitting percentage.
NEXT FOR THE THRILL: Vegas will conclude its four-match homestand at the Lee's Family Forum against the Orlando Valkyries on Sunday at 5 p.m. PT.