OMAHA, Neb. – The first-place Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first pro volleyball champions, overcame a rough first set and used a surge of energy from their block to roll to a 14-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-15 win over the Orlando Valkyries (12-9) Saturday night on Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center in front of 10,512 fans.
The Supernovas (15-5) set a franchise record for most blocks in a four-set match with 14, which was spearheaded by middle blockers Kayla Caffey and Kaitlyn Hord, who combined for 10 of the 14 blocks. Each player tallied five blocks on the night, with Caffey also adding five kills (.286), three aces and two digs for 13 points. Hord chipped in three kills, five digs and two assists while her league-leading block total now stands at 67 in 71 sets.
Setter Mac Podraza sparked the offense coming off the bench in the first set, dishing out 39 assists with 15 digs, two kills, one block and one ace in an all-around performance. Libero Camila Gómez finished with 20 digs for her second consecutive 20-plus dig match.
A pillar of consistency, outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller tallied another double-double with a match-high 17 kills (.304) and 10 digs. Opposite Kelsie Payne dropped 12 kills with five digs, one block and one ace. Ally Batenhorst contributed seven kills, nine digs and two blocks off the bench.
The Supernovas tallied a .217 hitting percentage with 71 digs and matched a season high with five aces.
Orlando was led by left-handed opposite Brittany Abercrombie with 17 kills while former Creighton star and outside hitter Norah Sis hammered down nine kills in two sets on a .412 clip. The Valkyries finished with a .213 hitting percentage, four blocks and four aces as league leader Natalie Foster tallied three of the four.
Key Notes
- Omaha’s 14 blocks broke its previous four-set block record of 13 set against Columbus earlier this season on January 24.
- Nuneviller has reached the 300-point mark for the season after 17 on Saturday. She also tallied her 11th double-double of the season.
- Caffey’s three aces matched her season high for the second time, bringing her team-leading total to 16 — the fifth most in the PVF.
- Saturday’s crowd of 10,512 marked the 14th Supernovas match to draw a five-digit attendance. This season alone, seven of Omaha’s 10 home matches have topped 10,000 fans.
Set 1: The match started with a flurry of errors before Orlando gained early momentum with a kill and block from Kaz Brown. Omaha sided out on another service error, but Brown responded with a point to make it 4-2. Payne notched her first kill, and Melani Shaffmaster followed with one for Orlando to take a 5-3 lead. Payne added a block, but the Valkyries went on a four-point run with three kills from Abercrombie and an Omaha error to extend their lead. Hord responded with a block, but Lindsay Vander Weide and Courtney Schwan each added a kill to make it 11-6. Payne and Nuneviller answered with kills for Omaha, but Orlando responded with another four-point run featuring kills from Abercrombie and Brown and back-to-back aces from Foster. A service error gave Omaha a side out, but Abercrombie immediately followed with another kill to bring the score to 16-9 heading into the media timeout. Out of the break, Brown added a kill, and two straight Supernovas errors forced Omaha into a timeout. Then, Schwan added her first block of the match to make it 20-9. Setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson got a kill for Omaha, but Abercrombie responded. Caffey sparked a late rush of energy with a kill and ace. Hord then added a block to close the gap at 22-13. Orlando picked up another point on an Omaha error before Nuneviller added a late kill. Foster finished the set with a kill and a block to give the Valkyries a 25-14 win.
The Supernovas were humbled to a -.026 hitting percentage with six kills and seven errors. Hord made up two of the team’s three blocks in the set with the one ace from Caffey. Orlando hit .316 in the set led by the five kills from Abercrombie (.333) and four kills on five swing from Brown. The Valkyries also had three blocks and two aces.
Set 2: Abercrombie opened the set with a kill for Orlando, followed by a response from Payne and a kill from Caffey. After a brief exchange of errors, the Supernovas went on a four-point run with a Payne kill and ace, a Nuneviller kill, and a block by Caffey to take a 7-2 lead. Orlando sided out on an Omaha attacking error, but Nuneviller and Batenhorst capitalized on consecutive swings for a 9-3 advantage. Schwan scored for the Valkyries, but Batenhorst answered with another point. Orlando gained some momentum off an Abercrombie kill, a Shaffmaster block, and a pair of Omaha errors. Payne and Hord helped rebuild the Supernovas’ lead with a pair of kills to make it 14-8. Abercrombie kept Orlando in it with another kill, but Omaha extended the lead with two kills from Nuneviller and one from Caffey to make it 17-9. Abercrombie kept Omaha honest with a pair of kills, but Payne delivered a kill and Batenhorst added a block to make it 20-13. Vander Weide responded with two kills for Orlando, but Batenhorst came up with another block. Abercrombie added one more for the Valkyries before Nuneviller called game with three consecutive points to give Omaha a 25-17 win and even the match at one set apiece.
The Supernovas flipped its offense around with a .387 clip in the set as Nuneviller went off for eight kills on a .438 hitting percentage. Omaha earned four blocks and one ace. The Valkyries were limited to a .185 clip with one block and zero aces as Abercrombie once again led the offense with five kills.
Set 3: Abercrombie added the first kill of the set for the Valkyries before Caffey and Podraza each scored points for Omaha, including a Podraza block, to gain an early 4-2 lead. Abercrombie added another kill, and a service error tied the set at four. Batenhorst landed a kill and Caffey followed with an ace, but Orlando answered with back-to-back kills from Brown and Abercrombie. Omaha surged ahead on a 3-0 run with kills from Hord and Payne and a block from Hord to make it 9-6. Sis entered the match and made an immediate impact with a kill. Omaha gave up two errors before Sis added another kill for the Valkyries. Leading 12-10 after a Batenhorst kill, Caffey soared for back-to-back blocks as part of a 3-0 burst for the Supernovas who forced a Valkyries timeout at 15-11. Out of the break, Abercrombie tallied a kill and Foster delivered an ace. Nuneviller and Batenhorst tallied a kill apiece for Omaha, which was sandwiched between another Caffey block to open up the gates with an 18-12 lead. Abercrombie scored again, but Batenhorst quickly answered. Minnesota alumni Lydia Grote came off the bench to ignite the offense with two kills, followed by a point from Hord to keep the Supernovas up 21-16. Sis and Grote added kills for Orlando, but two errors gave Omaha some breathing room at 23-18. Sis sided out with a kill, and Hord responded to bring up set point at 24-19. Orlando refused to go away as a net violation began a 4-0 run for Orlando who got a kill from Abercrombie, a Sis ace, and two Supernovas errors to force an Omaha timeout at 24-23. Caffey’s net presence made the difference at the end, closing the set with a block to give Omaha the 25-23 win and a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Supernovas only hit .216, but tallied six blocks and one ace. Batenhorst finished with a team-high four kills while Hord added three kills on five swings. Orlando had a .182 hitting percentage with two aces, but no blocks. Abercrombie was the offensive catalyst with six kills.
Set 4: The Supernovas came out strong with a 4-0 lead behind two kills apiece from Payne and Nuneviller. Orlando sided out on an Omaha error, but Nuneviller quickly responded with another point. Shaffmaster and Sis scored for the Valkyries, and after Nuneviller and Foster traded kills, Omaha extended its lead with a pair of kills from Podraza and Payne to make it 9-4. Abercrombie secured another tally for Orlando, but Batenhorst followed with a kill and Hord added a block to force a timeout from the Valkyries at 11-5. Out of the timeout, Hord delivered a kill from Podraza, followed by an ace to extend Omaha’s lead. Abercrombie responded with a kill, but a Valkyries error gave the Supernovas another point. Orlando shot out for a five-point run, fueled by two kills from Grote, one from Sis, and a pair of Omaha errors to cut the deficit to 15-11. The Supernovas responded with their own 5-0 stretch, posting two kills from Nuneviller, one from Caffey, and taking advantage of two Orlando errors to regain control at 20-11. Sis tallied her last two kills in a fleeting Orlando effort as Omaha closed it out with a kill from former Husker Lindsay Krause and an ace from Caffey to secure the 25-15 win and a 3-1 victory over the Valkyries.
The Supernovas offense finished on a high note with a .324 clip in the set while adding one block and two aces. Nuneviller was instrumental again with six kills on a .385 hitting percentage. Orlando hit for its lowest clip of the match with a .171 hitting percentage. The Valkyries didn’t record a block or ace as Sis led the team with four kills.
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ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas are the premier home of professional volleyball, boasting the No. 1 pro volleyball average attendance in the world. The Supernovas 2025 season began on January 10 when they hosted 13,486, becoming the most attended U.S. pro volleyball match in history. The team is owned by global music sensation Jason Derulo and entrepreneur Danny White, Co-Founder of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.