GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first Pro Volleyball champions, added another milestone to its magical season by securing the postseason’s No. 1 overall seed Friday night with a 19-25, 25-17, 25-20, 25-21 win over the Grand Rapids Rise (11-17) at Van Andel Arena.
Despite being picked third in the PVF preseason poll, the Supernovas (20-7) became the first team in league history to reach 20 regular-season wins and will head into the 2025 PVF Championship in Las Vegas as the favorite to repeat. Omaha will take on the No. 4 seed Indy Ignite (13-14) on Friday, May 9 in the first of two PVF Semifinals, with No. 2 Atlanta (19-8) facing No. 3 Orlando (17-10) in the other matchup. First serve for the Supernovas is set for 7 p.m. CDT at Lee’s Family Forum and will air on CBS Sports Network and the Supernovas Radio Network.
Superstar outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller tallied her fourth 20-point match of the season in the four-set victory. Despite hitting .000 in the opening set, Nuneviller recorded a .351 clip in the final three sets to finish with 18 kills (.283), 12 digs, one block and one ace. Teammate Reagan Cooper added to the offensive outpour by posting a season-high .448 hitting percentage with 15 kills, 13 digs and one stuff. Opposite Emily Londot was part of a match-turning double sub in the second set and collected 11 kills on a .370 clip in only two sets of action.
Toyosi Onabanjo recorded only the second match with double-digit kills by a Supernovas middle blocker this season. She poured in 10 kills on a .304 hitting percentage while adding in an ace. Kaitlyn Hord led a stout blocking effort up front with five stuffs, two kills and two aces for nine points.
Setter Mac Podraza directed an offense that hit over .300 for the fifth time this season with a .321 clip. She was the second hero of the double sub, dishing out 36 assists and six digs, but she was electric offensively going 5-for-6 in attacking while tying a Supernovas season high with three aces. Libero Allison Whitten laid out for a career-high 18 digs to mark her third-straight match with 10 or more digs.
Eleanor Holthaus led the Rise by tying Nuneviller with 18 kills, but at a .425 clip. Carli Snyder and Paige Briggs-Romine each added 10 kills as Grand Rapids hit .268 as a team with seven blocks and three aces.
The Supernovas cap off the regular season on Sunday, May 4 with a visit to Atlanta for a battle of No. 1 vs. No. 2. First serve at Gas South Arena is set for 5 p.m. CDT on the Roku Sports Channel and Supernovas Radio Network.
Key Notes
- The Supernovas racked up a franchise-record 83 points in the four-set win — surpassing its previous record of 82 points against the Rise on January 12, 2024.
- Nuneviller posted her 17th double-double of the season with Omaha moving to 13-4 in those matches. Plus, she finished with 18 kills for the second time in the last three contests.
- Omaha set a season high with seven aces which ties for the franchise’s third-highest output in a single match.
- Podraza is 4-0 on the year as the Supernovas’ primary setter for the match. She’s averaged 10.2 assists and 2.33 digs per set in those outings.
Set 1: Holthaus got the Rise started with a pair of kills to fuel a 3-0 run to begin the match. Nuneviller nailed a cross court shot to get Omaha on the board and Valentín-Anderson followed with a block. Onabanjo dropped in a tip for her first point of the night. Holthaus put down another kill, but back-to-back kills from Payne and Hord equaled the score at five. Bastianelli made her first impact of the night with a slide kill and block. Cooper answered but a Briggs-Romine kill put the Rise ahead 8-6 at the first media timeout. Jensen extended the Grand Rapids lead with a middle attack. The Omaha block found a groove as Payne tallied a stuff and Hord put down back-to-back blocks to tie the set at nine. Turner fooled the defense with a setter dump to retake the lead and a Nuneviller hitting error put the Rise edge to two points. Onabanjo and Cooper recorded two kills apiece in a Supernovas surge to tie the set at 14. Payne tooled the block to tie the set again, but a Snyder kill sandwiched between two Omaha errors put the Rise ahead 20-16. Nuneviller, Payne and Onabanjo each tallied another kill. Briggs-Romine put down two kills and Holthaus snuck a serve inbounds to end the set for a 25-19 Grand Rapids win.
The Supernovas hit .213 in the set with four blocks. Cooper hit a team-high five kills while Onabanjo hit .500 with four kills. Grand Rapids recorded a .250 hitting percentage with two bocks and one ace. Holthaus struck down four kills on nine swings for a .444 clip.
Set 2: Holthaus and Jensen continued the Rise momentum with the set’s opening two points, but Onabanjo halted the run with another kill. Holthaus stuffed an Omaha attack and Briggs-Romine terminated on a pair of swings to build the Grand Rapids lead to 6-2. Podraza and Londot entered the match on a double sub and it paid immediate dividends with a 3-0 run as Cooper put down a kill and Hord recorded another block. Snyder tallied two more kills from the pin to put the Rise ahead 8-6 into the first media timeout. Londot slammed down a kill from the right side and Nuneviller won a joust out of the break to tie the set. Snyder served her 33rd ace of the year, but Londot and Cooper capitalized on a pair of swings for a 12-11 Omaha advantage. Jensen stuffed a Londot attack for a block, but Londot got a kill down the line and Cooper put away an overpass for a 14-12 Supernovas lead. Londot rejected a Rise attack, but Briggs-Romine kept the deficit at one with a kill. Podraza executed a well-timed setter dump for a point. Hord turned away a back-row attack for another block and Nuneviller slammed down an overpass to force a Grand Rapids timeout at 18-14 Omaha. Hord recorded another block out of the break. Podraza and Cooper tallied back-to-back kills for a 6-0 run and a 21-14 Supernovas lead. Snyder squeezed a shot past the block to snap the run. Nuneviller heated up with three kills down the stretch to give Omaha set point. Podraza put up a perfect back set where Onobanjo took advantage for a set-ending kill to give the Supernovas a 25-17 win to even the match.
The Omaha offense took off once Podraza and Londot entered the match to a tune of a .366 hitting percentage with five more blocks. Nuneviller racked up five kills on a .556 clip while Cooper added four more kills to her total on a .429 hitting percentage. Grand Rapids limped to a .091 team clip with two blocks and one ace. Snyder and Briggs-Romine each collected a team-high four kills.
Set 3: Onabanjo dropped in a tip off the slide to give Omaha a positive start to the set. Nuneviller followed by putting away an overpass and Podraza served her third ace of the season for an early 3-0 Supernovas lead. Holthaus halted the run with a kill, but Nuneviller answered with one of her own. After a quick Omaha service error, Cooper recorded the Supernovas’ 10th block of the night. Cooper later split the block for her 10th kill, but Holthaus responded with a roll shot for a kill. Podraza put one behind the defense off a bad Omaha pass to put the Supernovas ahead 8-4 going into the first media timeout. Holthaus continued her hot start to the set with two kills out of the break. Podraza stuffed a Rise attack from the pin and Hord followed with an ace. Nuneviller capped the 3-0 run by putting down an overpass for an 11-6 lead. Both teams exchanged service errors before Erika Pritchard — who entered the match for the first time — and Briggs-Romine terminated on back-to-back swings to cut the Omaha lead to two. Londot clipped the line on a cross court shot to break the run. Briggs-Romine sent an attack wide and Cooper tooled one off the block to build the lead to 15-11. Bastianelli and Cooper exchanged kills before Onabanjo dropped in an ace for a seven-point lead. Nuneviller added two more kills to put the Supernovas in the red zone at 20-13. The Rise tallied a block, but Nuneviller answered with a kill. Jensen bounced a ball from a middle attack to ignite a 4-0 run for Grand Rapids to cut the lead to four. Nuneviller stopped the run by clipping the back corner for a kill and Podraza followed with her second ace of the night for set point. Pritchard extended the set with a kill and an Onabanjo hitting error gave the Rise life, but a Briggs-Romine attack sailed wide to deliver a 25-20 set win for the Supernovas.
Omaha hit .375 in the set with two blocks and four aces. Nuneviller exploded for a team-high seven kills (.462) while Cooper tallied four kills on six swings for a .667 clip. The Rise didn’t shy away with a .323 hitting percentage with one block. Holthaus went off for six kills on a .750 clip.
Set 4: Pritchard found the floor for a kill to start the set for Grand Rapids. Nuneviller responded with a kill, but back-to-back points from Holthaus gave the Rise an early 3-1 lead. Onabanjo terminated from the middle, which was followed by kills from Snyder and Holthaus. Cooper and Londot were successful on consecutive attacks to tie the set at five. After an exchange of points, Hord served the fifth ace of the night for Omaha, but Pritchard answered with a kill. Turner dropped in a point on a setter dump to put the Rise ahead 8-7 entering the first media timeout. Nuneviller came out of the stoppage by firing a kill and Podraza followed with her third ace of the night. Nuneviller ended the 3-0 run with a kill for a 10-8 Supernovas lead. Jensen snapped the run with a block and Pritchard tied the set with her serve sneaking over the net. Onabanjo found the floor on an attack, but back-to-back kills by Holthaus and Snyder gave the Rise the lead. Nuneviller added another kill in an exchange of points with Holthaus. Bastianelli put down a thunderous kill on a slide to put Grand Rapids ahead again. Podraza replied with some offense of her own with back-to-back setter dumps. Pritchard tied the set at 15, but consecutive errors by the Rise and an Onabanjo overpass kill gave the Supernovas an 18-15 advantage. Holthaus ended the Omaha run, but Londot finished on two-straight swings to force a Rise timeout at 20-16 Supernovas. Grand Rapids energized its home crowed by finishing off a jaw-dropping rally with a Holthaus kill. A Rise block on the next point put the pressure on, but a Grand Rapids four-ht violation and Nuneviller ace silenced the flurry. Back-to-back Londot kills gave Omaha set point. Bastianelli, who was quiet for most of the night, flicked down a kill in response, but Cooper called game with her 15th kill of the night to deliver the Supernovas the postseason’s No. 1 seed.
Omaha hit .385 in the final set with three aces. Londot collected six kills on a .545 clip with Nuneviller adding four kills. The Rise hit better with a .425 hitting percentage while posting two blocks and one ace. Holthaus finished her night with team-leading seven kills on 13 swings (.538).
...
Every match this season can be heard on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by its flagship station KCRO 660 AM as part of Walnut Media. The SRN can be heard in five states with the support of its affiliates in KXCB Bluffs Country 106.5 FM, Boomer Radio 106.7 FM, ESPN Tri Cities, KNCY in Nebraska City, KGMT in Fairbury and KSID-AM in Sidney.
Check out the Supernovas full 2025 schedule and 2025 roster.
To receive Supernovas updates, news and ticket information, download the official Supernovas App by clicking this link.
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.