Blackwell Erupts for Career Night in Supernovas’ Four-Set Loss to Grand Rapids

OMAHA, Neb. — Omaha Supernovas middle blocker Leyla Blackwell came off the bench to deliver the best match of her professional career, but the Grand Rapids Rise (8-14) spoiled her breakout performance with a 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22 victory Friday night in front of 7,701 at the CHI Health Center on Kiewit Court. 

The second-year pro entered the match to start the second set, where she posted a team-high .444 hitting percentage on 18 swings with 10 kills and just two errors. Blackwell added a pair of blocks to finish second on the team with 12 points. Her totals in both attacks and kills marked professional career highs. 

Veteran outside hitter Sarah Parsons logged a team-high 15 points on 13 kills, one ace and one block, while adding 12 digs to record her seventh double-double of the season. Opposite Merritt Beason was another standout off the bench, finishing with 11 points on 10 kills and one block while collecting six digs. 

Interim head coach Thomas Robson made his head coaching debut and was not afraid to rely on his bench, as each newcomer made an impact. However, the Supernovas could not overcome the Rise defense, which totaled 104 digs in the four-set win. 

“We love him. We’ve been working all season long, and it’s been really cool in the past few days to see Thomas and Blake (Rawlins) stepping into pretty much the same role but just being our biggest supporters,” Blackwell said. “We respect them so much, and we’ve got their backs, and they’ve got ours. That’s the best sort of relationship you can have as a player and coach.” 

“I’d say I’m an emotional coach in the sense that I’m a very positive coach. I like to find the positive in pretty much everything. At the end of the day, we’re all here playing a sport we love or coaching a sport we love,” Robson said. “There are so many other things going on. I could be sitting in an office working a nine-to-five job. You can’t be upset in situations like this. Yeah, we wanted to win, but we’ve got more opportunities. This isn’t a win-or-go-home situation. Honestly, I like our matchup with Dallas, too. I’m excited for that.” 

Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller recorded seven kills and 12 digs while taking on the load as the Novas’ primary passer, posting a 64% positive passing rate on a match-high 42 receptions. Opposite Emily Londot finished with five kills, four digs and two blocks for seven points, matching Nuneviller. Libero Elena Oglivie totaled 20 digs in another standout performance, which also included a 73% passing rate on 15 chances. 

Middle blocker Janice Leao led the team with three blocks and added a pair of kills and digs. Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 27 assists and recorded 15 digs, along with two kills and one block. She later made way for rookie Brooke Mosher, who started the fourth set after performing well in the third-set double substitution. The Pitt draftee collected 16 assists and nine digs. 

The Supernovas finished with a .119 hitting percentage, along with 10 blocks, one ace, 47 assists, 49 kills and 80 digs. 

Grand Rapids was led by do-it-all setter Camryn Turner, as the second-year distributor compiled a match-high 28 digs and 47 assists while adding three kills. Outside hitter Carli Snyder paced the offense with 14 kills and 22 digs, along with three blocks. Elizabet Inneh (11 kills, 15 digs) and Paige Briggs-Romine (10 kills, 11 digs) each recorded a double-double. Middle blocker Berkeley Oblad hit .500 on 16 swings with 10 kills and two blocks. Rookie Hattie Bray was another impact performer with seven kills (.333), six blocks and eight digs. 

As a team, the Rise hit .153 with 13 blocks, no aces, 52 assists, 55 kills and 104 digs. 

The Supernovas return to Kiewit Court at CHI Health Center on Sunday, April 12, at 4 p.m. CDT to face the second-place Dallas Pulse (16-6) in a pivotal matchup for playoff positioning. Nebraska Public Media will broadcast the match statewide and stream it on the MLV YouTube Channel. It can also be heard on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by flagship station KCRO 660 AM. 

Key Notes 

Set 1: The match opened with a hitting error from the Rise, but Grand Rapids countered as Elizabet Inneh tooled the block. Nuneviller swung from the front row to take the lead, and Leao came up big with a right-side block for a 3-1 advantage. Trading a Novas error for a Rise violation, both teams were still finding their footing at 4-2 Omaha. Nuneviller and Berkeley Oblad traded points at the net. Paired with miscues from both sides, Hilley executed a setter dump for her first point to make it 7-4. Making up for an Omaha service error, swings from Parsons and Londot both found the floor for a 10-5 Novas lead. Coming out of a Rise timeout, Carli Snyder sparked the offense with a block and a finish to cut the deficit to 11-8. Londot pushed back with another point, but Paige Briggs-Romine delivered back-to-back swings to even the set at 12-12, teaming with Oblad to extend the run. Londot stopped the Rise’s 6-0 surge, but a Snyder point and an Omaha hitting error gave Grand Rapids a 16-13 lead at the media timeout. Londot notched her fourth point out of the break, though the Rise answered with a 3-0 run fueled by Oblad and Snyder. A service error briefly halted momentum, but another Inneh termination and a Hattie Bray block stretched the lead to 21-15. Hilley added another setter dump, and a Parsons swing kept the Novas within reach at 23-17. In the end, an Omaha hitting error paired with a Briggs-Romine finish gave the Rise the opening set, 25-17. 

The Supernovas offense hit a paltry .043 with one block, as Londot led with four points. Grand Rapids closed strong, posting a .159 clip with four blocks. Snyder totaled five points with three swings and two blocks. 

Set 2: Londot opened with a strong block for the Supernovas, while Bray and Inneh each recorded a point in reply. After the score was tied at 3-3, the Rise used a Novas service error and two Oblad terminations to take a 6-4 lead. Back-to-back Grand Rapids miscues, however, pulled the set even at 6-6. Inneh kept the Rise ahead at 8-7 before Parsons put Omaha back in front with consecutive back-row swings for a 9-8 edge. Bray and Londot continued to trade points at the net. Turner found the floor between two Blackwell finishes, but a service error tied the set at 12-12. The teams exchanged points until a powerful Bray swing gave the Rise a 16-15 edge at the media timeout. Blackwell evened the set, and Parsons followed with a left-side attack to make it 17-16 Novas. After a Novas hitting error, Blackwell struck again, and Parsons added an ace before another miscue pushed Omaha ahead 20-17. Inneh sided out, and Snyder followed to trim the lead to one. Another Grand Rapids attack sailed long, but a 3-0 Rise run flipped the score to 22-21. Nuneviller delivered a key side-out to tie the set, and matching service errors brought it to 23-23. Grand Rapids earned set point after an Omaha service error, but a Hilley block forced extra points. Beason converted on the next rally, though Inneh countered. Another hitting error gave the Supernovas a second opportunity, and they capitalized with a Blackwell block to secure a 27-25 win.  

The Novas improved to a .234 hitting percentage with three blocks and Parsons’ ace. Blackwell and Parsons paced the offense with five points each. The Rise hit .115, led by Oblad and Bray with four points apiece. 

Set 3: Blackwell opened with a finish to keep the momentum going, but Turner countered. After a stretch of errors, an Oblad swing tied the set at 3-3. Beason and Nuneviller responded from the back row to give Omaha a 5-3 lead. Parsons added a point between two Supernovas errors, but Omaha still held a 6-4 edge. Grand Rapids quickly seized control with a 7-0 run, powered by three blocks and three Snyder points, to take an 11-6 advantage. Beason stopped the run with a back-row swing. Snyder added another point, though Blackwell answered to make it 12-8. Briggs-Romine and Nuneviller traded points before Snyder struck again. Briggs-Romine followed, and Oblad capped the surge with a block to send the set to the media timeout at 16-9. Leao delivered a block out of the break, and Parsons added two points to spark a response. Snyder sided out, but the Supernovas mounted a 4-0 run behind two blocks and a Londot finish to cut the deficit to 19-16. Grand Rapids extended the lead with a Novas error and a Bray swing. Inneh made it 22-18, but a Nuneviller point and a Rise miscue pulled Omaha within two at 22-20. Briggs-Romine took over with consecutive finishes, and an Omaha attack error sealed a 25-20 win and a 2-1 match lead. 

The Supernovas hit .039 with three blocks. Parsons led with five points on four swings and one block. Grand Rapids hit .163 with five blocks, led by Snyder’s six points on five swings and one block. 

Set 4: Blackwell again opened strong at the net with a front-row finish, and Bray matched to tie the score. An Omaha hitting error was offset by a Beason swing from the right side, but Inneh followed with a point of her own. Two consecutive Supernovas errors pushed the Rise ahead 5-2. Both teams traded service errors, with a Leao finish in between. Beason added another point to make it 7-6, but Grand Rapids responded with a 3-0 run, capped by a block, to force an Omaha timeout at 10-6. Out of the timeout, Blackwell capitalized on a Grand Rapids service error and added another finish to cut the deficit to 10-8. A hitting error brought Omaha within one at 11-10. Parsons evened the set, and a Blackwell block tied it at 12-12. Inneh and Oblad combined for a point and a block to regain momentum. Leading 15-13 after another Oblad swing, Leao recorded a block, and Beason tied it again at 15-15. A service error and Snyder point pushed Grand Rapids back ahead by two. Beason delivered two more points, and Parsons followed to give Omaha an 18-17 lead, prompting a Rise timeout. Briggs-Romine sided out, and Snyder followed with a finish to reclaim the lead at 19-18. Parsons tied it again before consecutive points from Snyder and Bray fueled a 4-1 run and a 21-19 advantage. Blackwell sided out, but Inneh tooled the block. After a Grand Rapids error, Briggs-Romine extended the lead before Beason’s block cut it to 23-22. Oblad’s slide set up match point, and a Supernovas hitting error on the next rally sealed a 25-22 set win and a 3-1 match victory for the Rise. 

The Supernovas hit .170 with three blocks, highlighted by an eight-point performance from Beason off the bench. The Rise hit .179 with four blocks, led by Snyder’s five points.