OMAHA, Neb. – The first-place Omaha Supernovas Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first pro volleyball champions, hosted 12,929 fans Saturday night at the CHI Health Center, marking the second-largest crowd in pro volleyball history. Despite the historic showing, Omaha came up short, falling in straight sets to the Indy Ignite (11-8) by scores of 23-25, 23-25, 21-25.
Saturday’s attendance is just short of the pro volleyball record 13,486 that watched the Supernovas’s season-opening win over the Atlanta Vibe on January 10, 2025. Omaha (12-5) has now hosted the top 12 most-attended pro volleyball matches with five Supernovas home games this season now ranking among the top seven all-time in attendance. Halfway through its 14-match home schedule, the Supernovas are averaging 11,593 fans per match and have welcomed in over 81,000 total fans into the CHI Health Center.
Superstar outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller led the way for Omaha’s offense with a team-leading 13 kills alongside seven digs and one block. Fellow attacker Reagan Cooper came off the bench to produce an efficient outing with a .375 clip on 16 swings with eight kills and only one error. Rookie opposite Emily Londot collected nine kills and six digs while Ally Batenhorst chipped in a trio of kills.
Middle blocker Kayla Caffey hit above .400 for the fourth-consecutive match with five kills on a .455 hitting percentage while adding a season-high three aces and one block. Kaitlyn Hord tallied three kills on three swings with a match-high four blocks.
Setter Mac Podraza started the match and had 11 assists before veteran Natalia Valentín-Anderson replaced her in the second set. The Puerto Rico Olympian posted 27 assists and seven digs while slamming down three kills to add a sprinkle of offense. Libero Camila Gómez ended with 11 digs on the night with three assists while passing at a team-high 64% “positive” rate.
As a team, the Supernovas hit .213 with six blocks and three aces.
Ignite opposite Azhani Tealer powered the Indy offense with a match-high 19 kills on a .515 clip with one block and one ace for 21 points. Outside hitter Carly Skjodt added eight kills (.316) and 12 digs in support, while setter Sydney Hilley handed out 40 assists and seven digs. Indy’s offense blasted their way to a .304 hitting percentage with 10 blocks and seven aces.
Omaha resets with a six-day break before continuing its homestand next weekend on Friday, March 28th at 7 p.m. CDTagainst the Vegas Thrill and Sunday, March 30th at 3 p.m. CDT versus the Grand Rapids Rise. Both matches will be broadcast live on Nebraska Public Media and can be heard on the Supernovas Radio Network.
Key Notes
- Kaitlyn Hord became the third player in PVF history to reach 100 career blocks on Saturday night. Her four blocks puts her career total at 101 in 132 career sets. That’s a PVF career 0.77 blocks per set mark. Her performance marked the eighth time this season she’s recorded four or more blocks in a match.
- Brooke Nuneviller recorded double-digit kills in her seventh-straight match and ninth in the last ten.
- Kayla Caffey’s three aces are the most by any Supernovas player in one match this season. It’s her third multi-ace match this season and is now tied with Reagan Cooper for the team lead at 11.
- Speaking of Cooper, her .375 hitting percentage is the eighth time this season she’s posted a clip above .300 and first time she’s hit that mark since the Supernovas hosted Indy on March 2.
Set 1: Lydia Martyn opened the match with a block for Indy, but Omaha quickly responded with a kill and ace from Caffey. Martyn kept the pressure on with an ace to tie things up early. Hord made her presence known at the net, coming up with three blocks in a row to swing momentum in Omaha’s favor. Then, Tealer and Londot traded kills, putting the Supernovas at a 6-4 advantage. Indy answered with another Tealer kill and an Anna DeBeer ace to stay within reach. A service error gave Omaha a sideout, but Hilley followed with a setter dump kill for the Ignite. Nuneviller added a kill for the Supernovas, while Martyn picked up three for Indy as both teams exchanged points and errors to even the score at 11. Batenhorst recorded her first kill of the night to give the Supernovas a spark, but DeBeer responded with a block for the Ignite. Batenhorst added another kill, but Skjodt answered with one of her own for Indy. Nuneviller took the momentum from an Ignite service to tie the set at 15 with a thundering kill. Skjodt and Nuneviller traded kills before Indy added back-to-back points from Skjodt and Martyn to take a slight lead. Batenhorst and Londot responded with kills to tie the set at 19-19. Tealer and Caroline Crawford found the floor to score for Indy, but Nuneviller answered to keep Omaha within one at 22-21. Skjodt continued to be a factor with another kill to put the Supernovas on their heels, but a Nuneviller kill and Caffey block tied the set at 23 to force an Ignite timeout. Skjodt and Tealerd responded after the break with two quick kills for Indy, closing out the set 25-23.
Omaha hit .211 as a team with four blocks and an ace. Nuneviller had five kills in the set on a .417 hitting percentage, while Hord recorded three of her four blocks in the set. Indy posted a .250 clip with two blocks and two aces. Skjodt spearheaded the offense with five kills, while Tealer finished with four.
Set 2: Indy started strong with a Tealer kill and a Martyn ace. Caffey got the Supernovas on the board with a slide attack kill, but the Ignite responded with a 5-0 run, featuring a kill and block from Crawford, an ace from Tealer, and two Omaha errors. Londot ended the run with a block, but DeBeer followed with a kill to extend Indy’s lead to 8-2. The Supernovas started to settle in off a kill from Londot, Nuneviller’s first block and Cooper’s first kill of the night. Debeer steadied the ship for Indy with a kill, but Nuneviller answered with back-to-back points to close the gap. Tealer kept the Ignite in the front with a kill, but Valentín-Anderson chipped in her first kill to keep Omaha within reach. Tealer struck another kill before Omaha put together a 3-0 run behind a kill from Nuneviller and two overpass terminations from Valentín-Anderson and Hord to tie the set at 12. A service error and Tealer kill gave the Ignite its lead back. Cooper responded with back-to-back kills, but Indy answered with a Crawford block and another Tealer point. Cooper added another kill, but the Ignite pulled ahead with blocks from Hilley and Tealer to make it 20-15. The CHI Health Center came alive with a 5-0 Supernovas run as Omaha received kills from Caffey, Nuneviller and two from Londot – capped off by an Indy error to tie it at 20. Martyn stopped the run with a kill for the Ignite, but Cooper answered for Omaha. Tealer then stepped up with two kills, and an Omaha error brought Indy to set point at 24-21. Cooper and Valentín-Anderson gave the Supernovas hope with back-to-back kills, but Tealer closed it out with her final swing, giving the Ignite the 25-23 win and 2-0 lead in the match.
Omaha’s offense terminated well with a .302 hitting percentage in the set as Cooper added six kills on a .625 clip. The Supernovas added one block but zero aces. The Ignite were one step ahead with a .345 team hitting percentage alongside four blocks and two aces. Tealer collected nine kills on 12 swings to pace the team.
Set 3: Caffey opened the third set with a kill for Omaha, and after a missed swing by Londot, she responded with a kill to give the Supernovas a 2-1 lead. Tealer and DeBeer answered for Indy with a kill and a block to go back in front. A service error gave Omaha a sideout, but DeBeer quickly did the same with a kill. Skjodt added a kill for the Ignite, and Crawford recorded her first ace. The teams continued to trade points leading into the media timeout, with Indy holding an 8-7 advantage. Out of the break, the Supernovas grabbed the lead with a Nuneviller kill followed by an ace from Caffey. Martyn responded with a block for Indy, but Cooper came through with a kill to keep Omaha in front. DeBeer and Hord traded kills, and Indy regained momentum after another DeBeer kill and an ace from Kylie Murr, making it 12-11 Ignite advantage. A service error gave Omaha the ball back, but Skjodt and Tealer responded with kills to push the Ignite ahead. Londot and Nuneviller answered with kills to push Indy ahead. Londot and Nuneviller answered with kills of their own, but Tealer struck again to maintain Indy’s lead. Nuneviller and Caffey teamed up for a kill and ace to tie the set at 16. Martyn continued her pressure from the service line with an ace for Indy, but Cooper flew from the pin for a kill and a block. Tealer delivered another kill to put Indy up 19-18, but Londot tied it up again with a kill. Debeer found the floor for a kill while Hilley posted a block to regain control. Following a pair of errors from both sides, Martyn’s block pushed the Ignite to a 23-20 lead. Londot kept Omaha in it with a kill, but Indy closed out the set with a pair of points from Skjodt and Martyn, securing the 25-21 win and sweep for the Ignite.
The Supernovas were limited to a .122 clip in the set with one block and two aces. Nuneviller paced the group with four kills, while Londot added three. Indy’s attack posted a .333 hitting percentage with a team-high six kills from Tealer and four from Debeer.
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