OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s professional volleyball team and first pro volleyball champions, began its 2025 title defense with a victory over the Atlanta Vibe in a five-set thriller (22-25, 25-19, 22-25, 25-22, 15-13) Friday at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha.
The Supernovas reset its own U.S. Pro Volleyball record Friday night, witnessing 13,486 fans pack into CHI, surpassing their previous attendance record of 12,090 set last season. In less than two years of existence, the Supernovas franchise owns the top-eight U.S. Pro Volleyball attendance records with six of those having at least 11,000.
The Supernovas’ victory was fueled by 2024 PVF All-League First Team pick Brooke Nuneviller who led the charge as Player of the Game. The third-year pro delivered an impressive 22 kills and 17 digs showcasing her dominance on both offense and defense. Middle blocker and former Husker Kaitlyn Hord also made Supernovas history, breaking the franchise’s single-match blocking record with seven stuffs. Hord added 10 kills and recorded a .555 hitting percentage on the night.
Libero Camila Gómez, who signed with the Supernovas over the offseason from Grand Rapids, added another franchise record in her Omaha debut, tallying a single-match record 31 digs. Puerto Rico Olympian Natalia Valentín-Anderson dished out 48 assists and 17 digs with three kills to start out her second season in a Supernovas uniform. Reagan Cooper (8), Kelsie Payne (6) and Ally Batenhorst (6) all added offensively in a night where Omaha hit .187 as a team, but limited the Vibe to .155 hitting percentage.
Former Nebraska first team All-American Merritt Beason led Atlanta with 17 kills and a .347 hitting percentage in her professional debut. Middle blocker and Stanford product McKenna Vicini posted 11 kills on a .435 hitting percentage. Pia Timmer reached 11 kills while reigning PVF MVP Leah Edmond equaled that total with 11 of her own.
Set 1: The match began with Beason making an immediate impact for the Vibe, securing three of the team’s first five points with two kills and a block to give Atlanta a 5-3 advantage. The opening set was filled with errors from both teams, but the set remained competitive with the Vibe keeping an arm’s reach out front. Shelly Fanning mustered a kill, and a Payne error gave Atlanta a four-point edge at 18-14. A reversal on a block touch swung the momentum and killed a Supernovas comeback as Fanning closed the door for a 25-22 set win. Cooper led Omaha with four kills while Beason had four on her own.
Set 2: The Supernovas came out strong in the second set, jumping to an early 5-2 lead. Beason followed up with a key kill, tying the score at 8-8. Valentín-Anderson quickly responded with a setter dump and an ace to regain the lead for the Supernovas. The Vibe kept the pressure but Nuneviller’s back-to-back kills shifted control to a 16-13 Omaha lead. Hord’s sixth kill of the night followed by a Timmer hitting error extended the lead to 21-16. Back-to-back blocks from Aiko Jones and rookie Khori Lewis cut the Supernovas lead to 21-19, but a block from Hord and back-to-back stuffs from Payne led Omaha to close out the set with a 25-19 victory.
Set 3: The set started off tight with a 6-6 tie as points were traded back and forth. Tied at 10, Atlanta mounted a rally with a pair of blocks from Vicini and two kills by Edmond to give the Vibe a 15-11 advantage. Trailing 18-13, A string of four-straight points and three consecutive blocks helped the Supernovas close the gap at 18-17. Another Nuneviller kill tied the set at 20, but a 5-1 Atlanta run – highlighted by two Vicini blocks – gave the Vibe a 2-1 set advantage with a 25-22 game win.
Set 4: The Supernovas made a key adjustment in the fourth set, bringing in Batenhorst for Cooper, to fuel a 7-1 lead to start the set. Batenhorst secured her second kill of the match to help the Supernovas extend its advantage to 11-6. The momentum continued as Omaha extended the score to 15-9 off a Payne kill and block, forcing the Vibe to call a timeout. For the remainder of the set Batenhorst and Nuneviller took charge offensively, leading the Supernovas with four kills each. The Supernovas closed out the set 25-22 to force a decisive fifth set.
Set 5: The Vibe took control early in the fifth set, jumping out to a 4-2 lead. Nuneviller quickly responded with two kills to tie the score. Batenhorst helped jumpstart a run with a kill that pushed the Supernovas ahead 8-5. Beason kept the Vibe in the game with back-to-back tallies, which narrowed the gap to 11-9, but Nuneviller answered with two more kills to extend Omaha’s lead to 13-11. The match ended with another decisive kill from Nuneviller, who recorded six kills on seven swings in the set to seal a 1-0 start to the season for the Supernovas.
The Supernovas hit the road for the first time in 2025 on Sunday, January 12, to take on the Grand Rapids Rise. The match is set for a 5:00 PM CST first serve at Van Andel Arena.
Sunday’s match will be the first-ever Pro Volleyball Federation showdown on FS1 with Paul Sunderland and Holly McPeak on the call.
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 will begin in January. 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.
ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
Pro Volleyball Federation is the leading professional volleyball league in the United States. PVF sets the standard for the sport, offering the largest number of franchises, unmatched attendance, extensive broadcast coverage and substantial championship prize money. It combines top-tier talent, including NCAA stars and international athletes, with cutting-edgeproduction and technology to provide fans with an unmatched viewing experience. As a vital link between collegiate volleyball and the professional stage, PVF is dedicated to shaping the future of the sport and increasing visibility for its athletes. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.
