Courtesy of Geoff Exstrom of the Omaha Supernovas
OMAHA, Neb. — The Omaha Supernovas, the world’s leading professional volleyball franchise, erased a five-point deficit in the fifth set and leaned on three different 20-point scorers to outlast the San Diego Mojo (1-5) in one of the most dramatic matches in team history, earning a 21-25, 28-26, 25-17, 20-25, 21-19 victory Friday night before 11,608 fans on Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center.
The Supernovas (4-3) saw rookie Kiara Reinhardt set franchise records for most points and kills in a single match by an Omaha middle blocker, smashing 18 kills on a staggering .640 hitting percentage to go with two blocks. She was aided by the dynamic outside hitter duo of Reagan Cooper and Brooke Nuneviller.Cooper set a Supernovas career record for the second straight match, tallying a match-high 25 points on 23 kills with a .310 hitting percentage, 17 digs and two blocks. Nuneviller added 23 points of her own, logging 20 kills, 12 digs and three of Omaha’s four aces.
Opposite Merritt Beason came off the bench to finish with nine kills and eight digs, while also adding two blocks. Setter Sydney Hilley dished out a season-high 62 assists, along with 14 digs and one ace. Libero Morgan Hentz recorded 17 digs and three assists.
As a team, the Supernovas hit .228 with nine blocks and four aces. Omaha also collected 96 digs, 70 assists and 74 total kills.
San Diego’s Grace Loberg continued her breakout 2026 campaign with 19 kills and 22 points. Opposite Morgan Lewis also reached double figures with 12 kills and led all players with 21 digs. Middle blocker Marin Grote added 12 kills on a .440 hitting percentage. The Mojo recorded four aces with 13 service errors while hitting .241 and totaling 11 blocks.
The Supernovas hit the road next to face the Grand Rapids Rise on Sunday, Feb. 1, at Van Andel Arena. First serve is set for 3 p.m. CST, with CBS Sports Network providing TV coverage and the match streaming worldwide on the Supernovas Radio Network.
Key Notes
- Friday’s attendance of 11,608 is the 10th-largest crowd in U.S. pro volleyball history.
- The Supernovas have now hosted the top 18 crowds in U.S. pro volleyball history and 19 crowds of 10,000 or more fans.
- Friday marked the first time in franchise history that Omaha has had three different 20-point scorers in one match.
- It was also the fourth five-set match between the two franchises out of 11 meetings, which is the most of any Supernovas opponent. However, it is the first five-set occurence since the two teams met in the 2024 MLV Semifinals.
- Nuneviller’s 73 attacks is a franchise record and marks the new season high in MLV.
- Friday marked Nuneviller’s sixth consecutive match with 15 or more kills and her third of the season with 20 or more.
- Reinhardt’s .640 hitting percentage is the third-highest in franchise history, trailing only Reagan Cooper (.700) and Ally Batenhorst (.667).
- Hilley equaled the five-set franchise record with 62 assists.
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Set 1: The Supernovas earned the first point of the match off a hitting error from the Mojo to make it 1-0. A Londot kill shortly followed to continue the Supernovas lead. Trading jousts, kills and hitting errors through long rallies, the score tugged back and forth. Eventually, the Mojo went on a run, headed by a few Grote kills, to take a 9-5 lead. Omaha responded with kills from Reinhardt and Londot. However, still trailing the Mojo, 14-11. a slew of hitting and serving errors commenced. Lewis and Grote delivered back-to-back kills to further the Mojo lead, 16-11. Nuneviller answered with three kills, along with help from Cooper, to ignite offense for the Supernovas and attempt to close the gap at 20-17. Capitalizing off a Mojo service error, Cooper delivered back-to-back kills to bring the Supernovas within two at 22-20. The Supernovas fended off the Mojo as long as they could, capitalizing on hitting errors, but a Tabron termination and Lewis tip ended the set with a 25-21 Mojo win.
Omaha struggled offensively, hitting .152. Cooper led the way with five kills. San Diego terminated on a .410 efficiency with a pair of blocks. Tabron paced the attack with five kills on 11 swings.
Set 2: Nuneviller opened the set with a powerful kill to put the Supernovas on the board first, 1-0. Following back-to-back hitting errors and a Reinhardt kill, the Supernovas remained ahead at 3-2. Cooper, Nuneviller and Reinhardt continued to swing for Omaha, but they were rivaled by Lewis and Loberg for the Mojo. Back-and-forth kills left the Mojo and Supernovas tied at nine. The Mojo capitalized off an Omaha service error to record back-to-back kills and take the lead at 12-10, and again at 15-12. The Supernovas responded and took advantage of a Mojo setting error, with kills from Nuneviller and Reinhardt, to tie the set at 17 apiece. An ace from Nuneviller gave the Supernovas the lead and was followed by kills from Beason, Cooper and Reinhardt to push the lead to 22-18. The Mojo began to close the gap off hitting errors, making things uncomfortable at 23-20. Onabanjo recorded another kill to give the Supernovas set point and keep the lead. The Mojo stayed close, cutting the deficit to 24-23. Grote equaled the set with a kill at 24. Beason and Nuneviller responded with back-to-back kills to once again give Omaha set point. Loberg answered for the Mojo to tie the set again, but after a Nuneviller kill and a Mojo hitting error, the Supernovas took the second set, 28-26.
Omaha’s offense found a groove with a .310 clip, including two aces and one block. Reinhard found the floor for five kills on six swings. San Diego hit .333 in the set as Loberg led all players with seven kills.
Set 3: Reinhardt opened the third set with a kill to put the Supernovas on the board first. Kills from Beason, Onabanjo and Cooper kept pace with the Mojo. A block from Onabanjo and kills from Beason and Nuneviller gave the Supernovas a 7-4 edge. A service error from the Supernovas allowed the Mojo to record a kill from Tabron, tying the score at seven. Nuneviller and Marlie Monserez traded kills, leaving the score tied. Back-to-back kills for the Mojo were answered with kills from Cooper and Hilley, as the Supernovas took a slight 11-10 lead. Loberg delivered two straight kills for the Mojo, which were answered with three Reinhardt terminations, giving the Supernovas a 14-12 lead. Beason, Cooper and Nuneviller, along with another Onabanjo kill, contributed to an eight-point run as Omaha gained control of the set at 19-12. A Supernovas hitting error stopped the run. Nuneviller and Cooper each recorded kills for Omaha. Hayden Kubik and Lewis recorded points for the Mojo in an attempt to close the gap; however, their efforts fell short after a service error and a hitting error, to put Omaha at set point. Nuneviller finished the set with a kill, giving the Supernovas a 25-16 win.
Omaha hit .279 with three blocks and two more aces. Nuneviller hit .308 and led the Supernovas with five kills. The Mojo limped to a .071 clip with an ace as Loberg recorded a team-high four kills.
Set 4: Cooper and Onabanjo combined for three early kills as the Supernovas took a 4-3 lead. Beason and Cooper traded kills with Monserez while maintaining a 7-5 advantage. The Mojo then earned six consecutive points, aided by two Supernovas service errors, to take a 10-9 lead. San Diego continued to defend its advantage with seven kills, extending the margin to 19-13. Reinhardt stopped the Mojo momentum with a kill, 19-14. A Beason block and a Nuneviller kill continued to spark the Supernovas offense, making it a 19-16 deficit. Another Reinhardt kill pulled Omaha within two, but the Mojo responded with a three-point kill streak from Lewis and Loberg, pushing the lead to 22-17. Beason and Cooper answered with three kills to keep Omaha within reach at 23-20. The Mojo fought to stay alive, closing the set with kills from Kubik and Grote to force a fith with a 25-20 win.
The Supernovas struggled offensively with a .119 hitting percentage while also rejecting two Mojo swings. Cooper led Omaha with five kills. San Diego hit .257 with five blocks and two aces in a big set victory.
Set 5: The Mojo carried momentum into set five by capitalizing off Omaha service errors, with Kubik recording back-to-back kills to take a 4-1 lead. Beason delivered a kill, but the Supernovas committed two errors as the Mojo extended the lead to 8-3 at the media timeout. Kills from Nuneviller and Reinhardt got the Supernovas offense going again at 8-5, along with strong serves from Mosher. A hitting error allowed the Mojo lead to increase by one, but back-to-back Reinhardt kills equaled the set at nine. A Loberg kill for the Mojo, followed by a Supernovas block, again kept the set tied at 10. Cooper broke the tie with a kill, but back-to-back Supernovas errors gave the Mojo a 12-11 lead. Reinhardt and Cooper responded with kills to reclaim the advantage, 13-12. Kubik tied the set with a kill, but Cooper answered to give Omaha match point at 14-13. A Supernovas service error tied the match, followed by a Grote kill to give the Mojo match point. Cooper answered to tie the set again. Grote again delivered a kill to put the Mojo in the lead, but Nuneviller tied the set and then recorded a kill to give Omaha a 17-16 match point opportunity. Grote tied it once more. Nuneviller delivered another kill to reclaim the advantage, but Loberg answered to tie it at 18 apiece. A Mojo hitting error gave the Supernovas a 19-18 lead, but Kubik tied it. Reinhardt recorded a kill to give Omaha a 20-19 edge, and Cooper finished the match with a kill, securing a 21-19 fifth-set win.
The Supernovas fought back from a slow start to hit .303 in the set with three massive blocks. Reinhardt was perfect, going 6-for-6 in the key moments for Omaha. The Mojo hit .114 with four blocks and one ace. Kubik recorded a team-high five kills on a 15 swings in the set.
