Londot Shines in Supernovas’ Four-Set Loss to Atlanta

OMAHA, Neb. — The Omaha Supernovas, the world’s leading professional volleyball franchise, leaned on a 16-point night from opposite Emily Londot, but the Atlanta Vibe (6-6) pulled away for a 20-25, 25-20, 16-25, 20-25 win Thursday night before 8,014 fans on Kiewit Court at CHI Health Center. 

Londot recorded her highest point total since Feb. 5 at Dallas, hammering 16 kills on a .333 hittingpercentage while adding 12 digs and one assist. She was aided by outside hitter Reagan Cooper, who put down 11 kills and tied a career high with four blocks as part of a 15-point performance. Fellow outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller added six kills, nine digs and one block.

Middle blocker Kiara Reinhardt delivered another highly efficient night with seven kills on 12 swings for a .583 hitting percentage, keeping her season clip among the league leaders. The first-round pick out of Creighton also totaled six digs and two blocks. Toyosi Onabanjo matched her teammate with seven kills and added one block. 

Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 36 assists and nine digs while contributing three kills, one block and one ace. Starting libero Elena Oglivie matched her output from her team debut with a team-leading 14 digs and six assists. 

As a team, the Supernovas (7-7) hit .227 and finished with nine blocks, one ace, 60 digs, 51 kills and 47 assists. 

Atlanta was paced by 21-point performances from opposite Aiko Jones and outside hitter Leah Edmond. Jones led all players with 19 kills to go along with one ace and one block, while Edmond totaled 18 kills on a .421 hitting percentage with three blocks. Former Omaha middle blocker Phoebe Awoleye added 14 points on 10 kills (.667) and four blocks. 

The Supernovas begin a three-match road swing Sunday, March 1, against the league-leading Indy Ignite. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CST on CBS Sports Network and the Supernovas Radio Network. 

Key Notes 

Set 1: Edmond opened the first set with a kill, but Atlanta followed with a service error. Cooper and Awoleye traded killsto keep the score tied. Awoleye added another kill, and Atlanta capitalized on a Supernovas violation to take a 4-2 lead. Londothammered a back-row kill to help ignite Omaha’s offense. Aiko Jones and Nuneviller exchanged kills, but hitting and service errors plagued both teams before Londotfound the floor to tie the set at 6-6. A Supernovas service error opened the door for Edmond to record back-to-back kills and extend the Vibe lead to 9-6. Cooper responded with a kill for Omaha, but Edmond answered again. Reinhardt connected from the middle to trim the deficit to 11-9. The Supernovas committed two more service errors before Taylor Smith logged a kill and Jones followed with an ace to force an Omaha timeout at 14-10. Nuneviller and Cooper countered with kills to cut the gap to 14-12. Jones and Edmond powered through the block for three straight kills. Cooper stopped the run with a point of her own to make it 17-13 Atlanta. Jones then delivered back-to-back kills to force Omaha’s second timeout at 19-13. Hitting and service errors by Atlanta allowed the Supernovas to mount a 5-0 run, highlighted by a Hilley ace and a Cooper block. Awoleye halted the momentum with a block, followed quickly by an Averi Carlson ace to push the Vibe lead to 21-17. Londot added two kills late, but a Jones block gave Atlanta set point. An Onabanjo attack sailed wide to seal a 25-20 set-one win for the Vibe. 

The Supernovas hit .205 in the set with one block and one ace. Cooper and Londot shared the team lead with four kills apiece, each hitting .333 or better. Atlanta hit .306 with three blocks and two aces, as Edmond led the way with five kills on a .556 clip. 

Set 2: A service error opened the second set for Omaha, but Reinhardt responded with a pair of kills from the middle. Jones and Onabanjo traded kills before Smith and Edmond combined for back-to-back points to give Atlanta a 5-4 edge. The Supernovas regained momentum with a Nuneviller kill, an Atlanta hitting error and a Hilley block to fuel a 3-0 run and a 7-5 lead. Edmond, Carlson and Jones answered with three consecutive kills to reclaim a 9-7 advantage. Hilley slipped in a setter dump, and a Cooper block tied the set at 9-9. Jones and Edmond combined for the next three points to push Atlanta back ahead 12-9. Cooper’s cut shot found the floor, and Reinhardt denied an Atlanta attack to tie the set again at 12-12. An Edmond tip produced a sideout, but the Vibe committed back-to-back errors to hand Omaha a 14-13 lead. Reinhardt recorded a kill between two Awoleye points to keep the score tied at 15-15. Hilley sparked a 4-1 run with a kill, followed by a Vibe error and two Londot kills to force an Atlanta timeout at 19-16. Madolyn Isringhausen recorded a kill out of the break, but Cooper and Reinhardt capitalized on overpasses to push the lead to 21-17 and prompt another Vibe timeout. After an exchange of errors, Nuneviller dropped in an off-speed shot before Londot gave Omaha set point with a well-placed tip. Londot sealed the set with a swing off the block for a 25-20 win, tying the match at one set apiece. 

Omaha hit .467 in the set with three blocks. Londot led with five kills on six swings for a .833 percentage. Atlanta hit .184 with one block, as Edmond again led with five kills.  

Set 3: Awoleye opened the third set with a kill from the middle, answered by a Reinhardt finish. Awoleyetraded points with Londot before recording her third point of the set with a block. Edmond found the floor from the back row, and Onabanjo responded with two middle kills to tie the score at 4-4. Cooper recorded a block, but an Edmond kill and an Omaha net violation gave Atlanta a two-point edge. Cooper and Reinhardt combined for consecutive blocks to reclaim the lead. Edmond answered with a tip to tie the score, igniting a 3-0 run capped by another Awoleye block to force a Supernovas timeout at 10-7. Londotsided out immediately after the break. Awoleye and Edmond added kills for a 12-8 lead before consecutive Atlanta errors trimmed the deficit to two. Jones and Onabanjo exchanged kills before Smithtooled the block, followed by a Jackie Moore overpass kill and an Onabanjo error to extend Atlanta’s advantage to 16-11 at the media timeout. Smith added a tip out of the break to continue the run. TeBrake recorded a kill for Omaha to make it 17-12. Moore converted another overpass before Cooper responded with a deep-right kill and added another from the back court. Londot squeezed in a kill through the block, but Jones answered. Smith earned set point, and Jones finished the set, 25-16, giving Atlanta a 2-1 match lead. 

Omaha hit .091 in the set with three blocks, as Onabanjo and Londot led with three kills apiece. Atlanta hit .394 with four blocks, while Edmond and Jones shared the set lead with five kills each. 

Set 4: Nuneviller opened the fourth set with a back-row kill, followed by a Supernovas service error. Londot answered with a kill before Awoleye converted from the middle. An Atlanta service error was offset by a Jones kill to tie the set. Londot and Onabanjo recorded consecutive kills to give Omaha a 5-4 lead, but back-to-back Supernovas errors returned the advantage to Atlanta. Onabanjo and Jones traded kills before Edmond’s point sent the Vibe into the media timeout with an 8-6 lead. Edmond extended the margin to 11-8. Reinhardt and Cooper posted kills, but service errors continued to hinder Omaha as Atlanta maintained a 13-10 edge. Hilley executed a behind-the-back setter dump, and Onabanjo followed with a block to pull within 13-12. Smith sided out for Atlanta, Jones added another kill, and an Edmond block pushed the lead to 16-13 at the media timeout. Nuneviller opened play with a kill from the left side, mirrored by Edmond. Londot continued to apply pressure with a cross-court kill to make it 19-16. She added another deep swing, but the Vibe answered with back-to-back points to extend the lead to 22-17. Cooper recorded a kill before Smith sided out. Omaha scored consecutive points on an Atlanta error and a Nuneviller block, but Jones earned match point. Carlson finished the match with a block to secure the 25-20 set win. 

The Supernovas hit .179 in the final set with two blocks, as Londot led with four kills. Atlanta hit .200 with two blocks, and Jones recorded a set-high six kills.