Courtesy of Geoff Exstrom of the Omaha Supernovas
OMAHA, Neb. — The Omaha Supernovas, the world’s leading professional volleyball franchise, continued their strong form with a dominant 29-27, 25-17, 25-17 sweep of the Grand Rapids Rise (6-12) on Friday night in front of 9,448 fans on Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center.
The result marks the third consecutive victory for the Supernovas (10-9), who became the third team in the MLV to move above .500 and secured back-to-back home wins for the first time this season.
“I would say we had a wonderful performance in every aspect of the game and served extremely tough,” Supernovas head coach Luka Slabe said. “We kept them down to very low numbers, and coming into the match, it was kind of hard for me to decide who we were going to attack and how we were going to attack. Once we started attacking from the service line, it was more than clear that there were a lot of good targets we could go after.”
Playing in her first match since being named an MLV All-Star, opposite Emily Londot showcased her stardom with a match-high 18 points, totaling 17 kills on a .417 hitting percentage with one block. She was also stellar defensively, finishing with 15 digs for her fifth double-double of the season. The second of two Omaha All-Stars, outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller tallied 10 kills and eight digs, while Sarah Parsons added 11 points on nine kills, two blocks and 12 digs.
Facing her former team for the second time since the Feb. 13 blockbuster trade, Novas libero Elena Oglivie etched her name into the record book with 20 digs, setting a new franchise record for most digs in a three-set match. She spearheaded a strong defensive effort that produced 64 team digs, two shy of the franchise record.
“I think our team was just really focused on having fun tonight, so I came into this game with that in mind, playing free and playing together,” Oglivie said. “I think it’s also nice to know the people on the other side of the net and their tendencies, so I feel like that helped put me in good spots. Our serving and blocking was amazing too, so I think it was a good team win tonight.”
Friday’s outing marked Oglivie’s third match this season with 20 or more digs, including two with the Supernovas. She recorded a season-high 21 digs against the Rise when the Novas visited Van Andel Arena on March 7.
Despite ranking last in blocks per set, the Supernovas matched the league’s second-best blocking team with 10 blocks on the night, as Janice Leao and Kiara Reinhardt once again shined at the net. Coming off her own franchise record last Saturday against Indy, Leao followed with a team-high four blocks and three kills. Reinhardt hit .333 with five kills and two blocks, while adding a pair of digs.
Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 40 assists with four digs, one block and one kill while directing an offense that hit .262 with 46 kills against just 12 errors — only two of which were unforced.
“The crowd makes a huge difference. It’s so fun to play in that environment, and they’re just so engaged in the game,” Oglivie said. “I’ve been loving my experience here at the Supernovas. The team is amazing. The girls have welcomed me with open arms and have just been so supportive through the transition. I’ve just been settling in the past couple of weeks, but I love it here, and the organization has also been super supportive with the entire transition. I have nothing but great reviews for Omaha. It’s amazing here.”
Grand Rapids hit .123 with 10 blocks, 63 digs, 41 kills and 37 assists. Carli Snyder recorded a team-high 13 points on 12 kills and one block. Alyssa Jensen matched Leao with four blocks and added seven kills on a .600 hitting percentage. Former Supernovas outside hitter Paige Briggs-Romine finished with a double-double, totaling 10 kills and 15 digs.
The Supernovas now have five days off before hitting the road for their final match before the All-Star break, visiting the San Diego Mojo on Wednesday, March 25. First serve is set for 9 p.m. CDT at Viejas Arena. The match will be broadcast on YouTube and can be heard globally on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by flagship station KCRO 660 AM.
Key Notes
- The Supernovas move to 6-0 against the Rise at the CHI Health Center and 10-2 all-time, which is their highest winning percentage against any other MLV opponent.
- Dating back to 2024, the Novas are 8-1 against Grand Rapids in extra point sets, which includes Friday’s 29-27 first set win. In 2026, they are 6-2 in those sets and 19-10 overall as a franchise.
- Friday’s victory marks the fourth sweep of the season for the Novas, who have swept their opponents in two of the three matches as part of the three-match winning streak.
- Londot’s .417 hitting percentage and 15 digs both make a new season high. She was also one kill short of matching the franchise’s three-set kills record.
- The Rise recorded zero aces, the fifth time that’s happened to an opponent in franchise history.
- Leao surpassed 100 career blocks as her four stuffs make it 102 in her two-year MLV career.
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Set 1: Both teams opened strongly with a long rally, which ended with an Elizabeth Inneh block to put Grand Rapids up 1-0 early. A Jensen kill made it 2-0 before a Rise error and a Hilley attack knotted the set at 2-all. Snyder and Londotbattled at the net, trading kills. Parsons stepped up to contribute back-to-back kills for the Novas and capitalized on a Rise overpass for a 7-5 edge. Briggs-Romine stopped Parsons’ run with a kill of her own before a service error put the Supernovas ahead 8-6 at the first media timeout. The Novas committed a service error out of the stoppage, leading to a Snyder kill and an Alyssa Jensen block for a 3-0 run and a 9-8 Rise lead. Inneh found the floor between back-to-back Nuneviller kills. Jensen and Inneh added kills, offsetting a Rise service error to take a 12-11 lead. Parsons led Omaha’s offense early with a tip kill and a strong defensive block to regain the lead at 13-12. Berkeley Oblad responded from the front row, landing two kills against the Nova defense. After an exchange of errors, Snyder landed a kill to put the Rise ahead 16-14 at the timeout. A Supernovas net violation extended the Grand Rapids run to 3-0, but Londot broke it up with a pair of kills from the right side. Snyder paced the Rise offense, trading errors and kills to keep Grand Rapids ahead 19-18. The longest rally of the set ended with a Jensen kill. Londot answered immediately off a back set from Hilley. After a Rise error tied the set at 20, Londot added another kill, but Briggs-Romine tallied two more to keep it tied at 22. The Novas broke through with a Hilley block and a Rise hitting error for a 24-22 set point. Camryn Turner shifted momentum with a dump kill and a block to force extra points. Nunevillerdelivered a powerful kill for another set point, but Snyder answered to tie it again at 25-all. Leao landed her first kill of the set from the middle, while Snyder responded with back-to-back kills to give Grand Rapids its first set point at 27-26. Nuneviller answered with a clutch swing from the left side, and Reinhardt put away an overdig for a Novas set point. Snyder’s final attack sailed wide, giving the Supernovas a 29-27 opening-set win.
The Novas hit .222 as a team with two blocks. Londot logged a team-high six kills, while Nunevillerand Parsons each added four. Grand Rapids hit .167 with four blocks, as Snyder led all players with eight kills.
Set 2: Reinhardt opened the set with a block, and Londot followed with a cross-court kill from the left side. Reinhardt added another block as the Novas took a 3-1 lead. Jensen landed a kill from the right side, but the Rise followed with a service error and a hitting error. With Omaha leading 5-2, Snyder ended the run with a kill, but two more Omaha errors tied the set at 5-all. After the Supernovas briefly regained the lead, Briggs-Romine tied it again with a kill. Londotsparked a 3-0 run with a kill, and Leao added back-to-back points with a block and a middle kill for a 9-6 Omaha lead. Briggs-Romine halted the run, but Parsons and Reinhardt responded to make it 11-7. Nuneviller added back-to-back kills to force a Grand Rapids timeout at 13-8. Briggs-Romine and Candela Alonso-Corcellas each recorded a kill out of the timeout to cut the deficit to 13-10. Londot and Jensen traded kills before Reinhardt added another from the middle for a 15-11 advantage. Londot’s strong night continued with a block to send the Novas into the media timeout ahead 16-11. Turner set Jensen for a middle kill out of the break, but Parsons answered with two line kills. Londot and Allison Mayfield exchanged kills for a 19-14 lead. Nuneviller and Londot extended the margin with consecutive kills to make it 21-14. Snyder added a kill before the Supernovas responded with a 3-0 run fueled by Londot and Nuneviller. A Rise hitting error brought up set point, but Omaha committed a service error and allowed an Alonso-Corcellas block. Reinhardt closed the set with a kill, giving the Novas a 25-17 win and a 2-0 match lead.
The Supernovas hit .368 with four blocks in the set. Londot recorded six kills on a .500 hittingpercentage. Grand Rapids hit .136 with one block. Jensen led the Rise with four kills, while former Supernova Briggs-Romine added three.
Set 3: Grand Rapids opened with a Briggs-Romine point, but Londot and Reinhardt answered with kills. The Rise block came alive with back-to-back blocks from Jensen and Alonso-Corcellas. Another attack found the floor for a kill, and Grand Rapids took a 5-4 lead after a Novas service error. The Novas regained momentum with consecutive kills from Nuneviller and Parsons. After a Rise attack error, Parsons capped a 4-0 run with a solo block to give Omaha an 8-5 lead. Oblad and Snyder responded out of the media timeout with a pair of kills, but the Novas countered with points from Nuneviller and Parsons. Londot continued to attack effectively, adding two more kills as the Supernovas maintainedcontrol and led 16-11 at the second media timeout after a Leao block. Hilley added another block before Alexis Shelton recorded her first kill of the night. Leao and Hilley extended the lead, with Leao scoring consecutive points, including a block, and Hilley adding a setter dump to make it 20-12. Back-to-back blocks from Oblad and Inneh gave Grand Rapids a brief spark, but Shelton’s service error returned the point to Omaha. Londot recorded her 17th and final kill of the match, and Brooke Mosher added her third ace of the season. An Inneh attack error gave the Supernovas match point, but Briggs-Romine extended the match with a kill. Jensen added back-to-back blocks, but Leyla Blackwell, appearing in just her third match of the season, closed it out with a kill from the middle, securing the Supernovas’ first home sweep since the season opener Jan. 8.
The Novas hit .211 with four blocks and one ace. Londot led Omaha with five kills in the set. Grand Rapids hit .048 with five blocks, while Jensen led the team with three blocks and one kill.
