Omaha Supernovas seek first-ever win vs. San Diego

After dropping a thrilling five-set match to the Atlanta Vibe to kick off the inaugural season of the Pro Volleyball Federation, Omaha returns to face the San Diego Mojo with first serve set for 6 p.m.

Despite the loss, the match set a record for the largest American crowd at a professional volleyball competition with more than 11,000 fans packing the CHI.

The Novas dropped the first two sets last Wednesday, then roared back to force a fifth where the Vibe won 15-13. 

Brooke Nuneviller led four Supernovas with double-digit kills as she finished with 16 while Jess Schaben-Lansman tallied 13. 

Atlanta is now 3-0 on the season after sweeping San Diego in the Mojo’s inaugural match on Thursday night.

Saturday’s match between Omaha and the Mojo will be streamed on YouTube.

Omaha 3-2: Tori Dixon put the Supernovas up to start the third set with her fourth kill but Betty de la Cruz’s serve then went out. Sydney Hilley then used a dunk for her first kill of the night before Morgan Lewis tied it up. Lewis’s serve then went out. 

San Diego 6-4: Morgan Lewis used a cross-court kill and after a long rally, Ronika Stone used the slide to get the swing from the right side off the Omaha block for the Mojo’s first lead all night. Paige Briggs answered back with a big swing but then committed a service error. Hilley’s attack was then off. 

San Diego 9-6: A Lindsay Stalzer kill and Danielle Hart’s swing going wide led to a Supernovas timeout. de la Cruz took a huge swing down the left side but Temi Thomas-Aliara’s swing couldn’t be handled by the Omaha back row. Dixon then got the tip on her attack. 

San Diego 12-8: Dixon then rejected Hannah Tapp but she answered back on her next swing for her sixth kill. Thomas-Aliara then served an ace but her next swing up the middle went straight into the net.Jess Schaben-Lansman’s swing from the right side sailed long. 

San Diego 14-11: Paige Briggs then pounded a big swing for her sixth of the night but Lewis’s swing landed in the back corner for her sixth kill. Her serve then sailed out and Natalia Valentin-Anderson served an ace to cut the Mojo lead to two. Briggs’s next swing sailed way out not getting the San Diego touch. 

Tied 15-15: Hart then used an off-tempo swing for a point and Nia Kai Reed blocked Lewis’s attack. Briggs then served an ace to tie it up and force a Mojo timeout. Lewis got the touch off of de la Cruz’s block after a long rally but Betty answered back…