Story by Omaha Supernovas Communications
OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s professional volleyball team in the newly-established Professional Volleyball Federation, drafted five players, headlined by Amber Igiede from Hawaii, as part of the 2023 Pro Volleyball Federation U.S. College Player Draft held Monday in Atlanta.
The Supernovas' draft class includes Igiede, Paige Briggs from Western Kentucky, Maggie Cartwright of Arkansas, Sophie Davis from James Madison, and Auburn's Kyla Swanson.
"Our coaching staff has invested so many hours in preparing for this draft, and we are ecstatic with our selections,” Supernovas Head Coach Shelton Collier said. “Our first pick, Amber Igiede, is no doubt one of the top middle blockers in the country. For us to be able to trade for Paige Briggs, whom we targeted as the most skilled all-around player we really wanted at the top of the draft, was incredible for us.
Our staff loves Maggie Cartwright and Sophie Davis for their energetic vibe and versatility. We are so fired up about drafting Nebraska native Kyla Swanson, who had an amazing high school career in Wahoo. All five players were so excited when we called them to let them know that they were drafted by the Supernovas. They are all going to add tremendous value to our gym immediately in January.”
Omaha added a middle blocker with its first pick at No. 7 overall, drafting Igiede from Hawaii. The 6-foot-3 Louisiana native has grown into one of the best middles in the country as part of the Rainbow Wāhine. For the past four seasons, Igiede has played nearly every match, becoming a star player as early as her freshman season when she recorded 2.28 kills per set on a .349 hitting percentage en route to being named to the 2019 All-Big West First Team along with VolleyballMag.com Freshman All-American honors.
Igiede turned into an elite middle blocker over the next few seasons, with a massive jump coming between her sophomore and junior years. The Baton Rouge native became an offensive focal point during the 2022 season, averaging 3.79 kills per set on a .433 hitting percentage, which ranked No. 5 overall in the NCAA. Igiede’s blocking was one of the best in college volleyball that season as well, recording 138 total blocks for 1.29 blocks per set. The biggest jump, however, came in serving. Entering that season, Igiede compiled only 12 career aces, but by the season’s end, she had turned in 29, which was second on the team.
Igiede was well-rewarded for her efforts, earning AVCA All-America Third Team honors, becoming the first Rainbow Wāhine to accomplish that feat since 2017. She also became the 12th overall and third-straight Hawaii player to be voted Big West Player of the Year.
Igiede nearly matched those totals during her senior season in 2023, averaging 3.72 kills per set on a .396 clip with 28 aces and 127 total blocks. As a result, she was named to her fourth-straight All-Big West First Team while helping the Rainbow Wāhine to the second round of the NCAA Volleyball Tournament this last fall.
"I’m super excited and honored to be picked to the Omaha Supernovas,” Igiede said. “This is an amazing opportunity, and I am really looking forward to playing for great coaches and coming to Omaha in January. What a great and exciting time for volleyball!”
After originally picking Jill Gillen of Arkansas at No. 8 overall and UCF middle blocker Abby Hansen at No. 21, the Supernovas pulled off a trade with the Orlando Valkyries. Omaha traded away Gillen and Hansen for Western Kentucky outside hitter Paige Briggs, as well as the No. 24 overall pick. Briggs was originally selected No. 5 overall. With that newly acquired pick from Orlando, the Supernovas selected another middle blocker in Sophie Davis from James Madison.
In five seasons with the Hilltoppers, Briggs became a program legend amassing over 1,800 career kills and nearly 1,500 digs. Briggs turned in her best work over the past two seasons, with her 2022 season resulting in an AVCA and VolleyballMag All-American Honorable Mention. During that 2022 season, Briggs eclipsed the 400-kill mark for the first time in her career.
Briggs returned for a fifth season in 2023 and continued to add to her historic playing career by having career highs in kills (476), kills per set (4.00), hitting percentage (.330), and points (569.5). Briggs was recently named the Alyssa Cavanaugh Conference USA Player of the Year after helping the Hilltoppers to a 30-5 overall record and reaching the second round of the 2023 NCAA Tournament.
“I am extremely excited to join the Omaha Supernovas,” Briggs said. “Nebraska has an amazing volleyball community that it is an honor to just be a part of. I am so blessed to have this opportunity and cannot wait to see professional volleyball in the United States take off.”
The Supernovas went after another Razorback with the selection of Arkansas opposite Maggie Cartwright at No. 22 overall following the trade with Orlando. Cartwright spent all five seasons in Fayetteville, totaling over 1,200 career kills, 1,840 digs, and 108 aces.
Coming back to Arkansas for her fifth and final season, Cartwright had career highs in kills (363) and kills per set (2.85) while posting 89 blocks and 36 aces in helping the Hogs reach the Elite Eight for the first time in program history.
“I am so stoked and cannot wait to be a Supernova,” Cartwright said. “I have always dreamed to play professional volleyball in the United States and with this draft my dreams came true! I am so excited to get in the gym to compete and learn from great coaches. I can’t wait to get to Omaha!”
Using the pick acquired from Orlando, Omaha selected middle blocker Sophie Davis at No. 24, who joins the Supernovas after a historic career at James Madison. Davis was a force for the Dukes as she was an impact player from the day she starred in her first career match. The Fort Lauderdale, Florida native leaves the team as the program’s all-time leader in hitting percentage (.372), solo blocks (136), block assists (447), and total blocks (583) after five seasons.
Davis improved her play dramatically over the past two seasons as she was named the Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year in 2022 after recording 148 total blocks, which led the conference. Her .407 hitting percentage was also the highest in school history. Additionally, she nearly doubled her career aces total that season with 27 after posting 15 in the previous three years. Davis was named to the Sun Belt First Team All-Conference in 2023 after recording similar numbers with 139 blocks, a career-high 3.07 kills per set mark, and 22 aces.
“Words can’t express how grateful and excited I am to have been drafted to one of the premier teams in the league, the Omaha Supernovas,” Davis said. “I have heard so many great things about Coach Collier and his staff and I can’t wait to get in the gym and the team!”
With the final pick of the first college player draft, Omaha picked up a Nebraska native at No. 35 overall in the fifth round by selecting middle blocker Kyla Swanson from Auburn. Raised in Wahoo, Nebraska, Swanson was the top prospect in the state coming out of Wahoo High School in 2019.
Swanson helped the Warriors to back-to-back Class C-1 State Championships in 2017 and 2018 while recording the highest hitting percentage in the state with clips of .488 in 2017 and .462 in 2018.
Swanson committed to Illinois and former Nebraska assistant Chris Tamas, where she would spend the next four years. The 6-foot-4 middle didn’t garner much playing time in her first two seasons, but that changed when she grabbed a starting spot ahead of her junior season in 2021.
Swanson took advantage of the starting role, recording 106 total blocks, which was second on the team, while averaging 1.48 kills per set. She wasn’t able to replicate that success in her senior season, playing 15 matches in 2022. After graduating from Illinois, Swanson transferred to Auburn for her final season, where she had an impressive year, posting a career-high 129 blocks with 154 kills. The Tigers reached new heights during the 2023 season with Swanson, as Auburn was ranked inside the top 25 for the first time in program history while qualifying for the NCAA Tournament for the second-straight year.
“I am so grateful for the opportunity to continue furthering my volleyball career post-graduation with the Omaha Supernovas,” Swanson said. “Nebraska is where I grew up and fell in love with volleyball. To be able to play in Omaha is a momentous homecoming for me. I am extremely honored to learn from and compete with the best players and coaches in the nation.”
All five draftees will join the current roster in January as they attempt to make the Supernovas’ final roster. All Federation teams will cut down to 14-person rosters ahead of their season openers, with two additional roster spots saved for college draftees for a total of 16 players. The Supernovas will host the first Pro Volleyball Federation match on January 24, 2024, as Omaha takes on the Atlanta Vibe at the CHI Health Center, with the first serve set for 7 p.m.
With the conclusion of the draft, any player drafted shall be immediately eligible to sign a standard player agreement. Any college player who goes undrafted will be immediately eligible to sign with any team beginning at 12 p.m. ET on Tuesday, December 12, 2023.
If a college player doesn’t sign a standard player agreement with the team that drafts her, the team shall retain the drafted college player’s rights for two league seasons. If the college player’s rights are traded to another team, those rights carry over to the team receiving the college player’s rights. The extended two-year rights to a player end once that player signs a standard player agreement or practice squad agreement with a specific team.
A team may trade the rights to an unsigned but drafted college player from its college draft rights list to any team at any time. If a drafted player remains unsigned through the course of a league season, she shall remain on the team’s college draft right list for one additional league season, unless she has been traded to another team.
If a college player is drafted by a team and elects to return to school to retain her college eligibility, the college player shall be ineligible to sign with a league team during that league season and shall not be eligible for the college draft the following league season.
REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL competition will officially begin in the United States with the Omaha Supernovas hosting the Atlanta Vibe in the first match in league history at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha on January 24, at 7:00 p.m. CT. Nebraska supports volleyball better than anyone, as evidenced by the more than 92,000 fans that turned out this season for a collegiate match at the Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in August, setting a new world record for the highest attended women’s sporting event.
The Supernovas are one of seven U.S. teams for the 2024 inaugural season: Omaha Supernovas, Atlanta Vibe, Orlando Valkyries, Columbus Fury, Grand Rapids Rise, San Diego Mojo and Vegas Thrill. Two expansion teams, Dallas Pro Volleyball and Kansas City Pro Volleyball, have been announced for 2025. In Season One, the Pro Volleyball Federation will be showcased in three different U.S. time zones. Matches will take place on 67 different dates between January and May 2024, occurring on every day of the week.
ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas aims to be the premier home of professional volleyball throughout the world. The team is owned by global music sensation Jason Derulo and entrepreneurs Danny White and Chris Erickson, Co-Founders of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION
Pro Volleyball Federation is REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL and the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America. Pro Volleyball Federation will begin play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players and elite players from around the world. Our entire focus is on ensuring that our level and quality of play, our treatment of players, the quality of our event presentations, and our day-to-day fan experience is world class and the very best offered in North America. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.