Geoff Exstrom
Omaha Supernovas
ORLANDO, FLA. — Omaha Supernovas outside hitter Reagan Cooper tallied a team-high 10 kills while rookies Kendra Wait, Emily Londot and Phoebe Awoleye put in career high performances. However, Omaha couldn’t contain Orlando's star attackers in a 22-25, 18-25, 20-25 sweep Sunday afternoon at Addition Financial Arena.
Sunday’s result marked the first time in franchise history that the Supernovas have been swept, ending its streak of 33 consecutive matches with at least one set win.
Omaha received career days from several of its rookies, including opposite Londot who hammered down six kills (.263) and seven digs, plus a team-leading three blocks in only two sets. Wait put on display her all-around talent with 14 assists, eight digs, one kill and an ace after entering the match in the second set. Awoleye — who was one of the NCAA’s top blockers in all her five of her college seasons — recorded her first pro block in the third set. All stat lines from each player are career highs.
Cooper recorded double figure kills for the fourth match this season while also leading the team in terminations for the third-straight contest. Although, she was the lone Supernova to reach double digits as Brooke Nuneviller posted eight kills and 12 digs. Kelsie Payne was limited to four kills and four digs, but had her second ace of the season.
Starting middle blockers Kaitlyn Hord and Kayla Caffey struggled as Hord was held to no kills with two digs while Caffey tallied two kills. Setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson dished out 13 assists and six digs. Libero Camila Gómez had 17 digs on the afternoon, which marks her fourth double-figure dig total in a match this season.
As a team, Omaha hit .159 with five blocks and a pair of aces.
Brittany Abercrombie continued her MVP campaign with a match-high 16 kills (.244), 12 digs, three blocks and one ace. Fellow star hitter Adora Anae tallied 13 kills on a .312 clip with nine digs and one block. South Korean setter Pornpun Guedpard racked up 44 assists and eight digs in three sets. The Valkyries hit .305 in the match with eight blocks and Abercrombie’s lone ace.
The Supernovas continue their three-match road swing next week when they face the Indy Ignite for the first time in franchise history on Thursday, February 6. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CST at Fishers Event Center. Omaha follows up with a rivalry showdown against the Atlanta Vibe on Saturday, February 8 at 6 p.m. at Gas South Arena.
Key Notes
- The Valkyries won their first-ever match against the Supernovas after dropping all four contests in the 2024 season series. It’s also the first of the five matches not to go at least four sets.
- Orlando’s .305 hitting percentage was the second-highest by an opponent in franchise history. Plus, the Valkyries tallied the second-fewest hitting errors (11) of any team against Omaha.
- In the three matches Anae played against the Supernovas last season, the Utah alum combined for 37 kills and 22 errors on 134 swings for a .120 hitting percentage. She tallied 13 kills and three errors on 32 swings for a .312 clip on Sunday.
- It is the third time in franchise history that an opponent has only recorded one ace against the Supernovas.
- Reagan Cooper failed to record an ace in a match for the first time this season, ending her streak at six consecutive matches which is second-longest in franchise history.
Set 1: Nuneviller grabbed an early kill to start things early as Cooper followed up for a kill of her own to give Omaha a 4-3 lead. Anae teed off on the Supernovas defense from the beginning with a pair of kills as part of a 5-1 run to give Orlando an 8-5 advantage. Payne slammed down one of her four kills to keep her team within striking distance at 12-9 Valkyries. Cooper tallied another kill, but two more terminations from Anae pushed the lead to 17-12. Payne and Nuneviller answered with back-to-back kills to garner some momentum. Anae and former Supernova Lindsey Vander Weide put away balls to put the Orlando lead at 19-15. Omaha rallied for its biggest scoring run of the afternoon as two Nuneviller kills, plus Payne’s ace tied the set at 19. Later tied at 20, the Valkyries burst out for a quick 3-1 run with Anae and Vander Weide slamming down kills. Cooper kept the Supernovas in it with a tally, but Anae and Abercrombie recorded back-to-back points for a 25-22 set win for Orlando.
Omaha produced offensively with a .290 hitting percentage in the opening set including a team-high five kills from Nuneviller (.455) and three each from Cooper and Payne (.400). The Valkyries were just better in that regard, recording a .429 clip with nine kills from Anae (.500) and four from Abercrombie (.444).
Set 2: Orlando continued its momentum from the first set with a 5-1 scoring run which was stamped by two kills from Abercrombie and the first of eight kills from Courtney Schwan. Payne, Caffey and Nuneviller contributed offensively with one kill each to make it 10-5 Valkyries. A 3-1 burst from the Supernovas — aided by two Valkyrie service errors — cut the lead to 11-8, but that’s the closest Omaha would get in the set. Guedpard went on to serve an 8-0 run to give Orlando a commanding 19-8 lead. Anae had two kills and a block while Abercrombie contributed a kill and one block in the set-deciding scoring run. Omaha responded with a flurry of substitutions, including Wait and Londot. The two rookies provided a spark as the Supernovas went on a 5-1 run with two kills from Cooper and a block each from Nuneviller and Londot. In fact, after the 8-0 run by Orlando, Omaha outscored the Valkyries 10-5, but Abercrombie was responsible for three of Orlando’s final five points in a 25-18 set win.
The Supernovas hit just .079 with a team-high four kills from Cooper. The Valkyries continued their offensive prowess with a .333 hitting percentage and a team-leading seven kills from Abercrombie.
Set 3: Omaha kept its rookies in following the intermission and they rewarded the Supernovas with a 6-2 run to start the third set as Wait recorded a kill on a setter dump, plus her first career ace. Londot got into the action with a kill of her own. 2024 PVF Blocker of the Year Kaz Brown recorded her first and only block of the afternoon, which was followed by an Abercrombie ace and kill to cut the lead to 6-5. A Cooper kill combined with an Orlando hitting error put the advantage back to 8-5. The Valkyries tied the set at eight following a 3-0 run, but Londot answered with back-to-back terminations to put the score back in Omaha’s favor at 10-8. Cooper put down her final kill of the night to make the lead 12-10. The Supernovas momentum stopped there as Orlando went on a 9-2 run for a 19-14 lead. Abercrombie spearheaded the charge with two kills and a block. Two blocks from Londot and Awoleye’s first career stuff made up a 3-1 Supernovas run to force a Valkyries timeout at 20-17. Nuneviller kept the deficit at three with a kill, but a Natalie Foster swing ended the set at 25-20.
Omaha hit .136 as Londot led the way with four kills while Cooper added three more to her total. Orlando posted a .188 clip with Abercrombie putting down a team-high five kills.
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Every match this season can be heard on the Supernovas Radio Network, led by its flagship station KCRO 660 AM as part of Walnut Media. The SRN can be heard in five states with the support of its affiliates in KXCB Bluffs Country 106.5 FM, Boomer Radio 106.7 FM, ESPN Tri Cities, KNCY in Nebraska City, KGMT in Fairbury and KSID-AM in Sidney.
ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas are the premier home of professional volleyball, boasting the No. 1 pro volleyball average attendance in the world. The Supernovas 2025 season began on January 10 when they hosted 13,486, becoming the most attended U.S. pro volleyball match in history. The team is owned by global music sensation Jason Derulo and entrepreneur Danny White, Co-Founder of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska.
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