OMAHA, NEB. – Stephanie Samedy and Brooke Nuneviller combined for 41 kills as the dynamic duo spearheaded a 25-22, 23-25, 25-20, 16-25, 15-7 five-set win for the Omaha Supernovas (13-7) over the Grand Rapids Rise (10-10) Friday night at the CHI Health Center.Â
Omaha bounces back from its loss on Tuesday, therefore remaining as the only team in the Pro Volleyball Federation to not have lost consecutive matches. The Supernovas move to 3-0 on the season against Grand Rapids, sealing up the season series and moving one win away from locking up a berth in the first Pro Volleyball Federation Championship to take place in Omaha in May.
The Supernovas move to 3-3 in five-set matches with Friday marking the third-straight five-set match for Omaha including the third one in the last six days.
Samedy, making her first Supernovas start at opposite, led with a team-high 21 kills on a .283 clip with 18 digs in a monumental effort. That included five kills on seven swings in the decisive fifth set. Nuneviller was just as good with the Oregon product producing 20 kills with 16 digs and one block.
Not to be outshined, Olympian Bethania de la Cruz had one of her better nights of the season with 17 kills on a .304 hitting percentage including 16 digs, four assists and two aces to make her league-leading total 28 on the year. The three attackers combined for 58 kills on a .259 clip.
Supernovas middle blocker Tori Dixon tied the franchise record with six blocks to go with her six kills, six digs and one assist. Hristina Vuchkova chipped in five kills and one block and two digs while Sophie Davis also saw some playing time.
Setter Sydney Hilley played all five sets and dished out 56 assists and 18 digs with one kill. Libero Kendall White finished with 16 digs including 11 in the first set alone. She also had three assists. The Supernovas hit .253 on the night with nine blocks and two aces.
Claire Chaussee was the leading force for the Rise racking up a match-high 24 kills with 15 digs and two blocks. Middle blocker Marin Grote earned double-digit kills for the second time this season with 11 kills on a .370 clip with three blocks. In place of an injured Emiliya Dimitrova, Morgahn Fingall finished with 10 kills and 15 digs.
The Rise hit .222 as a team with 11 blocks and one ace.
Set 1: Nuneviller got the Supernovas to double digits first with her second kill of the match. Symone Abbott answered for the Rise for a 10-8 Omaha lead. The Rise brought it within two at 12-10 behind a Fingall kill. Samedy answered for the Supernovas. The Rise went on a 4-0 run winning a marathon rally at 14-12 to even the score at 14-14. Omaha regained a two-point lead at 17-15 after a De la Cruz kill. Nuneviller posted her fifth kill of the match to force a Rise timeout at 21-18. Chaussee recorded a kill and a block late in the set to tighten the score up at 22-21, Supernovas. Nuneviller sided-out for Omaha, but Fingall’s fifth kill gave the ball back to the Rise. Nuneviller took Omaha to set point, and Vuchkova finished it off with a kill. Omaha posted a 25-22 set win behind seven kills from Nuneviller and a .389 hitting percentage. Omaha hit .260 compared to Grand Rapids’ .185.
Set 2: De la Cruz wasted no time finding her fifth kill of the match to get Omaha on the board first. The Supernovas won the next three points for a 4-0 lead. Nuneviller doubled the Omaha lead at 8-4 with her ninth kill of the match. Grand Rapids brought it within two after a block by Kayla Caffey. Dixon answered with a block for her own to put the Supernovas up 10-7. The Rise went on a 3-0 run followed by a 5-0 Omaha run. Mac Podraza provided a spark for the Rise off the bench and recorded a block to cut the Omaha lead to 15-12. Chaussee followed-up with her ninth kill of the match. Nuneviller scored back-to-back points for Omaha to extend the Supernovas lead to 17-13. The Rise took their first lead of the set at 20-19. Omaha regained the lead after two De la Cruz kills. Podraza posted her second block of the match before Fingall ended it with an ace for a 25-23 Grand Rapids set win. De la Cruz led the way for the Supernovas with seven kills, hitting .500.
Set 3: Omaha opened the set on a 3-0 run. Fingall got the Rise on the board with her seventh kill. A trio of Nuneviller kills and a Samedy tally propelled a 4-0 Supernovas run for a 9-2 lead. Grote posted her second block on a 4-0 Rise run to force an Omaha timeout at 10-8. Dixon put away a Rise overpass for a 13-10 lead. De la Cruz recorded an ace at 16-12. Nuneviller got Omaha to 20 points first with her 17th kill of the match. Chaussee answered with back-to-back kills to bring the score to 20-18, Omaha. Two late-set service errors by the Rise helped Omaha to a set point, and a Dixon block finished the set in favor of the Supernovas at 25-20. Dixon posted four kills and two blocks on the set. Chaussee led the way for the Rise with six kills.
Set 4: Dixon recorded back-to-back blocks to open the set for Omaha. Grand Rapids followed-up with a 5-0 run, ended by Nuneviller’s 18th kill. A Chaussee kill doubled the Rise lead at 8-4. She added back-to-back kills for a five-point Grand Rapids lead at 11-6. Omaha responded with two points of their own to narrow the lead to 11-8. Fingall posted a block for the Rise for a 15-10 lead midway through the set. Nuneviller sided-out for Omaha and Dixon followed up with her sixth block of the match to cut the Grand Rapids lead to 15-12. The Rise took the next three points to force an Omaha timeout. The Rise took the next two points out of the timeout to extend their lead to 20-12. Samedy then recorded back-to-back kills to cut the Grand Rapids lead to six. Podraza logged her fourth block of the match, and Chaussee posted her 23rd kill for a Rise set point. A Supernovas attacking error gave the Rise a 25-16 set win. Chaussee led the Rise with seven kills and hit .294.
Set 5: De la Cruz put Omaha on the board with a kill and followed it up with an ace. A Dixon kill at 4-1 prompted a Grand Rapids timeout. Scully ended the Omaha run, but the Supernovas took the next two points for a 6-2 lead. Samedy heated up for Omaha and logged her 19th kill to double the Supernovas lead at 8-4. The Supernovas went on a 3-0 run before a Chaussee kill ended it at 11-6. Samedy’s 21st kill brought Omaha to match point, and De la Cruz ended the set at 15-7. De la Cruz and Samedy each logged five kills for the Supernovas hitting .833 and .714 respectively. Omaha hit .611 on the set with no errors.
The Supernovas now begin a two-match road trip with a visit to the Columbus Fury on Saturday, May 4. First serve is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT with television coverage once again on CBS Sports Network. Fans can also listen live in the Supernovas Radio Network led by its flagship station 93.7 The Ticket.
