OMAHA, Neb. — From preseason favorites to first-ever champions, the Omaha Supernovas (18-8) swept the Grand Rapids Rise (13-13) 25-13, 26-24, 25-22 Saturday in front of 10,678 to become the inaugural PVF Champions.
Saturday marked the third sweep in the month of May for the Supernovas. Omaha had three sweeps combined in the previous three months.
During the trophy presentation, Supernovas setter Sydney Hilley was awarded the Postseason MVP and a $10,000 bonus as the Wisconsin graduate came off the bench to guide the Omaha offense to two victories. Hilley dished out 40 assists and six digs in the three sets as the Supernovas hit .342 for their second-highest hitting percentage of the season. That was after handing out 46 assists and nine digs in the reverse sweep over San Diego in the semifinals.
Olympian Bethania de la Cruz paced the Omaha attackers with 13 kills on a .423 clip to go with eight digs and her league-leading 35th ace of the season. Stephanie Samedy matched her teammate with 13 kills on a .346 hitting percentage including one ace and one block. Samedy finished the postseason with 43 total kills on a .391 clip in two matches with 13 digs, three blocks and two aces. Team captain Brooke Nuneviller was third Supernovas player to reach double-digit kills with 12 along with 15 digs.
Middle blockers Hristina Vuchkova and Tori Dixon combined for 12 kills on a .550 clip and five blocks. Vuchkova hit .750 with seven kills and one error on eight swings. She tallied a match-high three blocks. Dixon had no hitting errors with five kills on 12 swings. She earned a pair of blocks. Libero Kendall White finished her season with nine digs and two assists.
Omaha recorded two aces along with seven blocks.
Grand Rapids was led by star attackers Claire Chaussee and Emiliya Dimitrova. Chaussee totaled 12 kills and seven digs while Dimitrova also recorded 12 kills and 11 digs in her final professional volleyball match.
Set 1: The Supernovas started the set with a 4-0 run behind the serve of de la Cruz. Nuneviller’s second kill of the match doubled the Omaha lead at 8-4. The Supernovas put three consecutive points on the board to force a Rise timeout at 13-6. Dimitrova sided out for the Rise. De la Cruz recorded her first ace serve of the match for a 16-8 Omaha lead. Nuneviller’s fifth kill got Omaha to the 20-point mark first. Samedy served up an ace for a 23-10 lead and forced a Grand Rapids timeout. The Rise took the two points out of the timeout, but a Nuneviller kill gave Omaha a set point. De la Cruz ended the set with a kill at 25-13. The Supernovas recorded 17 kills on the set with only one error for a .615 hitting percentage and held the Rise to nine kills and a .115 hitting percentage.
Set 2: Vuchkova posted her second block of the match to put Omaha up 6-5. Dimitrova answered with her third kill of the set. Grand Rapids took the two-point lead at 9-7 after a Chaussee kill. A Dixon kill tied the set at 11-11, but Dimitrova put the Rise ahead 12-11. Nuneviller ended a marathon rally with her eighth kill of the match to even the score at 13s. The Rise regained the two-point lead after kills by Chaussee and Kayla Caffey. Nuneviller got to double-digit kills at 21-21. The Rise took the following two points for a 23-21 advantage. Samedy gave the ball back to Omaha and de la Cruz followed-up with a kill of her own. Another de la Cruz kill brought the Supernovas to set point. Omaha was awarded the 25th point and the set win, but a smart challenge by Cathy George and the Rise kept the set going and tied the score at 24. A de la Cruz kill and a Dixon block gave Omaha the 26-24 set win. Four Supernovas had four or more kills on the set. Chaussee led the way for the Rise with six.
Set 3: The Supernovas took the first three points of the set. Erika Pritchard got the Rise on the board with her fourth kill. A Samedy kill put Omaha up three at 9-6. De la Cruz followed up with a kill to extend the Supernovas’ lead. A block by Hilley put Omaha up 11-7. Samedy’s 12th kill put Omaha up 15-10, but Dimitrova got the ball back for the Rise, and they took the next two points to cut the Omaha lead to 15-13. Vuchkova found her offensive stride and gave Omaha a three-point lead at 17-14. The Rise tied it up at 19s, but a Samedy kill gave Omaha the lead back. Back-to-back Omaha points put them up 22-20 and forced a Grand Rapids timeout. Vuchkova’s seventh kill gave Omaha championship point. The Rise fought off one match point, but a Grand Rapids service error ended the set and gave Omaha the 25-22 set win and the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation Championship. De la Cruz and Samedy led the Supernovas with five kills apiece. Samedy also added a block in the final set of the season.
