OMAHA, Neb. – The Omaha Supernovas, the world’s leading professional volleyball franchise, leaned on a career performance from middle blocker Toyosi Onabanjo to force a fifth set against the Dallas Pulse (6-3), but it was not enough in a 16-25, 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 11-15 loss Thursday night on Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center in front of 9,828 fans.
A first-round pick of the Supernovas (7-4) in the 2024 MLV Draft, Onabanjo erupted for a career-high 14 points on 10 kills with a .667 hitting percentage, also a career best. She was a force at the net with a match-high four blocks and added five digs. Outside hitter Brooke Nuneviller and opposite Emily Londot matched her scoring output. Nuneviller totaled 14 kills on .333 hitting with five digs, while Londot finished with 13 kills on .312 hitting, nine digs and one block. Reagan Cooper recorded six kills and two blocks, while Sarah Parsons added three kills and seven digs while appearing in three of the five sets.
Kiara Reinhardt was also an offensive force with seven kills on 11 swings for a .636 hitting percentage. She served as an x-factor with three of the team’s five aces. Libero Morgan Hentz led the Supernovas with eight digs, while Allison Holder added five. Setter Sydney Hilley dished out 45 assists with six digs and one kill as she directed the offense to a .362 hitting percentage on 127 swings.
In total, Omaha recorded 54 kills, 48 digs, 47 assists, seven blocks and five aces.
Dallas outside hitter Sofia Maldonado Diaz delivered one of the top performances in MLV history, pouring in 31 points on 30 kills while hitting .312. No. 1 overall MLV draft pick Mimi Colyer added 17 kills, while setter Natalia Valentín-Anderson handed out 49 assists and recorded a match-high 16 digs in her first return to Omaha since signing with Dallas in the offseason.
The Supernovas look to bounce back when they return to Kiewit Court at the CHI Health Center on Sunday, Feb. 15 at 5 p.m. CST to face the Orlando Valkyries (5-4) in the team’s Pink Out match. The contest will be broadcast live on VICE TV and can be heard worldwide on the Supernovas Radio Network.
Key Notes
- Thursday’s crowd of 9,828 marks the second-highest weekday attendance in franchise history.
- Toyosi Onabanjo set or tied career highs in points (14), kills (10), hitting percentage (.667) and blocks (4).
- Onabanjo’s .667 hitting percentage is tied for the second-highest individual mark in franchise history, while Kiara Reinhardt’s .636 ranks fifth.
- Of the 13 times the Supernovas have hit .300 or better as a team, Thursday marks only the second loss in franchise history in that scenario. The first came in a 3-0 defeat against Orlando on Feb. 27, 2025.
- The Supernovas move to 9-9 all-time in five-set matches.
- The loss ended Omaha’s five-match winning streak, which was the longest in franchise history.
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Set 1: The Supernovas opened the match by capitalizing on a Pulse service error, and a kill from Nuneviller put them up 2-1. Cooper and Reinhardt added kills to push the Omaha lead to 5-3. After trading errors and net violations, Nuneviller tied the match with a massive back-row swing to make it seven apiece. Sofia Maldonado Diaz landed a kill for Dallas to give the Pulse an 8-7 lead. A kill from Reinhardt and a Pulse hitting error tied the match again at nine. An Omaha service error opened the door for a six-point Dallas run, which was stopped by a Reinhardt kill, leaving the score at 15-10. Another Supernovas service error led to a service ace from Dallas outside hitter Caroline Meuth to make it 18-11. An Onabanjo kill cut the score to 18-12, but the Pulse capitalized on Omaha errors, building a 21-13 advantage after a Maldonado Diaz kill. Onabanjo and Londot each tallied a kill, but a Colyer kill and block made it set point at 24-16. Dallas took the first set after Colyer finished it off with a kill for a 25-16 win.
The Supernovas offense struggled to a .174 hitting percentage with two blocks and no aces. Onabanjo kept her strong play going with three kills on four swings. Dallas finished the set with a .222 clip, adding three blocks and three aces, including a match-leading five kills from Maldonado Diaz.
Set 2: The Supernovas opened the second set strong with back-to-back aces from Reinhardt for an early 3-1 lead. Onabanjo and Cooper added kills to push the lead to 5-2. Dallas recorded a kill and a block from Layne Van Buskirk to trim the lead to 5-4. Hilley and Nuneviller responded with kills to offset a service error. A successful Supernovas challenge awarded Nuneviller another kill to make it 10-7. Cooper and Onabanjo traded kills with Dallas to maintain a 14-10 advantage. A service error gave the Pulse a chance to build momentum, but Onabanjo and Nuneviller answered with kills to keep the lead at 16-11 entering the media timeout. The Supernovas continued to add kills, with Nuneviller recording two more and Londot adding another to extend the lead to 20-13. Dallas responded with kills from Maldonado Diaz and Colyer, but a Pulse hitting error and Reinhardt’s third ace of the set gave Omaha set point at 24-16. Savage kept things alive with a middle kill, but her next swing went into the net, giving Omaha a 25-17 set win to tie the match at one set apiece.
The Supernovas offense surged to a .481 team hitting percentage with a Londot block and all three of Reinhardt’s aces. Nuneviller recorded five kills on 10 swings to lead the attack. Dallas hit .171 with one block and no aces. Maldonado Diaz matched Nuneviller with five kills in the set.
Set 3: After Cox hammered down a kill and Hord blocked an Omaha attack, Dallas committed four consecutive errors, giving Omaha a 4-2 lead. Diaz and Cox added kills to tie the score at 4-4. Cooper traded kills with Dallas, and a Pulse hitting error pushed the Supernovas ahead 7-5. Four consecutive service errors between the teams kept the score at 9-7. Reinhardt ended the error streak with a kill to extend the lead to 12-8. Maldonado Diaz added three more kills for the Pulse to cut the deficit to two, but Cooper sided out and additional Dallas service errors put Omaha ahead 16-13 at the media timeout. Van Buskirk recorded a kill off the slide before back-to-back Colyer terminations tied the set at 16, forcing an Omaha timeout. Londot answered with a crosscourt kill, which Maldonado Diaz immediately matched to keep it tied at 17. Londot followed with another kill to give Omaha an 18-17 lead. Hord put away an overdig, and consecutive Maldonado Diaz kills forced another Supernovas timeout at 20-17. Dallas then used a 5-0 run, fueled by three Maldonado Diaz kills, to take a 22-18 lead. Londot stopped the run with a kill. Colyer added a back-row kill, but Onabanjo responded with a middle termination and a block to force a Dallas timeout at 23-21. A Van Buskirk kill gave the Pulse set point, and an ace from Kaylee Cox sealed the 25-21 win.
The Supernovas continued to hit efficiently at .346 with one block and no aces. Londot led Omaha with five kills. Dallas hit .417 in the set with one block and one ace. Maldonado Diaz recorded 10 kills on .421 hitting to lead all players.
Set 4: The Pulse opened the set with a Cox kill and ace, followed by a Hord tip for a 3-0 lead. Parsons put Omaha on the board with a kill. Maldonado Diaz answered with a kill, and Colyer capitalized on a Supernovas hitting error to make it 6-3. Valentín-Anderson added a setter dump. Nuneviller recorded a back-row kill, but Colyer answered to keep Dallas ahead 6-4. A Reinhardt kill and Dallas hitting error made it 8-7, but the Pulse responded with a 3-0 run behind back-to-back Cox kills and a Colyer ace to make it 11-7. Parsons recorded her second kill of the match. Onabanjo and Maldonado Diaz traded kills before Van Buskirk made it 13-9 with a middle kill. Two Pulse hitting errors led to another Onabanjo kill and a Dallas timeout at 14-12. Maldonado Diaz stopped the run with a block, but a net violation sparked a 3-0 Omaha run, including kills from Londot and Nuneviller, to give the Supernovas a 15-14 lead. Colyer tied the set again, but another net violation and a Nuneviller kill pushed Omaha ahead 17-15. Reinhardt and Londot traded kills with Dallas, and Maldonado Diaz cut it to a one-point deficit. Parsons squeezed an attack through the block, setting up an Onabanjo block on the next rally. Merritt Beason delivered back-to-back aces from the service line. Nuneviller followed with a kill to give Omaha set point. Colyer kept Dallas alive, but Onabanjo closed the set with a kill for a 25-19 win to force a fifth set.
The Supernovas hit .433 in the set with one block and Beason’s two aces. Nuneviller led Omaha with four kills, while Parsons and Onabanjo added three each. Dallas hit .205 with one block and two aces, and Colyer led the way with four kills.
Set 5: Cox opened the fifth set with a kill, which Reinhardt answered with an overpass kill. Maldonado Diaz terminated her next swing, and Londot responded. Onabanjo followed with a one-handed block, and a Dallas hitting error gave Omaha an early 4-2 lead. The Pulse answered with kills from Colyer and Maldonado Diaz. Onabanjo recorded her second block of the set while Nuneviller and Colyer exchanged points, but consecutive Omaha errors and another Maldonado Diaz kill gave Dallas a 9-6 lead. Nuneviller and Reinhardt scored to pull Omaha closer, but two more Maldonado Diaz kills pushed the Pulse advantage to 12-8. Nuneviller stopped the run with a kill, and a setting error gave Omaha an opening, but costly service errors set up match point. Maldonado Diaz ended the match with her 30th kill for a 15-11 win.
The Supernovas hit .333 in the set with two blocks, and Nuneviller led the team with three kills. Dallas matched Omaha at .333, with Maldonado Diaz recording seven of the Pulse’s 11 kills in the set.
