Story by Supernovas Athletic Communications
COLUMBUS, OH. - The Omaha Supernovas fell to the Columbus Fury 25-12, 25-21, 23-25, 25-23 Wednesday night at Nationwide Arena for the Fury’s home opener.
Team captain Brooke Nuneviller spearheaded the Omaha attack, finishing with her fifth double-double of the season with 13 kills and 16 digs. In relief duty, Allison Mayfield popped off in her first sustained action of the season with 11 kills on a .269 clip. Opposite Jess Schaben-Lansman collected nine kills while middle blocker Danielle Hart added six. Schaben-Lansman also contributed the team’s two aces on the night.
Setter Natalia ValentÃn-Anderson dished out 36 assists to go along with 12 digs. Omaha had a season-low six blocks, but Hart led the way with three stuffs. The Supernovas hit .169 on the night.
Fury attacker Reagan Cooper hammered a match-high 22 kills to go with 11 digs. No. 1 overall pick Asjia O’Neal added 15 kills on a .520 hitting percentage with four of the team’s 12 blocks. Columbus hit .256, but failed to produce an ace.
SET 1: The Fury jumped out to an early lead fueled by its crowd as well as Cooper and O’Neal. Cooper collected three kills while O’Neal secured back-to-back kills to go up 7-2. The Supernovas closed the gap to one after consecutive hitting errors by Columbus in addition to a Hart kill and block. Leading 11-9, the Fury ran away with a 12-1 run as Cooper added three more kills and combined with O’Neal for two blocks. Schaben-Lasnman earned a kill to end the run, but an O’Neal kill down the line secured the 25-12 set one win for Columbus.
Cooper paced the Fury with seven kills while O’Neal and Samantha Dreschel added three kills apiece. Columbus hit .261 compared to Omaha’s .000.
Setter Sydney Hilley tallied two of the six kills for Omaha with Nuneviller, Tori Dixon, Schaben-Lansman and Hart collecting the others.
SET 2: Columbus used its momentum from the first set as Cooper and O’Neal combined for four kills and a block for the Fury to go up 6-1. The lead grew to 8-2 before the Supernovas became a factor as a Nuneviller kill and Schaben-Lansman ace made it 8-4. Despite not starting, middle blocker Hristina Vuchkova entered the match in the middle of the set, aiding Omaha with a pair of kills to cut the lead to three at 13-10 Columbus.
Nuneviller hammered down a kill which was followed by another Schaben-Lansman ace to cut the lead down to two. Back-to-back errors by Omaha extended the lead back out to four. Mayfield checked in for Bethania de la Cruz and recorded two kills on her first two swings. Vuchkova and Schaban-Lansman followed with a kill to make it a two-point set. A quick 3-1 run extended the lead, but Schaben-Lansman did her best to keep Omaha in it chipping in three kills in the final stretch. However, a Cooper kill on the second set point ended the set with a 25-21 Fury win.
Omaha improved to hit .286 on the set with Schaben-Lansman leading the way with four kills. Nuneviller added three, Vuchkova two and Mayfield with a pair of tallies.
Columbus fired off to hit .353 with O’Neal pacing the Fury with six kills. Cooper chipped in four more kills with Megan Courtney Lush hammering four kills. Each team ended the set with one block with Omaha collecting two aces.
SET 3: Omaha gained the advantage as action began in the third set with a 7-5 lead off a Fury net violation. Columbus fired back with a 3-0 run off back-to-back blocks to take an 8-7 lead. Omaha tied the set at 10 thanks to a Nuneviller kill, but the Fury’s Kaitlyn Hord and Courtney Lush combined on a block to complete a 4-1 run to give Columbus a 14-11 edge.
The Supernovas responded with their longest run of the night at 5-0 with Mayfield collecting a pair of kills in that span as Omaha took a 16-14 lead. The Fury scored four of the next five points to retake the lead, but three straight from Omaha gave the lead back to the Supernovas at 20-18 forcing a Fury timeout. A Vuchkova kill and hitting error by Columbus gave the Supernovas set point, but then came O’Neal with a kill and two blocks to make it 24-23. A hitting error by the Fury gave the set to Omaha 25-23.
Mayfield led the field with five kills with Schaben-Lansman adding three. Omaha hit .179. Cooper slammed down four kills while Courtney Lush had three. Columbus hit .111 with four blocks.
SET 4: Omaha continued its success into set four with a quick 4-1 lead off a pair of Mayfield kills. Columbus answered with four points of their own as O’Neal collected two kills and a block to go up 5-4. It was back and forth from there with no team gaining a larger lead than two.
Trailing 18-17, Columbus rallied off a 4-0 run to seize control at 21-18. Mayfield tallied two more kills as she helped cut the lead to 22-20. The Fury secured a block, but Nuneviller came up clutch with back-to-back kills to make it a one-point set at 23-22 to force a Columbus timeout.
Cooper slammed down her 22nd and final kill of the night to get the Fury to match point with O’Neal finishing it off with her 15th tally for a 25-23 set win.
The Supernovas continue their road trip with an afternoon showdown against the Orlando Valkyries on Sunday, February 25 at Addition Financial Arena in Orlando. First serve is set for 2 p.m. CST.
Fans can listen to all the action on the Supernovas Radio Network which is led by the flagship station, 93.7 The Ticket. Radio coverage is also on 95.7 The Boss (Omaha), KRVN (Lexington), KOLT (Scottsbluff) and KTOC (West Point).