Story by Supernovas Athletic Communications
DULUTH, GA. - The Omaha Supernovas beat the Atlanta Vibe in a dominant 25-22, 25-20, 25-22 sweep Thursday night at Gas South Arena. With the win, Omaha (6-3) moves into sole possession of first place in the Pro Volleyball Federation.
Opposite Jess Schaben-Lansman spearheaded the Supernovas offense with 12 kills on a .257 clip. Team captain Brooke Nuneviller finished with her sixth-straight double-double with 11 kills and 13 digs. Bethania de la Cruz totaled nine kills with a team-high 14 digs.
Omaha middle Hristina Vuchkova had four kills on 11 swings, but her biggest impact came at the net with a match-high five blocks. Tori Dixon added three kills to go along with her three blocks.
Setter Natalia Valentin-Anderson handed out 34 assists with 12 digs, three kills and one ace. Libero Kendall White dug 10 balls with one assist
Atlanta (4-3) opposite Anna Lazareva had quite a night with 15 kills and 20 digs which were both match highs. Leah Edmond was the only other Vibe player in double digits with 10 kills and 15 digs.
Set One: The Supernovas got off to a good start with an ace from Schaben-Lansman to begin the action. The Vibe took control from there, however, quickly building a 9-3 lead behind three kills from Lazareva and a pair from Edmond. Omaha crawled back to make it a three-point set at 13-10, but a Marlie Monserez kill built the lead back up to five at 17-12 Atlanta. The Supernovas hit another gear in the back half of the set starting with a 5-1 run highlighted by aces from ValentÃn-Anderson and Dixon. Another Lazareva kill followed by an ace made it 20-17 Vibe, but Omaha took off from that point.
Nuneviller slammed down three straight kills to tie the match at 20. A Dixon block and Atlanta error gave Omaha the lead at 22-21. Following another Monserez tally to tie the set at 22, the Supernovas scored three consecutive points which were all courtesy of de la Cruz to take the opening set 25-22.
Omaha hit .269 with two blocks and three aces. Nuneviller led the way with a team-high six kills in the set off of 20 swings with no errors. De la Cruz was right behind her teammate with five kills on 14 swings. Schaben-Lansman and Vuchkova each had a pair of kills while Dixon had a solo kill.
Atlanta hit .372 in the set with one ace and no blocks. Lazareva had an impressive set with eight kills on 12 swings with only one error. Edmond totaled four kills while Alli Linnehan had three.
Set Two: Omaha continued the momentum from its comeback in the previous set to jump out to an 8-4 lead. The Supernovas received an ace from both Nuneviller and Dixon in that span which also included a block and two kills from de la Cruz. The two teams went back and forth before a 4-1 Omaha run extended the lead to 15-10. Schaben-Lansman contributed three straight Supernovas kills to put the lead at 20-14. Atlanta countered with a 3-1 run to make it 21-17, but a Dixon slide attack ended the rally. Vuchkova earned a kill to make it set point with a Vibe serving error marking the end of a 25-20 set two win for Omaha.
The Supernovas hit .159 in the set with Schaben-Lansman leading the way with four kills. De la Cruz posted two more kills while Vuchkova added a pair of kills and two blocks. ValentÃn-Anderson also totaled two tallies in the set. Omaha had four blocks with two aces.
Atlanta hit .140 with a trio of blocks, but no aces. Kentucky grad Edmond paced the Vibe attack with five kills. Lazareva tallied three more kills while Karis Watson and Shelly Fanning each had two kills.
Set Three: Omaha kept an early lead throughout the early portion of the set. A 4-1 run boosted the Supernovas to a 7-4 lead with an ace from Nuneviller and a Dixon slide attack. Another 4-1 run later in the set kept Omaha ahead 11-7 with a pair of Schaben-Lansman kills in that span. The Vibe rallied from there as Atlanta eventually gained its first lead since the first set with a Lazareva kill to go ahead 16-15. A 4-1 run from the Vibe put them in the driver’s seat with a 21-19 edge. The Supernovas ran the table from that point, finishing the match on a 6-1 run including a ValentÃn-Anderson kill to complete the sweep.
Omaha caps off its four-match road trip with a 6 p.m. CST showdown at the Orlando Valkyries on Saturday, March 9 at Addition Financial Arena.
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).