After a “weird week,” the Omaha Supernovas suffered an all-too-familiar fate.
Omaha lost for the eighth time in 12 home matches this year with a 25-17, 25-27, 25-20, 25-22 defeat to Grand Rapids Friday night in front of 7,701 fans at the CHI Health Center.
Over the past five days, the Supernovas (11-12) changed head coaches, replacing Luka Slabe with interim coach Thomas Robson. In addition, three starters returned to the lineup after missing both matches last week.
Omaha Supernova interim head coach Thomas Robson encourages his team after a point against Grand Rapids Rise. Robson was promoted to interim head coach earlier in the week. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann
Outside hitter Sarah Parsons said she appreciated the positivity and grace with which Robson handled all the adversity this week.
“It’s been a crazy week, but also I think it’s gonna make us better in the long run,” the seventh-year pro said. “It’s very fair to say, we have been through a lot this season, but we’re working really hard.”
The Supernovas seemed to ride an early wave of success as they jumped out to an 11-5 lead in the first set as Grand Rapids committed six hitting errors on 18 attacks with just two kills. However, the Rise (8-14) settled in and dominated the rest of the set and won 20 of the final 26 rallies.
Carli Snyder, who led Grand Rapids with 14 kills and three blocks, said they talked during a timeout about some points that slipped away on plays they should have made. They also quit looking at the scoreboard and focused on fulfilling their game plan.
“We had some really great defensive efforts. I think we got some balls that we knew that we needed to get,” Snyder said. “We knew they were on the scouting report. We knew that was accountable to us. Then that flowed into us making some extension plays that weren’t on the scouting report.”
After spending most of the first set in his usual position on the bench, Robson began the second set coaching standing on the sidelines. Robson said he settled into the new role eventually and tried to stay upbeat for his players regardless of what was happening on the court.
“I like to find the positive in pretty much everything,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re all here playing a sport we love or coaching a sport we love. There’s so many other things going on. I could be sitting in an office, working a 9-to-5 job. You can’t be upset in situations like this.”
Leyla Blackwell blocks an attack from Camryn Turner. Blackwell finished with a career-high 10 kills and two blocks. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann
Another move Robson made that paid off was inserting Leyla Blackwell to start the second set. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker recorded four kills on seven swings in the set and finished it off with a block. For the match, Blackwell set career highs with 10 kills on 18 attacks without an error. Entering the match, she only accounted for four kills on the season while appearing in five total sets.
Parsons said she was excited to see Blackwell thrive in her biggest opportunity of the season after seeing her put in the effort every day in practice.
“She makes us so much better, and her character is so valuable to this team,” Parsons said. “To see her come in and show what she’s got and what she does every single day was a really cool thing to witness as a teammate.”
Blackwell said it can be challenging to come into a match after standing on the sidelines for a while, but the camaraderie and fun they share make it worthwhile.
“It’s a little difficult just to get ready to go physically, but I think mentally and emotionally, this team makes it so easy to step on the court,” she said. “Some nights are easier than others, but I just think it’s a testament to how tight-knit we are as a team and how hard we’re working right now.”
Robson also switched from Emily Londot to Merritt Beason at opposite late in the second set. The former Nebraska All-American recorded 10 kills in just over two sets of action.
Merritt Beason cheers with her teammates after a point. Beason entered the match late in the second set and finished with 10 kills. Photo by Brandon Tiedemann
Later in the match, he turned to backup setter Brooke Mosher to run the offense and brought in Norah TeBrake to replace Brooke Nuneviller in the fourth set. In addition to bringing the three players back from injury, Robson said several players are battling other illnesses and might not have been at full strength which forced him to piece together a lineup at times.
Despite all the changes, it wasn’t enough to overcome Grand Rapids’s stingy defense. The Rise recorded 104 digs, led by 28 from setter Camryn Turner. Libero Morgan Hentz, who began the season with the Supernovas, added 22, and three other players finished in double figures.
Omaha finished with a .119 hitting percentage. The Supernovas committed 13 unforced hitting errors, were blocked 13 times and tallied just 49 kills on 193 swings.
“We just couldn’t get things going offensively, and they didn’t make it easy on us, 104 digs in a four-set match,” Robson said. “They did a really nice job of frustrating us, and we just couldn’t win those momentum plays to really turn it around tonight.”
Omaha is back in action on Sunday at 4 p.m. against the second-place Dallas Pulse.
