Leading 15-14 in the fifth set, Sarah Parsons went back to the service line and could barely hear herself think.
The largest crowd to ever watch a professional volleyball match in the United States — 16,838 fans — were all standing and cheering for the Supernovas outside hitter as she attempted to wrap up the win against Indy.
Parsons delivered a solid serve before setter Sydney Hilley teamed up with middle blocker Janice Leao to record a block that gave Omaha a 25-20, 25-23, 26-28, 22-25, 16-14 victory over the league-leading Ignite.
The match was an official sellout and broke the previous attendance mark of 13,486 set in the 2025 season opener against the Atlanta Vibe. On Saturday, fans showed up for the $1 beer night and the team’s “Luck of the Novas,” St. Patrick’s Day-themed celebration.
“I’m so grateful for our fans and all the support that we get,” Leao said after the match. “That was probably the loudest arena I have ever played in. It was 15-14, and all I heard was everyone cheering. I was like, ‘Oh, my God, this is insane.’ This environment just makes it so fun and just so competitive.”
The record-breaking fans were treated to one of Omaha’s better performances in the past month. After losing six matches in a row, the Supernovas (9-9) got back on the winning side of the ledger with a sweep over Columbus on Tuesday. They carried the momentum, energy and focus against the Ignite.
Kiara Reinhardt, left, and Sarah Parsons celebrate a point by Omaha against Indy. Reinhardt finished with four kills, four aces and three blocks, while Parsons led Omaha with 19 kills. Photo by Matt Bills for MLV/Omaha Supernovas
Parsons said getting the win against the Fury helped see their work in practice translate to success on the court. With the losing streak over, they approached the daily grind with a different mindset and restored their confidence.
“When you’re losing, it’s hard, and so I’m just really proud of our group for showing up every day,” she said. “A lot of it is things that nobody else sees, and it’s hard to show up when nobody else is around. We’re doing that even in the ugly, even when we were losing. We were doing that and it paid off tonight.”
Omaha rode the energy of the crowd and their rediscovered confidence to an 11-4 lead in the first set. The Ignite (14-3) rallied to close to 12-11 after six straight points with Mia Tuaniga serving, but the Supernovas claimed the set after scoring the final three points, including set point on a block by Kiara Reinhardt, which was Omaha’s sixth of the set.
The Supernovas finished the match with 18 blocks, one short of a team record. Leao set a franchise record with eight blocks of her own. She now holds the best mark for blocks in a match for the Supernovas and also against them, which she set last season with Columbus.
“Janice’s whole body was over the net, so she was blocking really well,” Indy middle blocker Blake Mohler said. “It was insane, and it made it really hard for our pins, and even for us in the middle, feeling like she was even hitting over us. She was jumping really well, so props to her.”
Reinhardt and Emily Londot each recorded three blocks, while Sydney Hilley and Parsons added two.
Omaha coach Luka Slabe said they developed a good game plan after facing Indy twice this season. He said the Supernovas were disciplined in the front row, matched the physical play at the net and didn’t panic when the Ignite recorded a few kills off their block.
“It’s hard to hit over Janice. It’s hard to hit over Kiara,” Slabe said. “Those are two very tall women. You’re forced to take some low, hard swings, and that’s where those two are camping.”
The Supernovas used a 6-0 run in the second set to go up 9-7 and didn’t trail the rest of the way. Londot recorded one of her 14 kills to cap the second set.
Indy responded in the third set as reserve opposite Camryn Hannah terminated her first five attacks to spark the Ignite to a 13-9 lead. Omaha rallied and tied up the score at 19, 21 and 22, but Indy finally closed out the set on its fifth set point.
The fourth set featured another tight finish with a 20-all tie, but again, Indy pulled it out as the Supernovas committed two hitting errors and missed a serve down the stretch.
Omaha appeared to take control of the fifth set with a 7-3 lead after winning six of seven rallies. However, former Nebraska outside hitter Taylor Landfair served back-to-back points to knot the set up at 12-all. She missed the following serve, and the teams traded kills until Hilley ended the match with the block.
The Omaha Supernovas set a new United States professional volleyball record with an attendance of 16,838 at CHI Health Center. Photo by Bonnie Ryan for Omaha Supernovas/Major League Volleyball
Parsons led Omaha with 19 kills while Nuneviller added 12 kills and 13 digs. Elena Oglivie anchored the floor defense with 14 digs. Hilley tallied 43 assists and 13 digs.
Anna DeBeer and Lydia Martyn paced the Ignite with 12 kills, and Kayla Lund and Azhani Tealer finished with 11.
Overall, Indy, which had its eight-match winning streak snapped, had a better statistical offensive match than the Supernovas. The Ignite recorded 75 kills, a new opponent record, and outhit Omaha .190-.182. The difference was their 39 hitting errors, including 21 unforced errors, Omaha’s 18 blocks, and an advantage from the service line. The Supernovas recorded five aces, including four from Reinhardt, and missed 11 times, while the Ignite finished with two aces and committed 15 service errors.
Indy coach Lauren Bertolacci said even though they didn’t quit after dropping the first two sets, Omaha played cleaner through the match.
“Unfortunately, we just had a few moments of undisciplined (play) in the game that really cost us,” she said. “When you’re playing a team that you know has won a championship before, they have a championship roster; those moments of undiscipline, they’re going to hurt us a little bit more against these kinds of teams.”
Even though the crowd was pro-Supernovas, Indy got into the match’s atmosphere, dancing along during the music breaks and soaking it all in.
“Every volleyball player dreams of playing in front of a crowd that genuinely cares about volleyball and cares about the athletes and wants this league to do well,” Mohler said. “It’s tough that we were on the losing side of that, but that crowd was amazing, and I’m really happy for them all to have that here.”
After the match, the Supernovas kept the party going, signed autographs and celebrated the evening with their fans.
The win was just the third in nine home matches this season for Omaha. Parsons said they sometimes got a little nervous playing in front of such a big crowd, but they enjoyed the atmosphere in a sold-out arena.
“Looking around and having kind of a heart of gratitude helped us stand tall in those moments,” Parsons said. “Because obviously we want to win for our crowd, and they show up for us, and so it’s really fun to show up for them, too.”
