OMAHA, Neb. — The combination of Olympians Bethania de la Cruz and Natalia Valentín-Anderson proved to be to much for the Columbus Fury (5-8) as the Omaha Supernovas (11-5) earned a 25-20, 25-22, 21-25, 25-22 four-set win Thursday night at the CHI Health Center. After starting the season 2-3 at home, the Supernovas have now won four-straight home matches dating back to March 16.
One match after setting the franchise record with 26 kills, de la Cruz equaled her own record with another 26 kills Thursday night. She did so on a franchise record .585 hitting percentage with only two hitting errors on 41 swings. De la Cruz also contributed 14 digs in her effort.
Valentín-Anderson set another franchise record with 57 assists just one week after teammate Sydney Hilley broke the record with 51 assists. The Puerto Rican also had four digs, two kills, one block and once ace. It’s the second 50-assist performance of the season for Valentín-Anderson who achieved that mark against Grand Rapids in February.
Opposite Nia Reed and team captain Brooke Nuneviller reached double-digit kills as Reed turned in a season-high 16 kills on a .314 clip to go along with nine digs, one block and one assist in what was her best performance of the season. Nuneviller struggled early, but found the connection with Valentín-Anderson to finish with 14 kills and 16 digs for her 11th double-double of the season.
Middle blockers Hristina Vuchkova and Tori Dixon were quiet for most of the night. Vuchkova led the way offensively with five kills, three digs, one block and once ace. Dixon chipped in three kills and three digs. Libero Gabby Thompson made her first career professional start and recorded nine digs with two assists.
Omaha hit .310 as a team which is its second-highest hitting percentage of the season. The Supernovas finished with five blocks and two aces which are both season lows.
Three Fury players reached double-digit kills as Megan Courtney Lush and Reagan Cooper each tallied 17 kills. Star middle blocker Asjia O’Neal added 11 kills on a .364 clip with two blocks. Courtney Lush finished with a double-double as she totaled 11 digs. The Fury hit .274 as a team with nine blocks and only one ace.
Set 1: The Fury got out to a quick 8-5 lead behind a Courtney Lush kill. De la Cruz logged her fourth and fifth kills of the match to bring the Supernovas within one. Omaha took the lead at 14-13 behind a Nuneviller kill. De la Cruz followed-up with a tip kill heading into the media timeout. De la Cruz tallied her seventh kill to put Omaha up three, 20-17. A Reed kill and Fury error prompted a Columbus timeout at 23-19. Nuneviller gave the Supernovas set point with her third kill of the set. A Columbus error gave Omaha the set, 25-20. De la Cruz led the Supernovas with eight kills and a .636 hitting percentage. Omaha hit .333 as a team.
Set 2: Columbus started the set with an early 3-0 run to go up 6-3. Omaha took the next three points to tie the score at 6-6. An ace by O’Neal gave the Fury a 10-7 advantage. Nuneviller answered with a kill. Kills by Reed and De la Cruz gave Omaha the 15-13 lead heading into the media timeout. De la Cruz earned her 15th kill of the match to put Omaha up 16-14. A Nuneviller block extended that lead to 18-15. Reed followed-up with her seventh kill to force a Fury timeout. Samantha Drechsel recorded a kill to sideout, and an Omaha error closed the gap to 19-17. Reed ended the run with her eighth kill. A Valentín-Anderson setter dump found the court for a 23-19 Omaha lead. Columbus took the next two points, but a service error gave the Supernovas a set point. Reed ended the set at 25-22 with her ninth kill. De la Cruz added seven kills for the Supernovas, with no errors, to hit .583.
Set 3: The Fury started the set with a 4-0 run. A De la Cruz kill ended the run, but Columbus pushed ahead 7-2 after a Jenna Rosenthal block and a Courtney Lush kill. Reed tallied her 11th kill of the match to close the Fury lead to 7-5. Nuneviller’s eighth kill brought the score to 10-8, but the Fury answered with a kill. O’Neal recorded her second block for a 12-8 advantage. O’Neal added back-to-back kills to put the Fury up five midway through the set. Valentin-Anderson recorded an ace for Omaha to close the Fury lead. A 3-0 Omaha run forced a Columbus timeout at 17-15. Courtney Lush sided out for the Fury with her 14th kill. A Vuchkova ace brought the Supernovas within one. The Fury extended their lead to 21-18 behind kills from O’Neal and Cooper. O’Neal brought Columbus to set point, and Courtney Lush ended it with her 16th kill for a 25-21 set win. The Fury tallied 20 kills on the set. Courtney Lush contributed eight and hit .889.
Set 4: De la Cruz opened the set with her 20th kill of the match. A kill and back-to-back blocks by Rosenthal propelled a 3-0 Fury run for an 8-6 lead. An O’Neal kill gave Columbus an 11-8 advantage. Reed answered with a powerful kill of her own to sideout. De la Cruz evened the set at 14 with her 2nd kill of the match. Valentín-Anderson added a block to put Omaha up two, 17-15. Back-to-back De la Cruz kills forced a Fury timeout at 20-17. Two more kills, this time by Nuneviller, forced a second Columbus timeout at 23-19. Courtney Lush brought the Fury within one, 23-22, but Reed answered with her 16th kill down the line for an Omaha match point. Dixon put away an overpass for the 25-22 Omaha set win.
The Supernovas begin a nine-day break as they prepare to travel to Atlanta to battle the Vibe on Saturday, April 13 in what will be a battle of the top two teams in the league. First serve is set for 6 p.m. CDT.
