The Orlando Valkyries lost 3-2 against the Omaha Supernovas Sunday at Addition Financial Arena. After having a 2-1 set lead and a three-point lead halfway through set four, the Valkyries gave up a 23-6 run for their fourth straight home loss.
“They’re a really great team and they responded well,” Orlando Valkyries coach Amy Pauly said. “They have a lot of veteran players on the floor for them tonight. And I think some of that maturity just showed through in the middle of the fourth set and starting the fifth set out strong.”
Outside hitter Hannah Maddux led the Valkyries in kills with 20 for the second match in a row in place of Abercrombie. Omaha’s Cooper Reagan led the team and match in kills with 23, while Brooke Nuneviller, the MLV leader in kills, had 17.
Though middle blocker Kaz Brown and Charitie Luper returned to the lineup for Orlando, reigning MLV MVP Brittany Abercrombie and 2025 Championship MVP Chompoo Guedpard were unavailable. Hannah Pukis subbed in for Guedpard on short notice and collected 46 assists and 17 digs.
“Hannah found out 45 minutes before the match said she was starting tonight, so I thought she did a really great job,” Pauly said. ”It took her a minute to find her rhythm, but she’s a really, really fun setter, and you can see from some of the sets that we can hit pretty good numbers off of her. Unfortunate that when it got tight in the fourth set, and then at the beginning, those are some pressure situations that that lineup specifically hasn’t been in yet, which I feel like it keeps saying a lot repeatedly, but I think they’re gonna learn from it, and I hope they learn from it, and I still have a lot of confidence in this team.”
Game flow
To start the match, Omaha went on a 4-1 run, setting the tone for the first set. Orlando trailed the entire set, getting within one point four times. However, after the Valkyries scored to make it 8-7, the Supernovas went on a 16-8 run to get to match point.
Orlando would go on a 3-0 run, but the deficit was too much to overcome and Omaha won the first set 25-18. Maddux led the Valkyries with seven kills in the set while Cooper led the Supernovas with five.
The Valkyries flipped the script in set two, as it was the home team that started with a 4-1 run. Orlando would lead the entire set, much like Omaha the previous set. The returning Brown led the Valkyries with three kills and Nuneviller led the set with five of her own.
Tied 1-1 going into halftime, the teams traded blows to start the third set, featuring nine lead changes and eight ties. Orlando went on a 4-0 run, including back-to-back service aces by Maddux.
Omaha would respond to keep the set close, with the teams trading 5-0 and 5-1 runs to be within one point through the end of the set. Orlando would go on a 4-1 run to end the set, including an ace from Lindsey Vander Weide.
“We were blocking really well,” Pauly said. “We were defending. We held them to .159 in the second set and we were point scoring. We were serving pretty well. Winning back-to-back sets is important. We hit .278. We hit even better in the third set, so I think that we had a lot of confidence.”
Orlando carried the momentum into set four, looking to seal the match in the set. Omaha started with two service errors, giving the Valkyries an early advantage. They would build upon the Supernovas’ mistakes and go on a 7-3 run to have a three-point lead before an Omaha timeout.
“Going into the set, I said it’s 0-0,” Nuneviller said. “We have to play with urgency right now. I think we’ve been preaching just, like, urgency from the very beginning in a match, but especially in a fifth set that every single point counts.”
After the timeout, Omaha would go on a 23-6 run over the next two sets, shutting down Orlando’s offense. Though Orlando contained Nuneviller through the first three sets, she combined for nine points during the run.
“I think that [last match vs Omaha], we learned that we have to shut Brooke Nuneviller down, which we did through three sets,” Pauly said. ”I mean, I don’t know the last time that girl’s been taken out of a game. And we did that. We put that pressure on her.”
With the Valkyries down 8-1 in set five, they rallied for a 7-2 run of their own to bring the set to within two points. However, back-to-back errors by Maddux effectively ended their run and Omaha would close the match on a 5-1 run.
After winning on opening night against the Grand Rapids Rise, the Valkyries have gone 0-4 at home. On the road, the Valkyries boast a 4-0 record.
“I would love to see the fan support continue to get a little bit better, especially here in Orlando,” Pauly said. “Like, I would love more people to come out, give us a little bit better of a home field advantage.”
Next up
The Valkyries embark on a two game road trip starting Friday against the Indy Ignite. The Ignite already got the best of Orlando this season, giving the defending champions their first loss in a championship rematch in January.
“I think that we just get a little safe right now when things don’t start going our way,” Pauly said. “We repeat the same shot, or maybe we get a little soft with our set, and we’re undersetting our middles a little bit in those key situations. But, you know, can you prepare for it? I don’t know. I try to put pressure on them in practice.”
First serve against the Ignite is set for 7 p.m. EST on Feb. 13.