The Orlando Valkyries lost 3-0 against the Omaha Supernovas on Thursday night in Addition Financial Arena. Orlando suffered its fifth sweep in six losses and are the most swept team in MLV history.
“I’m just disappointed in how we showed up to compete tonight, especially after what I thought was a pretty good week of practice,” Orlando Valkyries coach Amy Pauly said. “I thought our defensive energy, when we were out in San Diego, was really good, and so I kind of thought that we would rebound from that loss a little bit better. But obviously, bottom line, in looking at the box too, like we just didn’t show up. We didn’t want it.”
Valkyries outside hitter Hannah Maddux led the match with 13 kills, while three Supernovas (Brooke Nuneviller, Sarah Parsons and Merritt Beason) ended with nine. Rookie signee Zoe Weatherington was the only other Valkyrie with five or more kills, ending with the second most kills in her Orlando career.
“I think [Weatherington] has brought maturity into that dub sub situation, and her playing career in Greece and Korea has really paid off,” Pauly said. “You just kind of have this calm, cool confidence about her, and, you know, she’s gonna put the ball away, or at least take the right swing to put the team in trouble on the other side of the net.”
Orlando looked sluggish throughout the entire first set, ending with only five kills while being blocked five times. Omaha held the Valkyries to a -.042 hitting percentage and hit a staggering .542 against them in the set, ending 25-13.
“I felt like we were in control,” Robson said. “We took over control right from the beginning. That always starts from the serve line. And a serve and pass game. I don’t even think we passed particularly great tonight, but our serving was so good and so strong for us. It honestly allowed us to kind of get away with not passing as strong.”
The second set was much closer as the sub of Maddux helped Orlando stay in it. Maddux collected 10 kills in set two, tied for the most kills by one player in a set in MLV history.
“I wish that it was on a happier note,” Maddux said. “We had all of our physical therapy people in the stands tonight, and they really worked with me the past month and helped me get back. It was awesome to be able to perform and do that in front of them. That was a very rewarding thing for them to see an athlete that they’ve helped bring back off of injury reserve out there.”
Despite Maddux’s efforts and a solid .293 hitting percentage, Orlando would fall 25-23 in the set. In an important game for a playoff push, the Valkyries went into the locker room down 2-0.
Pauly came out with an entirely new lineup to start set three, with all six starters being relegated to the bench. The move seemed to pay off, as Orlando held the lead through the first two media timeouts.
“I thought we needed new blood in there,” Pauly said. “I wanted to get some fresh bodies in there to try and light a spark, and I thought they did a heck of a job battling until the very end.”
However, the Supernovas rallied and claimed the lead late into the set. Once Omaha reclaimed the advantage, Orlando failed to tie or take it back and fell to the visitors.
The win marked Omaha’s first under new head coach Thomas Robson. Robson, a member of the Supernovas since the team’s inception, claimed his first professional win and credited his team’s effort for the victory.
“I just want to win for this team so bad and do whatever I can for the team,” Robson said. “So to see their hard work in the gym finally pay off, it’s really cool. All I can think is just gratitude for this group.”
Next up:
Orlando will continue its three-game homestand against the San Diego Mojo on Sunday. The Valkyries fell to the Mojo in a five-set match last Saturday on their road trip.
“With five matches left to go, it’s about continuing to create opportunities and finding the right combinations that can challenge the other side,” Pauly said. “We know we have the talent to compete against anyone, it’s just a matter of putting it all together, and we have to have that on Sunday.”
First serve is set for 3 p.m. on April 19.