“History was made tonight” as Atlanta beats Omaha in Pro Volleyball Federation opener

OMAHA, Nebraska — For the record, the Atlanta Vibe won, beating the Omaha Supernovas 26-24, 25-23, 17-25, 19-25, 15-13 and avoided the reverse sweep by rallying from a 13-10 fifth-set deficit.

But, as almost everyone involved said without prompting, the inaugural Pro Volleyball Federation match Wednesday night in the CHI Health Center Arena made history.

Alli Linnehan got the first kill for Atlanta.

“History was made tonight,” Linnehan said. “That’s what we just kept saying. History is being made and it’s just so awesome that we get to be a part of it.”

Her coach, Todd Dagenais, was doused with water by his players in the happy post-match dressing room and his dress shirt and tie were soaked.

“As much as we’re excited about this road win,” Dagenais said, “that’s nice. But I think it was an incredible to share the court with them tonight with such an great crowd and I’m so happy for the league to pull this off.

“This is the dream that we all bought into. This is what we wanted to be a part of and I think we gave the fans of volleyball, of the PVF, we gave them a great match and something they can be excited about.”

No doubt the PVF was excited about the announced crowd of 11,624 and it should be thrilled with the level of play as the teams with the perceived best rosters in the seven-team fledgling league went at it.

“That was a great match in front of a lot of great fans,” said Dagenais, who left his job at UCF to join PVF. “Hey, we’re off the ground and up and running it.”

Two former Kentucky stars, who just happened to go 1-2 last fall in Athletes Unlimited, led Atlanta. Leah Edmond had a match-high 27 kills — including the match-winner, the last of five in the fifth set — to go with two blocks. 

As the match began, “It was a surreal moment, that we’re playing professional volleyball in the States,” Edmond said. 

Linnehan, who then as Alli Stumler led Kentucky to the spring 2021 NCAA title in this same building, had 13 kills, two blocks and an ace. Stumler, then a junior, had a match-high 26 kills on April 25, 2021, in a four-set victory over Texas.

Obviously she likes being in the CHI Center.

“I do! It’s home,” Linnehan said with a smile. “I think we’re in the same locker room that we were in when we won in college. It’s really special to be back here.”

The Vibe got 11 kills and four blocks from Grace Cleveland, who played at Purdue, and four kills and four blocks from Karis Watson, who played at Clemson.

Former Oregon star Brooke Nuneviller, who played last year in Türkiye, finished No. 3 in Athletes Unlimited and led the Supernovas with 16 kills — five in the third set — and had some spectacular digs, a few on Edmond. Jess Schaben-Lansman, the former Iowa State standout who was out of the sport as a teacher for three years and had a baby a year ago, added 13 kills and three blocks. Veteran Tori Dixon, the Minnesota star who has had a tremendous international pro career,  had nine kills and five blocks, and the other middle, Wisconsin’s Danielle Hart, had 12 kills — five in the fourth set — and three blocks. Dominican star Betty De La Cruz had 10 kills, two blocks and three aces.

“It was a spectacle, it was an event, it was something amazing that happened and we were so proud to be part of it,” Omaha coach Shelton Collier said. “This was breaking ground for a professional volleyball league and there could have been 800 people and a poorly played match and it was an incredible match with an incredible crowd, an incredible atmosphere.”

Nuneviller noted that Omaha lost three sets by two points each. 

“There’s so much that we can do better,” she said. “And I still think we played great and I’m not discouraged at all. I’m proud of the group for fighting as hard as they did.”

Collier looked over at Nuneviller, to his right at the podium, and to Schaben-Lansmen to his left. 

“These two were part of history,” Colier said. “In future years, there are going to be people playing professional volleyball and there’s some 13-year-old out there that watched us play and is going to play professional volleyball and this was the first match that she ever saw in her life.”

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PVF action continues Thursday when the Columbus Fury play at the Grand Rapids Rise. The first week wraps up with the Vibe at the Orlando Valkries on Friday. 

“History was made tonight” as Atlanta beats Omaha in Pro Volleyball Federation opener Volleyballmag.com.