The Omaha Supernovas, Nebraska’s first major league professional volleyball team in the Pro Volleyball Federation, are honored to announce that News Channel Nebraska will provide statewide coverage of the Omaha Supernovas’ historic first match against the Atlanta Vibe on Wednesday, January 24 at the CHI Health Center at 7:00 p.m. CST. 

“The popularity of women’s volleyball is unmatched in Nebraska, and it’s only fitting that this state is where the first Pro Volleyball Federation match is played,” News Channel Nebraska CEO, Andy Ruback said. “News Channel Nebraska is proud to be the chosen broadcast partner that will televise and stream for FREE this monumental moment for the sport to the entire state.”   

News Channel Nebraska (NCN) reaches more than 500,000 homes across the state. The match will be televised on NCN and can be watched on statewide providers like Dish (30 or 35), Allo (181), Spectrum (98, 99, 715 or 1233) and Cox (116). The match will also be viewable on other local cable providers that carry NCN throughout the state. Additionally, the match will be streamed online, free throughout the state, on NewsChannelNebraska.com as well as the free News Channel Nebraska app on Roku, Amazon Fire and Apple TV. 

Esteemed play-by-play announcer John Baylor and former Nebraska Volleyball National Champion and Olympian Nancy (Meendering) Metcalf will team up to lead News Channel Nebraska’s broadcast.  

Baylor just wrapped up his 30th season of play-by-play for the Nebraska Volleyball team. Baylor has roots with the Supernovas, calling matches with Supernovas President Diane Mendenhall for 16 years which correlated with two of the five national championships won by the Huskers. 

“It will be an honor to broadcast the inaugural Omaha Supernova match,” Baylor said. “Pro volleyball and spring volleyball have finally arrived in Nebraska thanks to the Omaha Supernovas, and it will be a privilege to be a part of it. Kaboom!” 

A Nebraska Athletics Hall of Famer, Metcalf earned multiple first-team All-America honors during her career at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 1997-2001. Metcalf was a two-time Big 12 Player of the Year and two-timeNCAA Regional MVP. She led the Huskers to a trio of Big 12 titles and two NCAA semifinal appearances.

Metcalf also had a role on Nebraska’s 2000 national championship team, which is also one of only five teams to finish the season undefeated (34-0). Metcalf ended her Husker career with 13 school records and still holds the match records for kills (39) and aces (7).  

Following her stint in Lincoln, Metcalf become an Olympian for the U.S. Women’s National Team in Athens 2004 while being an alternate in London 2012.  

REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL competition will officially begin in the United States with the Omaha Supernovas hosting the Atlanta Vibe in the first match in league history at the CHI Health Center in downtown Omaha on January 24, at 7 p.m. CST. Nebraska supports volleyball better than anyone, as evidenced by the more than 92,000 fans that turned out this season for a collegiate match at the Nebraska’s Memorial Stadium in August, setting a new world record for the highest attended women’s sporting event. Several Supernovas were in attendance and recognized at the world record match. 

The Supernovas are one of seven U.S. teams for the 2024 inaugural season: Omaha Supernovas, Atlanta Vibe, Orlando Valkyries, Columbus Fury, Grand Rapids Rise, San Diego Mojo and Vegas Thrill. Three expansion teams, Dallas Pro Volleyball, Kansas City Pro Volleyball and Indianapolis Pro Volleyball have been announced for 2025. The Supernovas will have 12 home and 12 away matches as part of a 24-match schedule across a 16-week regular season.  

When the regular season concludes, the Supernovas are aiming to be one of the top four squads in the standings that will compete for the Pro Volleyball Federation Championship in May. The location of the championship will be determined and announced at a later date. 

ABOUT NEWS CHANNEL NEBRASKA and FLOOD COMMUNICATIONS 

One of the largest news operations in Nebraska, Flood Communications delivers hyper-local news and high-quality programming to radio, TV and digital audiences across the state, reaching more than 500,000 homes and 500,000 social media followers.?Its stations include:?News Channel Nebraska, Telemundo Nebraska and eighteen radio stations. News Channel Nebraska is the only in-state, independent television network of its kind in America. Telemundo Nebraska is the state’s first network affiliate to deliver live, local Spanish news to Nebraska’s nearly 300,000 Hispanic residents. Flood Communications connects communities across the state by covering important events, supporting worthy causes and continuing to look ahead, envisioning the future of communications. To learn more, visit www.FloodComm.com. 

ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS 

The Omaha Supernovas aim to be the premier home of professional volleyball throughout the world. The team is owned by global music sensation Jason Derulo and entrepreneurs Danny White and Chris Erickson, Co-Founders of City+Ventures, an investment and business acceleration organization headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska. 

ABOUT PRO VOLLEYBALL FEDERATION 

Pro Volleyball Federation is REAL PRO VOLLEYBALL and the premier women’s professional volleyball league in North America. Pro Volleyball Federation will begin play in January 2024 with world class players and coaches, including some of America’s greatest volleyball players and elite players from around the world. Our entire focus is on ensuring that our level and quality of play, our treatment of players, the quality of our event presentations, and our day-to-day fan experience is world class and the very best offered in North America. For more information, visit ProVolleyball.com.