It’s one thing to read about the stats and the numbers indicating how women’s sports, especially women’s volleyball, are growing. However, it’s quite another to see it manifest beyond the numbers on paper. Thankfully, that’s exactly what is happening at the clash between the Omaha Supernovas and Atlanta Vibe in Nebraska. Besides a packed stadium full of hometown fans, at least one sports icon is also in the mix.

Sitting in the front row amidst the crowd is none other than a former Jacksonville Jaguars star, Zach Miller. In fact, the former athlete even got a taste of the action when he caught a stray ball heading toward the crowd with one hand. “‘Yep. I still got it’ – NFL & Country Music Star Zach Miller,” the official Omaha Supernovas handle, posted on X.

The former NFL icon turned country music star indicates that despite being just a year old, women’s pro volleyball is picking up steam. While we’re accustomed to seeing sports icons and celebrities in the stands during NFL, NBA, tennis, and other uber-popular sports, it’s a much rarer sight for volleyball games. However, to no one’s surprise, Nebraska is leading the way.

After all, the former Chicago Bears player showed up to support the state where he was born and raised. Born in Weston, Nebraska, Miller was a Husker in college before he went on to represent the state in the NFL. However, Miller wasn’t the only musician who recently showed up to their hometown volleyball team. Louisville’s Jack Harlow did the same during the 2024 NCAA final.

Harlow also took the front seat to show support for the Cardinals. And although the Cardinals lost, the Grammy-nominated rapper’s presence once again showed the rising popularity of the sport in the States. However, celebrities and sports icons aside, the Omaha vs. Atlanta game packed a couple of other surprises for the fans.

The Omaha Supernovas set another pro volleyball record in the presence of an unexpected visitor

While the NFL icon stood out among a stadium full of fans, a record-breaking number of people showed up as the PVF returned to Omaha. On March 16, 2024, the Supernovas set the pro volleyball attendance record at 12,090 at the CHI Health Center. However, this year the Omaha fans smashed their own record as 13,486 filled the arena to the brim.

So if the presence of a Nebraska NFL legend wasn’t enough to convince you, these numbers sure paint a convincing picture. While this isn’t even close to the 92,003 attendance record that the Nebraska Huskers hold across all women’s sports, it was enough to become the national record for pro volleyball. Meanwhile, in an amusing turn of events, nearly 13,500 fans witnessed something that few other volleyball fans can claim to have witnessed.

Besides Zach Miller pleasantly surprising fans with his presence in the front row, a bat somehow made it inside the CHI. Its presence was literally show-stopping, as the organizers had to pause the game to solve the issue of a bat diving toward the players and the audience. Thankfully, it didn’t take too long to solve the issue while the stadium’s audio team kept the people entrained with the classic Batman theme song. After all this, to say the Omaha Supernovas’ 2025 season debut and first win were eventful would be an understatement.