Omaha Supernovas fire coach with six games left in season

The Omaha Supernovas have jettisoned their coach with just a few games remaining in the season.

The Major League Volleyball franchise announced Tuesday that it fired head coach Luka Slabe and promoted assistant coach Thomas Robson to interim head coach for the rest of the season.

The Supernovas are 11-11 so far this year, after going 21-7 and winning the regular season title in their former league, the Pro Volleyball Federation. Slabe was in his first year as head coach, taking over for Laura Kuhn, who in addition to a regular season title last year, led the Supernovas to a playoff championship in 2024.

“These decisions are never easy, but we felt a change was needed at this time to align with the expectations and direction of our organization,” Supernovas Co-owner Kirk Thompson said in a news release. “We appreciate Luka’s contributions and wish him the best moving forward.”

Robson has been with the team since its inception and will continue as an assistant coach next year, having already signed a contract extension.

“Thomas has been a big part of what we’ve built here, and we have full belief in him stepping into this role,” former NU Volleyball Coach John Cook said in a news release. Cook is the Supernovas’ general manager and a co-owner.

The team did not provide any kind of a timetable for hiring a permanent head coach.

The Supernovas, who are currently in third place in the eight-team league, have six games remaining and return to play Friday against the Dallas Rise at 8 p.m. at the CHI Health Center in Omaha.