U.S. National Team Veteran Coach John Xie, former Nebraska Assistant John Corbelli, and Husker National Champion and All-American Laura (Pilakowski) Buttermore
Omaha, Neb. – Today, Nebraska’s major league professional volleyball team in the newly-established Professional Volleyball Federation (PVF), the Omaha Supernovas, announced the final coaching staff additions with U.S. National Team veterans Assistant Coaches John Xie and John Corbelli, and former Husker All-American Laura Pilakowski Buttermore as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach. The coaches join American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaching Hall of Fame Head Coach, Shelton Collier’s coaching staff.
Buttermore brings 20 years of experience as a volleyball Strength & Conditioning Coach to the organization, beginning her career as a strength coach at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln from 2004 to 2011. During her tenure, the volleyball team clinched numerous titles, including a National Championship in 2006, Big Ten Conference Championship in 2011, and multiple Big 12 Conference Championships. Buttermore played a role in the development of 13 All-Americans, including Jordan Larson and Gina Mancuso. She is currently in her fifth season as the Strength Coach with the University of Nebraska-Omaha volleyball program where she will continue to be their strength coach.
“I’m tremendously excited to take on this role with the Supernovas. Being part of such a historic, momentous change in women’s sports is an honor and I look forward to working with the players to bring world championship-level volleyball to Nebraska,” Buttermore said.
Before becoming a strength coach, Buttermore played for the Huskers from 1999 to 2002. Laura hit the final attack to lead the Huskers to the National Championship in 2000. She is one of Nebraska’s most decorated volleyball alumni being named, Big 12 Co-Conference Player of the Year (2002) and Big 12 Female Sportsperson of the Year (2002-03). She also was recognized as a three-time CoSIDA Academic All-American, a two-time AVCA All-American, and a three-time First-Team All-Big 12 selection.
After her collegiate career, Buttermore played a professional season with Vaqueras de Bayamon in Puerto Rico.
“In so many ways, Laura is the perfect person to fill this very important position on our staff,” said Coach Collier. “She is extremely experienced, motivated and qualified, has trained high-level, elite volleyball players for years, has ties with Nebraska Volleyball, and happens to live here in the Omaha area. She has an exceptional combination of personal and professional qualities, and we are fortunate to have her with us.”
A native of Columbus, Nebraska, Buttermore is married to University of Nebraska Omaha Volleyball’s Head Coach, Matt Buttermore. Laura and Matt have two children.
Joining Buttermore, the Omaha Supernovas have announced two additional highly experienced Assistant Coaches to complete the staff as the team begins preparation for the upcoming inaugural season of the PVF. Veteran coaches John Xie and John Corbelli will be joining Coach Collier’s staff as the team ramps up for play in late January.
John Xie, currently Director of Operations and Assistant Coach for USA Volleyball, began his career at the national team level as intern from 2007 to 2008 with the men’s Olympic team that won gold. Since then, he has served multiple roles for USA volleyball, including as a practice player, training coach, and team leader. In the 2020 Tokyo Olympic quad in which the women’s brought home gold, Xie had multiple roles as the team’s director of operations, team leader and assistant coach. This past summer, Xie served as Team Leader for the USA team in the Pan American Games, where Supernovas players Sydney Hilley, Danielle Hart, Brooke Nuneviller, and Kendall White earned bronze medals.
“John is an ideal coach for me and our Supernovas team for many reasons,” said Collier. “He is very dedicated to the coaching profession and doing everything possible to help his players and his teams succeed. His knowledge and experience with USA Volleyball, with player development and scouting for so many years, will be very valuable for us.”
“I would like to thank the Supernovas ownership group and Shelton for giving me this wonderful and exciting opportunity,” said Xie. “I’m super excited to be in the same gym again with Shelton. I am really fired up to help build the program and team. Additionally, I want to thank my mentors – Mick Haley, Ron Larsen, Hugh McCutcheon, Karch Kiraly, Bill Ferguson, Rob Browning, and Marv Dunphy – who provided invaluable guidance and laid out a great road map for me.”
John Corbelli brings fifty-one years of volleyball experience to the Supernovas, with thirty-six years of experience as an Assistant Coach/Associate Head Coach and three years as a Head Coach at the Women’s Intercollegiate level. Corbelli served as the Associate Head Coach at Texas A&M for 25 years and was the Head Coach at St. San Jose State for three seasons. Corbelli also spent a season as an assistant under Terry Pettit at the University of Nebraska in 1981.
“I am very excited to have the opportunity to join the Omaha Supernovas in the PVF,” said Corbelli. “It’s great to be joining a talented staff, headed by Shelton Collier, someone I’ve known and respected for some time. The PVF is an awesome opportunity for players and fans alike to have professional volleyball here in the United States. I’m also looking forward to returning to Nebraska, where I made one of my first coaching stops at the University of Nebraska working under Nebraska coaching legend, Terry Pettit.”
Collier added, “Corbelli has years of high-level experience as a USA National Team coach and as a top DI collegiate head and assistant coach so he will certainly add value in many areas. As a veteran coach, he has had many responsibilities and many roles, so as we get started here in year one, I am looking forward to him making a great contribution to our team.”
Xie and Corelli join Laura “Bird” Kuhn who was named Assistant Coach in August. Kuhn most recently served as the Head Coach at Texas A&M for five years where she was named the 2019 SEC Coach of the Year, and had played for Collier at Georgia Tech. Prior to A&M, Kuhn was selected as AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year for helping her University of Kansas team reach their first ever Final Four.
The Omaha Supernovas will compete in the Pro Volleyball Federation’s 2024 inaugural season to begin the last week of January with 24 total matches (12 home and 12 away) over a 16-week regular season. The Supernovas will play into May when they will be chasing the PVF National Championship title. Information on Omaha Supernovas Season Tickets for home matches are available through the team’s website, www.supernovas.com.
ABOUT OMAHA SUPERNOVAS
The Omaha Supernovas aims 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.
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 early 2024 with world class athletes 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.
