How the Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match 2025 Prepares the Team for a Championship Run - Players & Coach Dani Busboom Kelly reveal plans

The Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match has been the talk of the town as of late. The Huskers are undoubtedly one of the best teams in the nation, and their head coach, Dani Busboom Kelly, as well as players like Harper Murray, are counting on this match to help them in their hunt for the 2025 national title.

Last season, the Huskers had a strong run, making their second consecutive appearance in the final four. They also lifted their fifth Big Ten title, notching an incredible 19-1 record in Big Ten play along the way. Now, the Nebraska Volleyball team is looking forward to another history-making season.

The team's head coach, Dani Busboom Kelly, has consistently favoured different types of match practice during fall training. The Huskers were most recently in action during the Red-White Scrimmage, where the 2025 roster was divided into two teams with rotating members that faced off against each other.

Now, the reigning Big Ten Champions will get to experience their first real match situation of 2025, as they gear up for the Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match.

Speaking to the media, Busboom Kelly explained that this match would provide the Huskers an important opportunity to test out lineups and learn from them, saying,

“We’ll look at some potential lineups and be able to make changes within those lineups that we’d potentially make the following weekend. You can just learn a lot more.”

She went on to explain how this alumni match would mark a significant upgrade over the team's usual scrimmages, adding,

“The depth is pretty amazing. Our practices are really tough. That’s just going to make us stronger in the end. That’s why I’m very excited to play against somebody else, even if it’s alumni this weekend, to really see how our eight players can perform together - seven or eight - without playing against each other. It’s very hard to tell how good we are, how good one individual is, because the line is so thin between our top outside and maybe our fourth outside. It’s razor thin.”

On the players' end of things, the Huskers are excited about their new challenge. Outside hitter Harper Murray, who had a fantastic year in 2024, admitted that she doesn't know the alumni team very well, but is looking forward to an ‘interesting’ match.

“It’ll be exciting, but it’s also going to be interesting. It’ll be the first time we have a true lineup out there and not mixing around as much.”

The Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match is scheduled to take place on Saturday, August 16 at 6 PM in the John Cook Arena.

Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match: Get to know the alumni team

Jordan Larson in action at the LOVB Classic (Image Source: Getty)

The Huskers are one of the strongest teams in the nation, but their upcoming opponents are just as good. The Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match will see several stars from former Husker teams return to action on home ground.

Leading the charge for the alumni will be Jordan Larson, one of the most successful volleyball players the nation has ever seen. Larson has four Olympic medals to her name, including a gold she won in 2021.

Adding to the depth of the alumni team will be the likes of former national champions Kelly Natter, Lauren Stivrins, Kenzie Hoppes, and Annika Moulder.

Rounding out the roster for the alumni side will be two-time All-American outside hitter Gina Mancueo-Prososki and former Huskers Lindsay Krause, Ally Batenhorst, Callie Schwarzenbach, and Leyla Blackwell.

The alumni team for the Nebraska Volleyball Alumni Match will be coached by Renee Saunders and Val Novak.