"Laney Choboy dug Olivia Babcock down the line"- Dani Busboom Kelly explains decision to pick Nebraska Volleyball junior ahead of Olivia Mauch

Nebraska Volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly shed light on why Laney Choboy was chosen as the team's libero ahead of Olivia Mauch in the AVCA First Serve games. Notably, Choboy played all the sets against Pittsburgh and Stanford and had great outings in both of them.

Competing in the Huskers' season opener against Pittsburgh, Choboy registered 16 digs. She then continued her strong run of form with 12 digs against Stanford. With these performances, Choboy made a deserving case to be the team's libero, at least for the next few games.

Dani Busboom Kelly shared her insights on Laney Choboy's selection as a libero during these games at a recent press conference. She stated that Choboy's performances against Pittsburgh, especially against Olivia Babcock, gave the team a morale boost. She further praised Choboy's performance and added (via Hail Varsity, 00:51 onwards):

"I thought the first 10 points against Pittsburgh, I thought she set the tone and dug Babcock down the line. We knew we were going to give her a lot of line to hit and Laney stepped up and made some huge plays and that just gave our team so much confidence going forward in that match. I think she just played solid and did what he needed her to do."

Dani Busboom Kelly also remarked that despite these performances, Laney Choboy will need to continue to work hard during the practice matches to keep her place in the lineup.

Notably, Choboy's teammate Olivia Mauch, who is also a libero by position, also had decent performances during these games. Mauch registered 8 digs during the Pittsburgh game and chipped in with 12 against Stanford. Thereby, with two in-form defensive specialists on the team, Busboom Kelly can rest upon these two to fill the shoes of Lexi Rodriguez.

Laney Choboy opens up about playing in the libero position for Nebraska Volleyball

Laney Choboy (Image via: Getty)

Laney Choboy shared her thoughts on playing in the libero position for her team in these initial games of the 2025 season. This comes just a couple of days ahead of the Huskers' next game against Lipscomb.

Speaking at a press conference, Choboy expressed gratitude for the support her teammates have shown and added that she is coming into momentum in her junior year. She said (via Hail Varsity, 4:18 onwards):

"It's amazing, and I've had a lot of support from my teammates which has been really helpful. I don't think I would have been here without them. I think last two years, I kind of asked for flowers a lot, but I got rain. I think when you realize what that mean, it's like flowers need rain to grow, and I think all the storms I have been through hasn't been bad. But now I am finally starting to grow."

During the conversation, Laney Choboy also remarked that she has improved a lot mentally coming into the 2025 season.