“No tug and pull or pushing that I need to do”- Dani Busboom Kelly opens up on coaching Nebraska Volleyball ‘hungry and motivated’ team

Nebraska Volleyball head coach Dani Busboom Kelly shared her experience coaching the team, describing them as fun, hungry, and motivated. She added that their motivation makes her job easier as she doesn’t need to push them in practice.

Busboom Kelly moved to Nebraska this year after serving as head coach of the Louisville Volleyball team since 2016, where she guided them to a runner-up finish at the 2024 NCAA Women’s Volleyball Championships. She took over the program following the retirement of longtime Nebraska head coach John Cook.

In a press conference held on August 6, Dani Busboom Kelly was asked to share her experience of coaching the Nebraska Volleyball side. To this, the 40-year-old reacted, saying (9:41 onwards):

“Oh, it's great. I was just telling somebody this morning that it's really fun to go into work every day. It's different every day. This team is fun. Like I said, they're hungry, they're motivated and you don't ever feel like you have to push them in practice. So when you come to work, everybody’s excited to be here and ready to work. There's no tug and pull or pushing that I need to do.”

The team for the season comprises a talented set of individuals with experienced names like Andi Jackson, Bergen Reilly, Harper Murray, Rebekah Allick and promising newcomers including freshman Ryan Hunter, Campbell Flynn, Kenna Cogill and sophomore Virginia Adriano among others.

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Dani Busboom Kelly expresses her views on Nebraska Volleyball being ranked no. 1 in pre-season

Nebraska Cornhuskers against the Omaha Mavericks at Memorial Stadium on August 30, 2023 (Photo by C. Morgan Engel/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)

Dani Busboom Kelly reflected on Nebraska Volleyball being ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls. She shared that she wasn’t surprised by the ranking, having voted her team No. 1 herself and emphasized that no one on the team is likely to be overly impressed by it.

She mentioned the players understand preseason rankings don’t guarantee success in December, clearly referencing the NCAA Championships. In the same press conference, she spoke candidly on her views for Nebraska Volleyball’s rankings, adding (06:20):

“I'm not surprised. I get a vote and I voted ourselves number one. I think we're pretty talented. So, we're going to talk about that and talk about what it means to be number one, but we're not going to dwell on that or talk about it for more than about 10 minutes.”

“I don't think anybody on our team is going to be surprised that we're preseason number one. I also don't think anybody believes that that's what we'll be in December just cuz that's what we are right now because they've been through it all,” she added.

Notably, the team last won the NCAA Championship in 2017 but suffered heartbreaking runner-up finishes in 2018, 2021 and 2023. With an impressive squad this time around, they will be aiming to earn their sixth title in 2025.