Former Cornhusker Dani Busboom Kelly is entering her first season in charge of the fierce Nebraska women’s volleyball program, following the departure of John Cook.
“It’s definitely been weird,” middle blocker Rebekah Allick deadpanned Monday afternoon at Big Ten Volleyball Media Days in Chicago. “In a nutshell, change is hard, guys. But I mean, from the bottom of my heart, I don’t think there’s anyone more deserving of this role than Dani Busboom.”
Cook was a pillar of Nebraska volleyball for 25 seasons and led four squads to a national championship. He’s the kind of coach who’s irreplaceable.
“There’s comfort in knowing he had a lot of say [in selecting the next head coach], and it was important for him to get the right person,” Busboom Kelly said. “I know he’s just a phone call away and he’ll probably be in Lincoln quite a bit this fall.”
Busboom Kelly played for Cook at Nebraska from 2003-2006 where she joined the program as a setter, but stepped in to fill the libero role her final season, winning a national title and was the 2006 Big-12 Co-Libero of the Year. She coached at Nebraska for five seasons beginning in 2012, but left to lead the Louisville program from 2017-2024.
It’s been an adjustment for the team, but not an unwelcome one. During the transition between Cook and Busboom Kelly, the Cornhuskers didn’t lose any athletes to the transfer portal.
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“It's not a secret that I had a great relationship with John, and I think I we were just really lucky to have him as a coach, and then also to have him bring someone like Dani in, because not many programs would be able to bring a coach like Dani and then have everyone stay,” said outside hitter Harper Murray. “I think that's just a testament to how much we trust John and how much we trust Dani within that, so it's been really exciting, and it's been a learning curve for everyone just because they coach differently, like we have different expectations. Things are different on the inside, but at the end of the day, we all just want to win, and we all want to be a team and do it together.”