Dani Busboom Kelly made her debut at Big Ten Media Days on Monday afternoon as the Cornhuskers wrapped up day one of the annual event in Chicago.
The Big Ten is the only major conference who holds a volleyball media day, so Monday was a new experience for Nebraska’s new head coach — one for which she’s grateful.
“It’s just exciting to be at a place and a conference that appreciates our sport and is continuing to push the level of where we want to go,” Busboom Kelly said during her opening statement. “We had an awesome spring season with these young women and just really looking forward to starting in a few short days. A lot of decisions to be made but exciting ones.”
The first of many decisions for Busboom Kelly was whom to bring with her to Chicago. With plenty of options on a deep and talented team, she chose senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick and junior outside hitter Harper Murray.
“I think it’s a pretty big deal to be asked to represent your school,” Busboom Kelly said. “I thought Bekka being a senior and the work she put in this spring was certainly deserving, and I wanted her to get to experience this day before she left. I think Harper really embodies a lot of what this team is hoping to accomplish, like get through some hard times and rise up and come out even better than you were before. I just thought she has done the work and is a great spokesperson for our program.”
Allick, a Lincoln native, has been a Husker since before her freshman year of high school. Seven years later, her journey at Nebraska is coming to an end with one final season in the scarlet and cream. The 6-foot-4 middle said that reality still hasn’t totally sunk in yet.
“I’ve had a few conversations with the staff that I just don’t really care for the accolades,” Allick said. “I feel like All-American, even the National Championship, those things, it’s just a product versus the actual journey is where the joy is at. I just want to enjoy it. I have a lot of growth I need to do. I feel like the way I’m approaching the gym now is I’m thinking long-term and how I can just be of service to my teammates. Regardless of the moment or where I’m needed, I want to be able to serve that and serve it well.”
Murray has opened up about the social media backlash, depression and legal troubles she went through after her freshman season. Since then, Murray said she’s learned how to better deal with the pressure that comes with playing at Nebraska — by leaning on her teammates and her relationships with them to ground her.
“Honestly, I saw the worst of it, and nothing can really faze me anymore, and it sucks that that was how my story had to go, but it is what it is, and I’m glad that I was able to come out stronger than that and have my teammates by my side,” Murray said. “Now that I’m past that and I have them by my side no matter what and even through all the positive stuff, that’s what makes it so easy.
“For the freshmen, I’m sure that’s going to open up a whole new world that they have never experienced before, and because we’ve experienced it, we’re going to be able to help them and be there for them.”
The Huskers spoke in the spring about how smooth the transition from John Cook to Busboom Kelly has been, though it was a bit more challenging for the new coach herself. She joked on Big Ten Network that moving, having a child and starting a new job are life’s three biggest events, and she did all three in the span of a few months. She gave birth to her second son, Jett, in late May, which forced her to take a step back this summer. However, with the preseason practice about to begin, she’s ready to attack the season.
“I feel like I got out of the trenches a couple weeks ago, the newborn trenches, so now it’s time to focus on this season and this team,” Busboom Kelly. “I’m just really, again, grateful is a common theme here, but the team has been amazing, and the staff has been amazing with this transition. I was talking to Bergen [Reilly] who was our summer captain, like, ‘Oh, I would have helped more maybe in the past when I wasn’t giving birth.’ I think they’ve really understood it, though, and given me some grace in this new role.
“I’m excited for us to fully be together and present and in the moment here in a few days.”
While the team voted Reilly captain for the spring, Allick said all of the upperclassmen shouldered the responsibility of maintaining the culture of Nebraska volleyball throughout the coaching transition and teaching it to the team’s many newcomers. Nebraska is set to have 17 players on the roster in 2025 — the biggest team Murray said she’s ever been on.
“This spring we really just focused on our relationships and how we can get to know each other better, because we have six freshmen and then Virginia (Adriano) and Allie (Sczech) coming in as a transfer. With so many people you have to figure out one way to make it work, and that’s kind of our goal right now. As upperclassmen it’s our job to hold that culture and hold that team tradition alive, because we know the expectation and we know what to expect and we know what needs to happen.
“We have to teach the younger girls what to do and how to help them and guide them. Anything that they need from us they know that the door is always open, but as upperclassmen it’s really on us to keep things moving.”
As Busboom Kelly said in her opening statement, she still has plenty of decisions to make regarding the rotation. The Huskers have depth at every position with starting roles up for grabs — libero, opposite hitter and the second outside hitter in particular. Those battles will begin in earnest on July 31 when the Huskers hit the practice court to begin Busboom Kelly’s first season in charge.
“I’m excited just to get to battle with this team,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s pretty apparent the first day I came in the gym that this group is really hungry to win, and I think falling short for two years in a row will eat you alive a little bit. This team is getting eaten alive, and it shows when they play. So I’m excited to see what they can do on the court when we’re all together.
“Of course, being back at Nebraska, it’s the fans and the culture and just the game day. I can’t wait to have the first game in PBA, and again, share this journey with so many people that care so much about it.”
