This offseason is unique for Nebraska volleyball, and not just because John Cook isn’t roaming the sideline. The Huskers scheduled three opportunities to test themselves against another team heading into Dani Busboom Kelly’s first season in charge. They’ve already faced Omaha in a closed scrimmage and Kansas in front of a full Devaney Center crowd.
On Saturday, they’ll cap the spring with their traditional traveling exhibition, this year visiting Ord, Nebraska, to face South Dakota State.
“I think it’s incredibly helpful,” Rebekah Allick said of the multiple exhibitions. “Like a lot of us said, there were tons of nerves in those first couple points in the first half of the first set, and so just being able to work through that. Obviously, it’ll be a smaller crowd in Ord, and so I think we’ll be able to focus on stuff technically speaking, and run more of those offensive plays, just different things that we have to offer this season.
“I think playing here in Devaney was great. It really is, honestly, the definition of jumping off in the deep end. So I think Ord will be, hopefully, smoother.”
A crowd of 8,592 packed John Cook Arena inside the Devaney Center for Busboom Kelly’s home debut as Nebraska’s head coach. While the team has said the change hasn’t been dramatic, Busboom Kelly is asking the team to speed the tempo up a bit and has brought more set plays with her, giving the Huskers plenty to work on offensively.
The Kansas exhibition offered the returners a chance to get used to the offensive tweaks and the freshmen a chance to work through some first-game jitters. As Allick said, the focus on Saturday will be on execution.
Busboom Kelly said she’s excited to continue the tradition of bringing Nebraska volleyball to small towns in central and western Nebraska.
“I was an assistant when we started that,” Busboom Kelly said. “I don’t even remember where we went, but I know it was far, out in western Nebraska. We played Colorado. I kind of know what to expect, and I know it’s really special to the people in those towns. They put on a show the night before and treat us like royalty, so I know it’ll be a great time. It’s a way to just be really appreciative of what we have in the state of Nebraska.”
Ord, with a population just north of 2,000, is located roughly 70 miles north of Kearney, last year’s site for Nebraska’s exhibition. Tickets for the match sold out in less than 30 minutes.
“It’s pretty crazy,” Busboom Kelly said. “Being away from Nebraska for eight years, you forget a little bit how big of a deal volleyball is here. And then when things like that happen, it’s a quick reminder how amazing it is across the state and how much it means to everybody. So besides the fact it’s on [Kentucky] Derby Day, I’m excited to go out to Ord, and I think they’re going to be really impressed with this team, and also this team is just so amazing at what they can bring to just fans in general. They’re great people, and they really enjoy interacting with fans. I think Ord’s going to be a great time.”
Nebraska’s first public scrimmage showed plenty of potential as Busboom Kelly made use of her deep and talented roster, rolling out different lineups in each set. Busboom Kelly highlighted the potent middle attack — Allick and Andi Jackson combined for 22 kills on .538 hitting — as something she hopes to see again on Saturday and pointed to serve receive, serving and blocking as areas for improvement.
“I do think Kansas served very aggressively, but I thought our serve receive showed some weaknesses, and then just our blocking,” Busboom Kelly said. “But if we’re serving weak, our block is probably going to look weak. So if we serve tougher, hopefully we can smooth out our blocking. Those would be two big areas of improvement.”
The Jackrabbits went 27-3 during the 2024 season, qualifying for the NCAA Tournament as an at-large team before falling to No. 8 seed Miami in the first round at the Devaney Center. They return their starting setter in Rylee Martin, five of their top six attackers led by outside hitter Sylvie Zgonc and their top two defensive specialists. Coach Dan Georgalas also has a Nebraska native on his roster in fifth-year middle blocker Analee Ventling-Brown, a Lincoln East graduate.
First serve at Ord High School on Saturday is set for 2 p.m. CT. Nebraska Public Media will televise the match, with a stream available for Big ten Plus subscribers.
