LOUISVILLE, Ky. — While the on-court matchup between Nebraska and Penn State Thursday night is the primary focus for most Husker fans, there are plenty of other storylines and topics surrounding the NCAA National Semifinals at the KFC YUM! Center.
Cornhusker State Representation
The state of Nebraska is well represented at volleyball’s final four, with eight Nebraska natives littering the rosters of the last four teams standing.
Half of that group plays for Nebraska — Lindsay Krause (Skutt Catholic), Rebekah Allick (Waverly), Maisie Boesiger (Norris) and Olivia Mauch (Bennington) — but each of the other teams have at least one Nebraskan.
Alliance alumna Jordan Hopp is finishing her career at Penn State after spending four years at Iowa State. The 6-foot-2 middle blocker has played in nine matches this season, totaling 16 blocks and 11 kills.
Lincoln East graduate Mallorie Meyer is a freshman defensive specialist and serving substitute for overall No. 1 seed Pittsburgh. She’s played in 29 matches this season, recording 12 aces and 26 digs.
Louisville has two Nebraskans in starting setter Elle Glock (Wahoo) and reserve outside hitter Alanna Bankston (Millard West). Glock, the daughter of former Nebraska basketball player Jason Glock, is averaging 5.45 assists per set while playing in a 6-2 offense. Bankston has played in 11 matches and put down 17 kills.
In addition to the rosters, fans will also see Nebraskans on the sidelines. Freeman alumna and former Husker Dani Busboom Kelly will lead the Cardinals into the semifinals for the third time since taking over the Louisville program in 2017, and she’s happy to see the Nebraska flavor in this year’s tournament.
“I just think the impact the Nebraska program has on the youth and the culture of volleyball in the state just makes people want to be a part of it,” Busboom Kelly said. “I think players start playing at a young age and they take a lot of pride in how they’re playing. And on top of that, the club coaches and the high school coaches in the state of Nebraska are excellent. So players are improving and getting better at a faster rate than a lot of states because of that, and lot of it is because of the coaching.
“I didn’t know that until I saw probably a tweet that there’s a native Nebraskan on every team, and I wonder if that’s ever been done before. It’s pretty cool.”
While this will be Busboom Kelly’s first time hosting the national semifinals as a head coach, she has experienced playing in the final four at home once before. Busboom Kelly was Nebraska’s starting libero when the Huskers won a national title in Omaha in 2006, though she said she doesn’t remember too much from that day.
“It’s like you’re in la-la land,” Busboom Kelly said. “But I just remember really feeling the crowd helped us so much in Omaha and that we were able to feed off that. I remember more about the Final Four there that I wasn’t a part of when Nebraska lost to Penn State and I was calling radio or something, and that was crazy with the crowd. I just remember it’s like the hoopla — it’s a little bit extra, and I think that is good because you really realize just how many people are behind you.
“I think our players are probably feeling that with their families and friends and people have been reaching out and giving them advice telling them they’re going to be here. The Final Four is already a big deal, but it just adds a little bit of extra fun and excitement when there’s so many people that have access to see it.”
Busboom Kelly has done a remarkable job since taking over at Louisville, boasting a record of 202-38 (.824) with four conference titles and a national runner-up finish in 2022. Her players had no qualms sharing what makes their coach special at the podium on Wednesday.
>> Junior middle blocker Cara Cresse: “I would just say the balance of goofy and serious. We obviously know when we’re in the gym, Dani is like, we’re getting to work, focus through the entire practice, entire game, whatever it is. But also, she makes it so much fun, and I think we can have fun but also execute what we’re trying to execute each day.”
>> Senior outside hitter Anna DeBeer: “Just being a student-athlete can be hard, and she just cares about you as a person. And just random stuff. Like over the past five years, she’ll surprise us with going to do something fun like getting our nails done or we’re going to go do this and do a team-bonding activity. She has a balance of if we work hard, it’s going to pay off and we’ll get some time to enjoy some things that we’re not used to. Just the balance between that has really made it special, and it’s one of my favorite things.”
>> Senior outside hitter Charitie Luper: “I would say just how Dani is always a woman of her word and she’s never fake, if that makes sense. Because I remember how she was when I was on the phone with her when I was in the portal, and everything she said, she stood on that. What she said on the phone is what she did when I am in her program right now. She’s just an amazing coach overall, and she just doesn’t lie about anything.”
Transfer Portal Thoughts
The transfer portal for Division I women’s volleyball opened on Dec. 8, which means the last two weeks have been busy for coaches across the country, whether they advanced to the final four or saw their seasons end.
Cook said at last year’s final four that he’d rather develop high school recruits than a team full of transfers, and he once again was not shy about sharing his thoughts on the transfer portal and current landscape of college volleyball.
“I think we’re sending the wrong messages to developing young people,” Cook said. “Is there loyalty anymore? Is there anything about commitment? Do those words mean anything? Again, I’m coming from the old-school background. I heard Geno [Auriema] talk about it, I’ve heard Nick Saban talk about it and several other coaches, the basketball coach, Tony [Bennett] at Virginia. I used to play pickup games with him, by the way, at Wisconsin. We really never thought we would sign up for this, and it kind of defeats one of the things that motivates coaches, is you want to develop young people. And now I’m not sure we’re doing that. It’s more about what’s in it for me and where can I get the best deal.
“I see what’s going on with some of these programs and these players leaving, and we had four players leave last year. It’s heartbreaking because you invest so much in these players emotionally, time-wise, in training them and trying to fulfill their dreams and helping them accomplish their dreams, and then they can walk out like it’s nothing. I think there’s a lot of negativity to it for big-picture stuff, as well. But if you want to survive, you’re going to have to figure out how to play along in the system. That’s what I’m trying to figure out.”
While Cook focused on the transient nature of many student-athletes today, one of his own players stands as an example of the reason the portal exists and why it can be a good thing as well. Merritt Beason spoke late in the season about her own transfer from Florida and how finding Nebraska allowed her to fall in love with volleyball again, and she reiterated that on Wednesday.
“A lot of people have a lot of different opinions on the portal,” Merritt Beason said. “I think it’s a very beautiful thing as someone who was in a position that really needed it. I’m grateful for the portal. I know a lot of people have negative things to say about the portal, but as someone who has come out of the portal and been in a much better place than I was before, I’m extremely grateful for it.”
While Cook said this season was as competitive as he’s seen with the large number of good teams and numerous upsets throughout the season, the result of NIL payments and revenue sharing could be even more of a shift in the direction of the traditional powers in the wealthiest conferences soon.
“Where you’re going with that is there’s super conferences now, and I think that’s one of the things that can separate us,” Cook said. “So the conferences that have the money for revenue share are definitely going to have an advantage; and the conferences that don’t, it’s going to be tough. It’s probably heading where we’re going to have the haves and have-nots, and it’s going to be in volleyball, in football, in basketball. But that’s way above my pay grade on how we got there and why it’s happening.
“But if you want to compete — I’ve already seen it this week in the portal, what’s going on. It’s nuts. Of course, we’ve seen it in football and basketball, as well. Now it’s here for volleyball.”
It Takes a Team
Cook also had the opportunity to sing the praises of his coaching staff, which features two all-time program greats at Nebraska and the recruiting coordinator who has helped the program bring in as much highly-touted talent as any program in the country.
“Having a great coaching staff is a huge advantage to try to perform at the level we’re performing at,” Cook said. “I feel very lucky because I’ve got Kelly Hunter, who’s won two National Championships, played in our program. Jordan Larson has done everything, played in our program. Jaylen [Reyes] has been, actually, the assistant coach that has worked with me for the longest period of time of any assistant coach I’ve had.
“I’ve got two former assistant coaches and a player out there practicing right now in this thing. So hiring good people and letting them develop and letting them do their thing — but it’s not easy to keep everybody happy and work together. There’s a lot of work that goes into that, just like having a great family and having a great culture with our team. We’re constantly working at it and trying to get better and challenge each other and then trying to be on the same page with our players.”
