How did the Nebraska Volleyball team perform under Dani Busboom Kelly's guidance in Alumni match? All about the new coach's impact

The Nebraska Volleyball women's team faced their alumni in their final pre-season game. Despite trailing behind in the initial few sets, the team bounced back to secure a 3-1 victory. A significant reason behind this turnaround is the impact brought by the new coach, Dani Busboom Kelly.

Kelly ensured that the team was tested through multiple trials, including the Red and White Scrimmage, where the current roster for the 2025-26 season was divided into two teams that faced off against each other. Ahead of the Alumni match, Kelly had mentioned how this would help provide an opportunity for the Huskers to test their lineups for the upcoming season.

Coach Kelly mentioned the strategy in her conversation with the media, saying:

“We’ll look at some potential lineups and be able to make changes within those lineups that we’d potentially make the following weekend. You can just learn a lot more.”

The players were equally excited about the changes. Before the game, Harper Murray, who played a crucial role in the Alumni match with 12 kills, had mentioned how they'd get a taste of a true lineup, as she said,

“It’ll be exciting, but it’s also going to be interesting. It’ll be the first time we have a true lineup out there and not mixing around as much.”

Another significant change that was made by the coach in the Alumni match was maintaining a healthy mix of both veterans and freshers. While experienced players like Harper Murray and Andi Jackson led the attack, they were ably assisted by freshers like Virginia Adriano and Campbell Flynn. It was Adriano who counterattacked the Alumni team, despite the latter having an advantage in the first two sets of the game.

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Nebraska Volleyball head coach credits Alumni match for helping the team prepare for the new season

Dani Busboom Kelly, coach of the Nebraska Volleyball Women's team talks about the impact of the Alumni match [Image Source: Getty]

Head coach of the Nebraska Volleyball women's team, Dani Busboom Kelly, opened up about the impact of the match against the Alumni team. She credited the match for giving her team the much-needed warmup for the upcoming season.

In her conversation with the media after the match, the coach mentioned that the players were tested, and the game against the Huskers Alumni helped her understand the team more. In her words:

"The Alum, you know, they were excited to play. They played great and then we got tested and kind of felt some pressure which was amazing going into next week. And we got to see a lot of different players too, you know, step up in that pressure. I think it really helped us figure out who we're going to start and what realistic changes we can make. And I think it made me a lot more comfortable going into next weekend. So, thank you. Big thank you to the alums for showing up and playing great." [0:10 onwards]

The Nebraska Volleyball women's team will play their first game of the 2025-26 season on August 22. The Huskers will be facing the Pittsburgh Panthers in their inaugural game of the season.