With success comes coaching-staff departures, and Nebraska volleyball will be in the market for a new assistant coach as Dani Busboom Kelly was named the new head coach at Louisville on Sunday.
Busboom Kelly, a four-year starter for Nebraska at setter and libero and part of the Huskers’ 2006 national championship team, broke into the coaching ranks in 2009 at Tennessee. In 2011, she spent a season at Louisville before returning to Nebraska as an assistant in 2012. She will remain with Nebraska through the NCAA Tournament.
“I am so thankful for the last five years I spent with Nebraska volleyball,” Busboom Kelly said. “Being a part of Nebraska as a player and a coach has been incredibly rewarding and no doubt has greatly influenced my career and myself as a person. I can’t thank John Cook enough for being a mentor and a friend. He has prepared me for this next step and I’ve appreciated his support throughout the process. He has always taught us to set goals and dream big. There are still goals to be accomplished in the next three weeks, and I will cherish the time remaining with the 2016 team.”
Cook said Busboom Kelly is well-prepared for the next step in her career.
“When Dani told me she wanted to be a coach after she was finished playing for the Huskers, I suggested that she go away from Nebraska to see how the real world of coaching was different from Nebraska. Louisville was one of her stops,” Cook said. “I know from many conversations she loved Louisville, Tom Jurich the AD, and of course Muhammad Ali said it is the greatest city in the world. One of the proudest days of my coaching career was hiring Dani back to Nebraska to be a coach. Although I still can’t believe it, I am very proud of the coach she has become. She is ready for this job. She has been a captain of a national championship team, coached a national championship team, changed our recruiting, and has made me a better coach. We are so happy and proud of the work that she has done to get to this point in her coaching career. Louisville is getting a young rising star coach in Dani. We will miss her and Lane, and we thank her for all that she has done for Nebraska volleyball.”
Busboom Kelly has been a valuable recruiter for Nebraska over the past five seasons, helping the Huskers make inroads in the Kentucky and Tennessee regions. Cook said Nebraska will engage in a national search to find her replacement.
Pairings for the NCAA Tournament were scheduled to be announced Sunday night.
