When Nebraska volleyball takes the court at the AVCA First Serve Showcase on August 22nd at PBA it will be the beginning of a new era in Husker volleyball. Why? Because Danni Busboom Kelly takes over for John Cook as head coach of the Huskers. Yes, DBK taking over for Cook is old news but don’t fool yourself into thinking it’s not a new beginning for Husker volleyball …. because it is.
Recently a colleague of mine expressed concern about Busboom Kelly taking over. I never gave it much thought as I felt like she was the natural choice to succeed Cook. Then he told me what it was that worried him. History, named successors, and Scott Frost.
Now, before I get started let me clarify something, I’m a Husker football fan first and a Husker volleyball fan second and not nearly as knowledgeable at the latter. I might even be considered downright ignorant. But in all fairness, Nebraska volleyball is in its infant stages compared to Husker football, and I’m no different. Like many, I still have a lot to learn about the game.
I’ve always watched volleyball as my youngest daughter competed against Busboom Kelly in high school and my granddaughter plays now. And I remember my daughter playing in a couple of exhibition games in her senior year trying a new scoring method called, rally scoring. For me, it was a game changer. So, when the point system was finally adopted full time, I became a real volleyball fan.
DBK is the fourth head coach in program history after John Cook, Terry Pettit, and Pat Sullivan. There are lessons to be learned with her predecessors, but it doesn’t end there. If she’s smart, she’ll study Nebraska’s volleyball history along with Nebraska’s football history. There are things she can learn there as well.
What can she learn? Well for starters she needs to stop and take a long, long look at Frank Solich and Scott Frost. I’ll even go so far as to say there is probably as much to be learned from Solich and Frost as there is from Cook.
Solich was made the head coach at Tom Osborne’s request, not much different from Cook recommending Busboom Kelly. And as we’ve learned, named successors are expected to pick up where their predecessors left off and have equal success. There is to be no drop off, because if there is, it will be seen as if it is mediocrity. Just like Tom Osborne, John Cook won multiple national championships and was on the threshold of several more. And as with Solich, the expectations are for DBK to be as successful as Cook, taking Nebraska to the championship game right out of the gate. Anything less will be a disappointment.
And then there’s Frost. I know, I know, I can hear all of you now, “Don’t dare compare DBK to Frost. Don’t jinx us.”
But you know as well as I do the similarities between the two are scary. It’s hard to ignore. Both were Nebraska kids with successful high school careers and recruited by Nebraska. Both played their college ball under history making coaches at Nebraska. Both won national championships as players. Both left to coach their own programs and found great success. Both were hired by athletic directors that knew they had no other choice but to appease the fans who were clamoring for their hire. And after doing so, they both returned home to take over the programs they loved with extremely high expectations.
I will say this in fairness to Frost, the biggest single difference between the two may be that DBK takes over a talented squad who knows how to win. Frost didn’t inherit anything close to that. Cook’s record over the last eight seasons was 223-28 with a national championship and three runners-up.
Like Frost and his undefeated team at UCF, DBK posted a record of 203-44 in her eight years at Louisville and her teams were national champion runners-up in 2022 and 2024. So, previous success was on their side.
Knowing that, what do I expect from the 2025 Husker volleyball team? Honestly, I look for Nebraska to get to the regionals, but to expect them to win the national championship in DBK’s first year would be unfair. That’s not to say it can’t happen, but Husker fans shouldn’t expect it. To do so would be putting the same kind of pressure on her that was put on Solich and Frost. That’s something that should be avoided.
Experienced or not, there will be a learning curve. While DBK has been heavily influenced by Cook, she has already proven that she is going to do some things differently and in her own way. That isn’t bad, but new things in old places can sometimes be rough for players and fans to accept, especially if things don’t go particularly well at some point.
It’s true “There is no place like Nebraska,” Husker fans can be overwhelming demanding. They aren’t afraid to express their feelings, and while they can be fair and incredibly supportive, they can also be equally harsh with their criticism and unrealistic in their expectations.
However, I have complete faith in DBK, and I don’t expect a downfall like history shows. I’m just warning fans to be patient and not to get their expectations too high. Remember, Tom Osborne didn’t win a national championship until his 22nd season.
If DBK can keep Nebraska in the top ten, make the tournament regularly and occasionally be in the running for a national championship she’ll be at Nebraska as long as she desires. History shows that to be true. If not, there is another side to Nebraska history that none of us likes too much.
Husker fans need to let Busboom Kelly do her thing, sit back and enjoy what’s sure to be a not so wild roller-coaster ride in her first season.
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