DANI BUSBOOM KELLY
At Nebraska
» Assistant Coach (2012-present)
Other Coaching Experience
» Assistant Coach, Louisville (2011-12)
» Assistant Coach, Tennessee (2009-11)
» Assistant Coach, USA Volleyball Select A2 Program (2012)
Coaching Honors
» 2014 AVCA Thirty Under 30 Award
Education
» University of Nebraska (2007)
Bachelor’s Degree, Communication Studies
Family
» Husband: Lane Kelly
COACH COOK SAYS
“I’ve been waiting for the day to be able to offer a coaching
position at Nebraska to one of our former players. Dani has
proven herself at two major Division I programs and as an
assistant with USA Volleyball’s Select A2 Program. She has
worked hard to put herself in position to be a Nebraska
volleyball coach. I loved coaching Dani as a player. She is a
winner. She played two different positions here, she has a
passion for coaching, and I’m excited to work alongside her
to help our team accomplish its goals.”
46
2015 NEBRASKA VOLLEYBALL
Assistant Coach / 4th Season / Nebraska (2007)
Dani Busboom Kelly joined head coach John Cook’s
staff in July 2012 and enters her fourth season with NU in
2015. Busboom Kelly assists Coach Cook with Nebraska’s
setters, liberos and outside hitters, as well as recruiting.
In her three seasons at Nebraska, Busboom Kelly has
helped the Huskers to a 75-24 record and three straight
NCAA regional final appearances. Busboom Kelly also
has helped oversee the emergence of the Huskers’ beach
volleyball program. After starting the program from
scratch in 2013, the Huskers turned a 7-7 dual record
through the first two seasons into a remarkable 6-2 record
in 2015. Both losses in 2015 came to the nation’s top-two
teams, as the Huskers moved into the realm of becoming
a top-10 beach volleyball program in just three years.
In 2014 on the court, the Huskers reached their third
straight regional final with the youngest team in school
history, while playing the second-toughe st schedule in
the nation. With only one senior, the Huskers showed
great improvement down the stretch and finished 23-10,
upsetting No. 3 Washington in Seattle to advance to the
regional final. Senior setter Mary Pollmiller finished her
Husker career with AVCA honorable-mention All-America
and All-North Region honors, and she was an All-Big
Ten honorable-mention pick. Sophomore libero Justine
Wong-Orantes recorded a team-high 464 digs on the
season and averaged 3.85 digs per set, seventh in the Big
Ten. She became the first Husker in school history to lead
the team in digs as both a freshman and sophomore, and
her 399 digs as a freshman tied the single-season school
record by an NU freshman.
Other Coaching Experience
During her season at Louisville, Busboom helped
the Cardinals to a 24-9 record including a trip to the
semifinals of the Big East Conference Tournament. Prior
to her time at Louisville, Busboom was an assistant
coach at Tennessee from 2009 to 2011. While working
with the Volunteers, she guided the team’s setters,
coordinated travel and equipment needs and ran the
school’s volleyball camps.
Playing Experience
As a captain at Nebraska, Busboom moved from setter
to libero in 2006 to help Nebraska’s defense and finished
her career as one of only two players to rank among NU’s
all-time leaders in both digs (1,281, second) and assists
(2,873, eighth). She was a four-year starter for Cook,
guiding NU to a 124-10 record, the best four-year mark
in school history, three Big 12 titles, two NCAA finals
appearances and a national title in 2006.
Busboom was considered the Big 12’s best libero in
2006, as she helped NU limit opponents to a Big 12-low
.144 hitting percentage. She set Nebraska’s single-season
digs record (580) in her first year as a libero, breaking the
previous mark of 480 by Amanda McCormick in 2004. As
a senior she reached double figures in digs in 32 of 34
matches, including 21 straight matches with at least
10 digs. She notched her best defensive performance
at the NCAA semifinals against UCLA, totaling a careerhigh 29 digs, which ranks as the second-best postseason
performance in school history.
In addition to her accomplishments on the court,
Busboom excelled off the court for the Huskers. She was
a 2006 second-team academic All-District VII selection,
while earning six Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll
accolades and becoming a three-time first-team academic
All-Big 12 honoree. She earned a bachelor’s degree in
communication studies from Nebraska in 2007.
Following her graduation, Busboom spent time
with the U.S. Women’s National Training Team before
working as a sales representative for an Omaha insurance
company. She has worked as a sideline reporter for radio
broadcasts of Nebraska volleyball matches on the Husker
Sports Network and also as an assistant coach with USA
Volleyball’s Select A2 Program. Dani and her husband,
former Nebraska football player Lane Kelly, have been
married since 2010.