Nebraska's 2025 Didn't Finish in Kansas City, But It Still Reached New Heights

The Huskers enter the offseason ready to reload for 2026 season.

Nebraska underclassmen Bergen Reilly, Laney Choboy, Harper Murray, Teraya Sigler and Virginia Adriano watch the seniors being honored. Nebraska returns 13 players including three All-Americans for the 2026 season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — What happens when you throw a party, and the intended guest of honor doesn’t show up? 

The feel of the first few days of the Final Four had all the indicators of a large Nebraska gathering. Huskers fans were everywhere you went in Kansas City: the Power and Light District, local BBQ restaurants and even the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum. 

Yet, the courts inside the T-Mobile Center were the only place Nebraska wasn’t present. On Thursday night and Sunday afternoon, Texas A&M — the team that took the Huskers down in the regional finals — took hold of the college volleyball world and made quick work with a pair of sweeps to earn their first-ever national championship. 

It will offer little solace to the many Husker fans who still made the trip to Kansas City. (They were still the largest fan base in the crowd for the semifinals.) Instead, it only added to the what-ifs and could-have-beens for Nebraska’s potential perfect season that ended a week too early. 

After the Aggies won the title on Sunday, the books have been officially closed on the 2025 season. The Huskers finished with a 33-1 record. For many, that 1 will loom larger than the 33 when judging the season’s success. However, what NU accomplished this season should not be wiped away by the ending. 

Nebraska coach Dani Busboom Kelly talks with setter Bergen Reilly during the NCAA Tournament. Busboom Kelly was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year while Reilly was the Big Ten Player of the Year and the AVCA Setter of the Year. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

For the third straight year, the Huskers won the Big Ten Conference championship, and did so in dominating fashion. They dropped just one set in the 20-match schedule, which has only been bested once — by the dominant 2008 Penn State team, which won 111 sets in a row. Speaking of that team, Andi Jackson broke Arielle Wilson’s hitting percentage during the league schedule by 18 points with a .559 hitting percentage. 

Nebraska also set new marks for one of the best offenses in several years, with a .351 hitting percentage. The Huskers broke their school record by 20 points. In addition, NU also led the NCAA in opponents' hitting percentage.

Even though Nebraska’s motto was “Banner, not a Name,” the Huskers hauled in plenty of individual awards. 

Bergen Reilly was the Big Ten Player of the Year, earned her third conference Setter of the Year award and was the AVCA’s Setter of the Year and a first-team All-American. Jackson was also a first-team All-American and the AVCA’s Middle Blocker of the Year. Harper Murray (first team) and Rebekah Allick (second team) also earned All-American honors. Also, Dani Busboom Kelly was named the Big Ten Coach of the Year in her first season in the league.

Harper Murray and Andi Jackson comfort Virginia Adriano as they walk off the court after a season-ending loss to Texas A&M. Murray said despite the early finish to their season, they have a lot to proud of this year. | Amarillo Mullen

For all their on-court accomplishments, Busboom Kelly said she was proud of how much trust they put into each other and the coaching staff. Even though the season ended early, the Huskers gave their best effort and went down fighting. 

“It wasn’t a completely new team, but I was new, and I just felt like everybody was just super open-minded,” Busboom Kelly said after the Texas A&M loss. “ We went through this year, and we played with a ton of joy, had a lot of fun, we went super hard.

“We maxed out, and that’s always the goal at the end of the year. That’s why, as a coach, I don’t feel upset. I know we didn’t make the Final Four. We’re not winning a national championship, but we maxed out today. When we can walk away from the last game this season and feel like we gave it our all and look back and have no regrets, that’s what I’m really proud of, and I hope these players don’t have any regrets either.”

Murray said in the locker room after the loss, her teammates were apologizing to each other, it was their fault, but she wasn’t having it. After going through similar emotions at the end of her freshman year, she wasn’t able to focus on what they did accomplish rather than what they didn’t. 

“It’s about how hard we worked and what we did this year,” Murray said. “My biggest message for this team is just to stick to the people that we trust and our support system, because we have so much to be proud of, and it’s so easy to forget that in moments like this.”

Moving Forward

Taylor Landfair high fives Rebekah after a block against Texas A&M. The duo are two of Nebraska's parting seniors. | Amarillo Mullen

Nebraska loses four seniors from its roster, and all of them will be staying involved with volleyball in some capacity in the near future. 

The Omaha Supernovas drafted opposite Allie Sczech in the Major League Volleyball draft. (It’s uncertain how the injury she suffered right before the regional final will impact her ability to participate in training camp.) Outside hitter Taylor Landfair is off to join the Indy Ignite after she was their fourth-round selection. 

Allick announced on Friday that she was joining League One’s Madison franchise, and defensive specialist Maisie Boesiger will work in the social media department with the LOVB Nebraska team. 

Before she wrapped up her career and graduated from Nebraska on Saturday, Allick fought through the tears to impart some wisdom for the players on next year’s team. 

“To the returners, my biggest thing is lead by example,” Allick said. “Lexi Rodriguez, to me, was that person. She maybe didn’t always have something to say, but she always made the play, or even it was the random handhold or the hug, and that would probably be it for the rest of the day. But it was very intentional. Never feel like you have to bear it all. It’s not all on you. Just go do your thing. You don’t have to make it a big show. Just go be yourself.”

Open Portal

The transfer portal opened on Dec. 7, but in the week after Nebraska’s season ended, no players have entered and declared their intention to find a new school. 

While this might seem promising that the roster will return intact, players have until Jan. 5 to enter the portal. There is no deadline to pick a new school, so once they are in the portal, they are likely driven by the academic calendar to find a landing spot. In addition, a second portal window will open from May 1-15, creating another opportunity for player movement. 

Nebraska could be shopping in the portal to find a player or two, but they don’t have any glaring needs and currently have 16 players slated for next year’s roster. Based on who they have returning, the Huskers should be a leading candidate to win another Big Ten title and be in the hunt for a national championship.

However, if anyone were to transfer out during the next two weeks, NU could look to fill those gaps via the portal. Currently, though, the portal does not seem to have any high-end difference playmakers available as of yet. A lot of the high-profile names are at setter, where the Huskers appear to be stacked with Reilly and Campbell Flynn set to return. 

Coaching Inventory

Nebraska assistant coach Kelly (Hunter) Natter confers with DS/Libero Laney Choboy during the AVCA First Serve. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska hasn’t shared any news about the future of its coaching staff. Most assistants work on one-year contracts, so word should come by the end of the year on which staff members will be returning to the bench.

Busboom Kelly kept both Jayen Reyes and Kelly Natter from Cook’s final staff while promoting Brennan Hagar from graduate manager to full-time assistant. Busboom Kelly praised the work of her assistants throughout the season, and the group’s efforts led to a team that led the nation in hitting percentage and opponents’ hitting percentage. 

Overall, the coaching carousel has been relatively slow. Only a handful of major programs have seen their coaches depart, and most have been from retirements or resignations. BYU and Duke remain the most high-profile openings, while Utah moved quickly to replace long-time coach Beth Launiere with associate head coach Alyssa D’Errico. 

Fresh Faces

From left, Jayden Robinson, Gabby DiVita and Keoni Williams officially signed with the Huskers in November. They will arrive campus in January. | Keoni Williams Instagram

Three new players will join the Huskers in January — outside hitter Gabby DiVita, middle blocker Keoni Williams and pin hitter Jayden Robinson. The trio of 2026 signees will all participate in the Under Armour All America Game on Jan. 1 in Orlando. 

Soon after, they will enroll at Nebraska for the spring semester. If patterns hold, the Huskers will begin beach season practices in early February and a trip to Hawaii and California in March. Then they will start indoor practices in late March and play an exhibition or two in April. 

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