Nebraska Volleyball is Far From Perfect, Just Ask the Team

When you're the unquestioned No. 1 team in the country and an entire country is singing your praises, one would think you would be happy with your lot in life. Apparently, Nebraska's taking a different approach.

A perfect non-conference schedule has been nice, but the 2025 Nebraska volleyball team knows the "real" season kicks off Wednesday. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly has one of the toughest jobs in all of college sports.

She has the task of telling her undefeated and unanimous No. 1 team in the country that they haven’t hit their top gear yet. The 10-0 Huskers may have wins over No. 3 Pittsburg, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Kentucky, No. 18 Creighton, and No. 22 Utah, but the team’s approach is mirroring what Busboom Kelly would want.

“I don’t think we’ve played our best volleyball yet this year,” sophomore libero Olivia Mauch said. “I’m really excited for what we can do, and I think we can make a really big statement starting off here this week.”

Nebraska has had plenty to smile about through their first ten matches of the season, but are still hungry to improve with conference play kicking off Wednesday. | Nebraska Athletics

Nebraska welcomes in their first Big Ten opponent of the year, 10-1 Michigan in town Wednesday night. The Wolverines have had an impressive non-conference season of their own, but for Nebraska, their biggest opponent during the match may be themselves.

“I think we have to be on a mission to continue to get better and to understand that each game is really important for who we want to be in December,” Busboom Kelly said during her weekly press conference Tuesday. “Of course, we want to take it each game at a time and the goal is to win a Big Ten Championship, but that’s also not the ultimate goal for this year.”

The top-ranked Huskers may be undefeated, but they’ve certainly had their unblemished record threatened. Twice this season, the Huskers were pushed to a fifth set, most recently by in-state rival Creighton, which entered that final frame with a lot of momentum. However, when it mattered most, Nebraska got the job done — and it’s that level of growth that lets the team know there’s still more to achieve.

Taylor Landfair has helped pace Nebraska through its 10-0 start, but knows conference play is a "new season" for the Huskers. | Amarillo Mullen

“I think it proves we have a lot more that we need to get done, and we have a lot more that we need to work on,” senior outside hitter Taylor Landfair said. “It’s honestly great that we had such a long preseason. We had so many games and so much success, but at the same time, all that success is in the past now.”

Where Creighton and a few other teams have been able to find success against Nebraska is with a strong service game. The Bluejays' serve got the Huskers out of system frequently in the five-set thriller, and Nebraska’s passing does still leave a lot to be desired.

However, NU knew it would be a transition year after losing three-time first-team All-American Lexi Rodriguez.

Lexi Rodriguez has been a tough act to replace for the 2025 Huskers. | Amarillo Mullen

“I feel when you lose such a great passer like Lexi, there’s going to be a little bit of a drop off,” Busboom Kelly said. “It’s just figuring out how we can be successful being ourselves, because you’re not going to replace a player like that.”

Considering the team is still 10-0 with as many high-profile wins as they have under their belt, it’s safe to say they’re well on their way. Nonetheless, the Huskers are entering conference play hungry and humble. For them, a new season starts now.

“I think it’s just proving to ourselves how good we can be,” Mauch said. “We don’t feel like we’ve been playing super well recently. I know the stats don’t show that or the games don’t show it, but I think just proving to ourselves and to everybody else, especially with the new coach — I think just proving to ourselves that we can win again.”

Nebraska is looking to add a third-straight conference championship banner, but it's far from their main goal of the 2025 season. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

As you might remember, Nebraska split the Big Ten volleyball championship with Penn State last season after finishing 19-1 in conference play. The shared crown also represented NU’s second-straight league title and fifth since joining the Big Ten in 2011.

The blistering level of success being seen in Lincoln is surprisingly nothing new. The Huskers have been a national power in college volleyball for decades thanks to the program built by John Cook and Terry Pettit. Now, a former player is running the ship, and Busboom Kelly said the team’s success is also an indicator of why her players won’t get too comfortable despite the No. 1 ranking and unbeaten record.

“I think it’ll be pretty tough for us to get complacent because of the talent in our gym,” Busboom Kelly said. “If somebody gets complacent, they’re probably going to lose their spot.”

That attitude is already reflected in the team as well as they gear up for their conference opener against Michigan.

Practice for the Nebraska volleyball team has remained intense thanks to lofty expectations from first-year coach Dani Busboom Kelly. | Kenny Larabee, KLIN

“We can always get better at every position no matter what,” Mauch said. “I think it’s just fine-tuning those little things that’ll make the biggest difference.”

Frankly, what fans have seen through the first ten matches has been impressive, but Busboom Kelly hopes it’s what fans see in the team’s last ten matches that tell the story of the 2025 season.

“We want to enjoy this journey and continue to point out things we’re going well and things we need to get better on to be our best at the end of the year,” Busboom Kelly said.

“I just hope we embrace it because I feel like she knows what she’s talking about, obviously, and I think that it’s good that she’s getting on to us because we’re going to have to be really good defensively at the end of the season,” Landfair said. “It’s honestly just how can we step up and how can we set a really high standard for ourselves, but then also meet that standard.”

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