Nebraska assistant coach Dani Busboom Kelly was named the Division I National Assistant Coach of the Year by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) on Thursday.
Busboom Kelly is set to become the head coach at the University of Louisville at the conclusion of the Huskers' season. Busboom Kelly helped guide the Huskers to the Big Ten Championship and a second straight NCAA Semifinals appearance with a 31-2 overall record.
In the last five years as an assistant at Nebraska, Busboom Kelly has played a vital role assisting with Nebraska's setters, liberos, outside hitters and recruiting. Regarded as one of the best recruiters in the nation, Busboom Kelly helped Nebraska's resurgence to the forefront of college volleyball in her five seasons, as the Huskers captured the 2015 NCAA Championship at the CenturyLink Center in Omaha, the same place Busboom Kelly won the national title as a captain for the Huskers in 2006.
Behind Busboom Kelly’s recruiting efforts, the Huskers' 2015 signing class ranked fifth in the nation by PrepVolleyball.com, and from that group Mikaela Foecke went on to become the third freshman to be named most outstanding player of the NCAA Championship. Busboom Kelly coached libero Justine Wong-Orantes and setter Kelly Hunter to AVCA All-America honors in 2016. Wong-Orantes became Nebraska's career leader in digs and the single-match school-record holder, while Hunter was the first Husker setter since 2012 to be named to the All-Big Ten team.
In her five seasons on the Husker bench, Busboom Kelly has helped the Huskers to a 138-30 record and NCAA regional final appearances every season, including trips to the final four each of the past two seasons. She has spent eight total seasons as an assistant coach, as she was part of the Tennessee staff from 2009 to 2011.