In December 2024, Nebraska and Penn State clashed in a high-stakes battle that lived up to the hype. Both teams left everything on the court, pushing each other to the brink in a five-set thriller. In the end, it was Penn State who edged out the victory, handing Nebraska a crushing 3-2 defeat that ended their run just shy of the national championship. Two teams have really showcased their competitive spirits with a buildup of many years.
For the then Huskers head coach John Cook, the loss was tough. But the leadership of Dani Busboom Kelly, who took over the program from the legendary coach, is making one thing abundantly clear: Nebraska volleyball remains in fearless hands, and its quest for greatness is far from over.
While they are preparing for the battle with fierce competitors, Nebraska volleyball, and in fact, their biggest rival, Penn State, have done something unprecedented. Per the latest update by the Big Ten conference on the pre-season poll, “The Big Ten has the top two teams in the AVCA Volleyball preseason poll for the first time in conference history.” Following them, the Penn State volleyball team was ranked 2nd by the coaches.
The @bigten has the top two teams in the @AVCAVolleyball preseason poll for the first time in conference history pic.twitter.com/DOgG2RwWBE
— Big Ten Volleyball (@B1GVolleyball) August 6, 2025
And after it was announced that the coaches have voted for Nebraska volleyball as the No. 1 preseason, head coach Dani Busboom Kelly has reacted to it. After all, Kelly wasn’t even aware of the update until the press conference. So, when asked about the No.1 spot on preseason polls, Kelly said, I didn’t even know that to be honest. I don’t know when that came out. Ten minutes ago. So, I’m not surprised. I got a vote, and I voted ourselves number one. I think we’re pretty talented.”
She also added, “We’re going to talk about that and talk about what it means to be number one. But we’re not going to dwell on that or talk about it for more than about ten minutes. I also don’t want to avoid it, and I don’t think anybody on our team is going to be surprised that we’re preseason number one. I also don’t think anybody believes that that’s what we’ll be in December just because that’s where we are right now, because they’ve been through it all.
Stay tuned. This is a developing story…
The post Nebraska Volleyball and Penn State Help Big Ten Break AVCA Pre-Season Poll Record appeared first on EssentiallySports.