No. 1 Nebraska Starts The Season With Win Over No. 3 Pitt

LINCOLN—Dani Busboom Kelly was waiting for the celebration, but it never came.

The first-year Nebraska coach was expecting to get doused with water following a season-opening win against No. 3 Pittsburgh, but she made it to the post-match press conference dry.

Even though Harper Murray and Andi Jackson said they would get her later, Busboom Kelly avoided getting her red blazer doused in water. 

It was a night of celebrations for the No. 1 Huskers as they opened the 2025 season with an impressive victory over the third-ranked Panthers. The Big Red notched a 25-22, 25-11, 20-25, 25-23 victory Friday night in front of a crowd of 15,576 at Pinnacle Bank Arena as part of the AVCA First Serve Showcase.

After 203 wins at Louisville over eight seasons, the victory was the first one for Busboom Kelly at Nebraska. Jackson said they wanted to get the win for their new coach, especially against her old ACC rival. 

“Dani’s an awesome coach, and we’ve had so much fun with her, especially in this off-season. It’s been just really fun getting to know her as a person and as a coach, and we’ve done a lot of really, really cool things, lots of fun things and activities that we’re not really used to,” said Jackson, who was named MVP of the match. “It’s really special to see Dani get this win. We all really wanted it for her super bad.”

The evening started with a bang after a flashy promotional video and starting lineup introductions, where each player ran out of the tunnel as they were announced. The crowd also wore LED bracelets that lit up with the school colors. 

“That intro was pretty unbelievable to start off college volleyball. For them to set the stage and set the tone that this sport is big time was awesome,” Busboom Kelly said. “To have that in Lincoln, where the stands are full and people are into it, it was just an amazing way to start off the season. I thought it was a great match.”

Nebraska might have been a bit nervous early on playing in the new environment, as they recorded six hitting errors and missed two serves before Pitt recorded its first kill to tie the first set at 10-all.

The Panthers eventually settled in and led 21-18 after an ace from reigning AVCA Player of the Year Olivia Babcock. However, Nebraska got a spark from freshman Teraya Sigler’s first collegiate kill and responded with a 5-0 run.

Taylor Landfair also came up huge in the scoring burst as the Huskers won seven of the final eight points of the first set. The sixth-year senior recorded a kill and two blocks on Babcock in the stretch. Landfair finished with eight points and eight blocks. 

“We’re all really proud of her, and it was a huge momentum creator for our team,” Jackson said about Landfair. “After she got those few kills, few blocks, we were ready to go from there. There was no stopping us.”

The Huskers carried the momentum into the second set and pulled away early. NU jumped out to a 5-1 lead and dominated the Panthers. Nebraska hit .429 in the frame as Murray put up four kills. Allie Sczech recorded her first kill as a Husker to finish the set. 

After Pitt regrouped and won the third set, Nebraska looked poised to take the match with a 20-16 lead in the fourth set. However, the Panthers used their strong service game to rally. Pitt recorded three aces to tie the set at 23-all. 

However, Murray then delivered a clutch kill to set up match point. Murray finished with a team-high 15 kills on a .278 hitting percentage. Murray said she wants the ball late in the set. 

“The end of games is where I play my best,” Murray said. “In the fourth set, I went down a little bit, and that’s something that I need to work on. But at the end of games is where I can be there for my team the most. That’s been a trend for me the past few years. That’s something I want to continue to do for my team and continue to show out when they need me most.”

NU ended the match on the next rally as Jackson, Landfair, and Bergen Reilly teamed up for a triple block on Babcock. Even though Babcock finished with 21 kills on 58 attacks, she also committed 14 hitting errors. The rest of the Panthers combined for 21 kills on 77 swings.

Reilly finished with 40 assists and 10 digs as the Huskers hit .224 for the match. Senior middle blocker Rebekah Allick finished with nine kills and seven blocks. 

Freshman opposite Virginia Adriano added six kills and three blocks, including two on Babcock in the fourth set. Junior libero Laney Choboy chipped in 16 digs while Olivia Mauch finished with eight digs and an ace. 

For Busboom Kelly, who played her career in the 4,000-seat NU Coliseum, the night was a special celebration. 

“It’s pretty magical,” she said. “The fact that I got to do one thing that hasn’t been done before was cool, and playing in Pinnacle Bank Arena and then coming away with the win against an old rival of mine, it couldn’t have lined up so perfectly.”

Nebraska Volleyball 2025 Schedule

Home matches are bolded. All times central.

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