"A lot of my family's from there"- Harper Murray shares excitement at returning home for Nebraska volleyball’s weekend clash with Michigan

Nebraska volleyball star Harper Murray shared her excitement for the team’s matchup against Michigan, in her home state. The team will contest Michigan on October 19, Sunday, at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.

Murray, who has played a crucial role in Nebraska’s unbeaten streak this year, will once again hog the limelight during their game against Michigan as she plays at her home venue. In Nebraska Volleyball’s last match against Purdue, she stood out with 16 kills, a career-high hitting percentage of .640, two service aces, two solo blocks, four set assists and five digs, helping the team sweep Purdue.

Ahead of their game on Sunday, Harper Murray was asked in a pre-event media interview about the tickets at Crisler Center, where the match will be played, being already sold out and whether she had spent a lot of time going there. She responded, saying (0:21 onwards):

“Yeah, all the time. My sister [Kendall] mainly played in Cliff Keen and the basketball team was in Crisler. But for a few of their big games that they played in Crisler, I was always there. So I'm really excited to go back and see a lot of my friends.” “Many of my friends go to school there and a lot of my family's from there. I'm really excited to go home, spend time with them and just be home. We're actually going to have dinner at my house Saturday night, so I'm really excited to bring everyone back.”

It is worth noting that Harper’s sister, Kendall Murray, also played volleyball, representing the University of Michigan till 2023.

---

Nebraska volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly on significance of dinner at Harper Murray’s place

Dani Busboom Kelly at 2022 Division I Women's Volleyball Championship - Source: Getty

Dani Busboom Kelly shared her thoughts on the Nebraska volleyball team’s trip to Harper Murray’s home as they head to Michigan for this weekend’s game. She highlighted how trips like these play an important role in strengthening team bonds. Ahead of Sunday’s clash against Michigan, Kelly spoke in a media interview, stating:

“I love going to players' houses on the road, so if we're close to anybody, I think it breaks up the trip. It's fun. It gives everybody, including the staff a different perspective of a player seeing where they grew up and how they grew up so I think it just creates a little bit of a homie atmosphere and I've never been to a player's house left thinking that wasn't a great time so I'm excited for that.”

Notably, Harper Murray attended Skyline High School in Ann Arbor, Michigan, before joining the University of Nebraska for her collegiate and academic career.

Some of her biggest achievements prior to joining Nebraska included being named the Gatorade National Player of the Year and Michigan Volleyball Player of the Year in 2022, in addition to earning Michigan’s Miss Volleyball honor that same year.

Edited by Abhiruchi Rout