"Maybe we did need a little bit of change"- Harper Murray makes her feelings known about Nebraska Volleyball welcoming new coach Dani Busboom Kelly

Harper Murray recently shared her thoughts about the change in coaching personnel at the Nebraska Volleyball team. After serving the team for 25 years, former coach John Cook retired in January this year, and a former Husker, Dani Busboom Kelly, filled his position.

Murray is one of the formidable players of the Nebraska Cornhuskers, having delivered several impressive performances in her team's wins during multiple showdowns. She proved her billing last year, as she made her way into the AVCA All-American Second Team and also became a part of the NCAA Championships All-Tournament Team in the same year. Currently, she is gearing up for the upcoming 2025 NCAA volleyball season.

Amid the preparations for the volleyball season, Harper Murray recently sat for a conversation with HuskerOnline, where she weighed in on welcoming the new coach. Revealing that the team might have needed a slight shift and appreciating Dani Busboom Kelly's skills, she said (1:15 onward):

"I think I don't know if it's just like we needed a little bit of change. Like, all love to John, but I think maybe we did need a little bit of a change, and Danny's been able to bring that out of all of us. And I've always found it's been super fun. She's open to more ideas. She's very, she's laid-back. I'll put it that way. She's super laid-back and you know that she's going to mix things up."

Harper Murray shared a close relationship with her former coach, John Cook, and opened up about their special bond in a conversation with The New York Times in November last year. Along with this, two months after retirement, Cook also revealed what he would miss the most about the player, justifying their bond.

Harper Murray opened up about the first training session under new coach Dani Busboom Kelly

Following the coaching change in the Nebraska volleyball team and after their first practice session with the new coach, Dani Busboom Kelly, Harper Murray sat for a conversation with Hail Varsity. She made her feelings known about her experience during the first training session under Kelly.

Calling it a little weird, she explained the difference between the coaching styles of both John Cook and Kelly. Revealing that the team didn't know what to expect, she said:

"I would probably say, like, the first practice, it was like really weird. We didn’t know what to expect with Coach like we knew. He liked to take things slow in the first week or two, that we were in spring season and with Dani, and we went straight to, we were doing 6 on 6 in the first week, we were taping, we were doing all that stuff, and with the coach, we knew he liked to kind of work into it." "So, I think that was really a shock for us just because we weren’t used to that and that was kind of when it set in. Things are going to be very different now, but it's going to be fun," she added.

Harper Murray will next be seen competing at the 2025 NCAA volleyball season, which is scheduled to begin on August 9. The team will be locking horns with the Red-White Scrimmage in the first round of the championship at the Devaney Sports Center.

Edited by Samya Majumdar