"Dani Busboom Kelly's just a Nebraskan at heart"- Junior Bergen Reilly makes feelings known as she reflects on 39-year-old's connection to program

Two-time Big Ten Setter of the Year, Bergen Reilly, along with her teammates, recently appeared in a player press conference. She shared her thoughts on leadership changes and how Dani Busboom Kelly has always been with the program.

The iconic setter of the Nebraska Cornhuskers gave her viewpoints on the new head coach of the Cornhuskers and how she thinks Kelly is going to guide the eminent program in the right and successful direction. Reilly opined on the same in a YouTube video posted by Hail Varsity.

“She has proven herself as a coach and just obviously as a player, as an athlete. She's just a Nebraskan and you can tell, and I'm not a Nebraskan. But I can kind of pick them out and you can tell that she's just a Nebraskan at heart and like Becca said she even cared about Nebraska while she was at other places and that just shows a lot about how she's going to coach us and how she's going to care for us,” she said [4:02 onwards].

Reilly, in her views, shared that Kelly is familiar with the cultural environment of Nebraska and knows what is required to lead the program. Because of her proficiency, she can coach with a deeper understanding and knowledge of what is needed by the players. Additionally, the setter also mentioned that playing at Nebraska is unique, and if someone has not been through it, it would be hard to understand.

The four-time AVCA East Region Coach of the Year, Dani Busboom Kelly will be guiding the Nebraska program following the departure of legendary four-time National Champion head coach John Cook. She was thrice named the ACC Coach of the Year and even played with Nebraska from 2003 to 2006.

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Bergen Reilly shares her take on the offensive blueprint of Nebraska

Bergen Reilly at the NCAA Division I Women's Championship - Source: Getty

Bergen Reilly, the AVCA First Serve Showcase Best Setter of 2024, also talked about the offensive framework of Nebraska Cornhuskers and how she has complete trust in the team. Appearing in a segment for the NCAA Championships' YouTube channel, she elaborated on her thoughts.

“It is a really fun team to set just knowing that any point in the game, anybody can get me a kill. I really have full trust in my teammates that even the people on our bench, they can come in and they can get us kills, and they've shown that, and I think that's something that's so special about Nebraska,” she mentioned.

The setter shared that the program’s offense was incredible last year and that it was “fun” playing with such individuals. Bergen Reilly was nominated into the Tom Osborne Citizenship Team twice and was also named in the Academic All-America First Team last year. Reilly was the first player to win Big Ten Setter of the Year in two different seasons in the history of Big Ten.