Nebraska Ready to Renew Creighton Rivalry

For the first time since that five-set thriller in Lincoln last season, Creighton and Nebraska will be renewing its volleyball rivalry, and both teams will be entering with new coaches. Dani Busboom Kelly will be leading the top-ranked Huskers into Omaha to take on a Creighton volleyball team led by Brian Rosen, who was named the 2024 AVCA Assistant Coach of the Year.

"I haven't been back for eight years, but it's really neat to have two women's (teams) in the state going against each other at least for a few years," Busboom Kelly said. "I know Brian's a great coach, and obviously Creighton trusted him to take over that amazing program."

The top-ranked Huskers will be entering the match a perfect 8-0 on the season, and they too have faced their fair share of ranked opponents, with wins over No. 3 Pittsburgh, No. 6 Stanford, No. 7 Kentucky, and a 3-1 win over No. 22 Utah just this past Friday. Thanks to that four-game win Friday, Nebraska even shook up the starting lineup for their Saturday sweep of Grand Canyon University.

"Having a four-gamer (Friday) night and then with Creighton being a quick turnaround, and we really only get one practice, so I wanted to make sure that the team felt really fresh to go hard so that this would set us up for better prep for Creighton," Busboom Kelly said.

Busboom Kelly did admit she has a lot of appreciation for the work that's been done at Creighton over the last several years, mainly because she was recruited by the school before she committed to Nebraska.

"I remember when I was a recruit going to Creighton for a team camp, and they showed me around, and I was like 'what is this place?' she said. "I think they weren't winning any games, period — like zero wins maybe the season before. Then to see Kirsten (Booth) just completely turn that around and turn them into a powerhouse where they're in the mix for top recruits and they're always knocking at the door of the Final Four. Just extremely impressive what they've been able to do."

After 22 seasons, Kirsten Booth resigned as coach of the Bluejays to become President of Business Operations for League One Volleyball. The announcement came in early April and rocked not only the volleyball landscape in Nebraska, but the country given Creighton's recent success on the national level.

It was certainly success noticed by Nebraska senior libero Maisie Boesiger, who grew up in Firth, Neb. just south of Lincoln before signing with the Huskers.

"I think it's really cool growing up in Nebraska and being able to watch the Huskers and Creighton play," Boesiger said. "It's a very special game for Nebraska because this is the volleyball state. It's so important here, and I think it's just a celebration of volleyball here. It's always competitive. It's always a great game."

Ultimately, only one team will be celebrating Tuesday night in Omaha, but it's safe to assume there will be plenty of "Jaysker" fan sightings along the way. First serve between Nebraska and Creighton is set for 6:30 p.m. CDT on Tuesday, Sept. 16. The match will be televised on FS1.