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MA VoepelESPN.com
OMAHA, Neb. — Louisville women’s volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly stopped and thought about it for a second. Sixteen years ago? Has it really been that long?
Indeed, in December 2006, she was in this very arena in downtown Omaha as a senior Nebraska freestyler winning the national championship. Seven years ago, she returned here as Husker’s assistant coach doing the same job.
Now, if her Cardinals win two games here, they will become the first ACC team to win the NCAA women’s volleyball title, and she will be the first female head coach to do so. But she’s not the only one here who can make history.
San Diego’s Jennifer Petrie got her Toreros in her first round of four finals, and she could well be the first woman to win the head coach title. Coach Dan Fisher’s Pitt Panthers team — returning to four finals for a second consecutive season as Louisville — could well be the ACC’s first roster.
And while Jerritt Elliott and Texas are the final four official competitors — this is the Longhorns’ 14th appearance in the national semifinals — they could become the eighth program to win the NCAA title three or more times. Texas’ two other championships were in 1988 and 2012.
San Diego faces Texas and Louisville meets Pitt starting at 7 p.m. ET Thursday (ESPN/ESPN App) at CHI Medical Center, which will host four finals for the fourth time. Busboom Kelly, a Nebraska native who has celebrated two titles here before, reflected Wednesday on both her journey and that of the sport.
“I was in coaching – I thought I had to try, otherwise I would always regret it,” she said. “But in my heart, I knew that once I got the coaching job, I would probably never get out of it.
“Invited to work here [at Louisville in 2016]I know I have a lot of weaknesses, but I know what it takes to run a great program.”
Louisville may have faced Busboom Kelly’s alma mater in the regional final, but Oregon let Nebraska down in the semifinals. Then, playing at their home turf, the Cardinals rallied for a 3-2 win over the Ducks. Thanks to Busboom Kelly’s roots, Louisville will be a favorite for Nebraska fans who will be at Thursday’s games without Husker to cheer on. They can wear their signature Husker red for the Cardinals.
“My first year at the ACC, we didn’t have a team in the Top 25,” said Busboom Kelly. “We need to push the ACC forward. And I’ve talked to Dan Fisher a few times. We need each other to be great and we need the conference to continue to be great.”
Before Louisville and Pitt last season, only one ACC team reached the fourth round of volleyball finals: Florida State in 2011. Now, the tournament is guaranteed to have a finalist for the first time.
Busboom Kelly said: “I’m glad we both made it to the last four, because I think last year there was a lot of noise, like, ‘Oh, this is a one-time thing. okay’,” said Busboom Kelly. “The fact that we both did it again under completely different circumstances, with completely different teams, just says a lot about the evolution of the sport. this.”
Here’s an indication of it, too: For the first time ever, neither the Pac-12 nor the Big Ten had a team that made it to the final four. Two Big Ten teams (Wisconsin and Ohio State) and two Pac-12 teams (Stanford and Oregon) were relegated to the Elite Eight. For the defending national champions Badgers and Cardinal, those losses came at their home turf.
Texas, which remained in the Big 12 until eventually moving to the SEC, managed to maintain a steady power in volleyball, but it took a lot of work. That includes working with the transfer portal. Transfers have always been a part of volleyball, but like all other college sports these days, there’s even more to it. And they are making even more impact.
“How do we continue this?” Elliott talks about Texas success. “I don’t sleep much, and I’m always worried about letting things fall apart. And that’s a constant effort in every way.”
While the Texas show is all too familiar for the final four, and Louisville and Pitt are making their comeback trip from last year, this has been the most magical season ever for Toreros. Petrie is from San Diego but traveled cross country to play volleyball at the College of William and Mary in Virginia. She is currently coaching San Diego for her 24th year, regularly participating in the NCAA tournament. But this is a step further than anything Toreros has done.
Petrie said: “It is definitely the pinnacle of my career being here. “I’ve never had a doubt that we’ve been an outstanding show. This has certainly exceeded that and we’ve broken the limit we’ve been stuck on for a long time. This season. is raising the bar for a lot of the teams that will come after them.”
