Dani Busboom Kelly Meets With Local Media

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – University of Louisville volleyball coach Dani Busboom Kelly spoke with the media today to discuss the future of the team and the impact of the COVID-19 virus outbreak.

"This spring was really fortunate, and I feel like we got a lot done," said Busboom Kelly. "We returned everybody except for Mel (McHenry) so we could start right away in January and actually go six on six and do team drills where I know a lot of schools only got to do individuals."

Busboom Kelly is entering her fifth year at the helm of UofL volleyball. Last fall, she lead the Cardinals to their first berth in the NCAA Elite Eight in school history when Louisville beat Samford and Western Kentucky to reach the Texas Regional where they then beat No. 2 seeded Texas. She is one of a few coaches in the country who have won a volleyball NCAA Championship as both a player and a coach (assistant) – both at Nebraska. Louisville is 68-26 with Busboom Kelly as head coach. Last season, the Cardinals went 22-10 and placed third in the ACC.

"This coming season should be really exciting having everyone back," Busboom Kelly said. "We have Aiko Jones back, she was our most terminal attacker and we're just scratching the surface with what she can be. Also having Tori Dilfer who is an experienced setter who really improved throughout the year we are looking to be that much better this year. I thought our offense ended up being pretty strong last year so it will be great to build on that. On the flipside I thought our defense was not that great but I think some of these freshman coming in can really contribute to that but also our DSs and Liberos are going to be a year older and for that position it makes a big difference."

Although the Cardinals made big strides in the spring, they will still face some challenges when they begin to prepare for the season again, starting with staying in shape physically.

"I think the biggest challenge for our team is staying physically in shape. The spring is when you really push your team to make gains in the weight room. We are really relying and trusting them to continue to work out. I think it will be really challenging to get them back in the gym because they won't be as physically ready as we are used to them being, so that is my biggest concern about having this much time off," said Busboom Kelly.

In addition to the core of returning players, the Cardinals will be adding new faces to the team next year with an outstanding recruiting class highlighted by incoming freshman Anna DeBeer and junior transfer Rachael DeMarcus from South Alabama.

"Adding the Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year, Anna DeBeer, who we've been looking forward to having on the team for about three years now will be exciting," said Busboom Kelly."She'll have a great chance to compete for some playing time, along with a couple of the other freshman so we're really going to have a deep squad next year. Rachael (DeMarcus) had a great season last at South Alabama and she just decided she wanted to get closer to home with her family in Lexington. We are really lucky; she is a very skilled setter. She's not physically as tall as Tori but she can dish. She is going to push Tori and make her better. She'll adds depth to the position which we need, and just gives us a lot of options. She already fits in great and the team loves her."

With next season only five months away, Busboom Kelly is looking ahead at the competition the Cards with face in the ACC.

"I think your typical suspect is Pitt, they lost a large core of their group, but they return a bunch and I know they expect to be very good," said Busboom Kelly. Notre Dame has everybody back and their program the last couple years has been on the rise and always gives us fits. Those would be two that really stick out to me. Florida State is always strong, and Syracuse returns their best players. I think the ACC last year as a whole was very young so I think there are a lot of teams that can emerge this year."

Here is the full press conference:

University of Louisville Athletics

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Tori Dilfer

Aiko Jones

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