University of Tennessee Athletics
Lady Vol Volleyball Hires Dani Busboom as Assistant Coach
March 30, 2009 | Volleyball
March 30, 2009
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - The University of Tennessee and head volleyball coach Rob Patrick announced the hiring of Dani Busboom as the team's new assistant coach Monday afternoon. She will take over for Katie Noble who left the staff earlier this month to pursue career opportunities outside of coaching.
A former standout player at Nebraska, Busboom brings a wealth of experience to Rocky Top, having guided the Huskers to three conference championships, two NCAA finals appearances and a national title during her four-year career in Lincoln.
"We are very excited to have such a celebrated player join our program and coaching staff," Patrick said. "Dani brings with her an enormous amount of championship experience and will be a tremendous resource for us. She has a strong drive to win and a passion for success that I am looking forward to having her instill in our team, especially our setters. She brings a unique perspective to our program and will help us to continue building great relationships with our student-athletes."
Busboom will work with all facets of the UT volleyball team, including training the team's setters, coordinating its travel and equipment needs and running the school's summer volleyball camps. She will also have additional responsibilities with recruiting and tape breakdown.
"I truly think Tennessee has a great opportunity to win conference championships and get back to the Final Four in the very near future," Busboom said. "I'm very fortunate to begin my coaching career at a place like UT with coaches as experienced as Rob and Gregg (Whitis) and, obviously, there is a lot that I can learn from both of them. I wanted to go somewhere where athletes have a special place in the community, and I feel that Tennessee has just that. I am very excited about the opportunity I have been given to work at a school with such a strong women's athletics program and I can't wait to get started."
Busboom was the ultimate team player during her career at Nebraska, transitioning to libero during her senior campaign after starting at the setter position the previous three seasons. A four-year starter, she concluded her career as one of only two players ranked among the top-10 in NU history in both digs and assists, finishing second on the digs chart with 1,281 and third in career assists with 2,925. The Cortland, Neb., native guided the Huskers to a 124-10 record, the best four-year mark in school history, three Big 12 titles, two NCAA finals appearances and a national title in 2006.
During her senior season, Busboom set the Nebraska single-season digs record with 580 scoops in her first year as the team's starting libero. She was named the 2006 Big 12 co-Libero of the Year after leading the conference with 5.04 digs per game and reaching double figures in digs in 32 of 34 matches, including a 21-dig performance in the national championship win over No. 2 Stanford.
Not all of her accolades came on the court, however, as she also excelled in the classroom. In addition to earning a spot on the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll on six different occasions, Busboom also claimed First-Team Academic All-Big 12 honors three times and was named to the 2006 CoSIDA/ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII Team. She earned a bachelor's degree in communication studies from Nebraska in 2007.
Following her graduation, Busboom spent time with the U.S. Women's National Training Team before moving on to a career as a sales representative for an Omaha insurance company. She has also worked as the sideline reporter for radio broadcasts of Nebraska volleyball matches on the Husker Sports Network and has assisted with the Elite Volleyball Youth Development Program in both Lincoln and Omaha.
