It’s almost here – the Nebraska Huskers and Dani Busboom Kelly’s final preseason hurdle. After a great showcase of the entire squad’s form on August 9 at the Red-White Scrimmage, the Huskers are gearing up for the long-awaited Alumni Scrimmage. Yet ahead of this unique past vs. present clash, assistant coach Kelly (Hunter) Natter said some surprising things about Harper Murray and the Huskers.

The two-time national champion-turned-Nebraska coach sat beside Murray while speaking to the media on Wednesday and hinted at how competitive the match could get. When asked, “How long are you expecting it to take for competitive juices to kick in?” Natter’s surprising response made Murray smile. “They’re always kind of talking smack to each other,” said the assistant coach.

Yet the real surprise came with the following statement. “And then they’ll make little comments to me sometimes,” the Huskers assistant coach of six years told the media. However, it wasn’t a serious callout, as Natter constantly had a teasing smile on her face while revealing Harper Murray and her teammate’s shenanigans during practice. Natter believes it’ll be something similar during the alumni match.

“It’s really playful and really fun. So, I think right from the start, I think it’ll be more joking competitiveness than serious,” Kelly (Hunter) Natter added. However, that doesn’t mean there won’t be any intensity in their clash. “I’m sure there’ll be some of those serious moments too,” said the former All-American. After all, the assistant coach will go against her team alongside a star-studded line-up.

Some of the biggest Husker stars will go up against Harper Murray and the preseason #1 squad in the Alumni Scrimmage on August 16. Olympian Jordan Larson, her LOVB Nebraska teammate Lauren Stivrins, libero Kenzie Maloney, Layla Blackwell (San Diego Mojo), Lindsay Krause (Omaha Supernovas), and former Supernova Ally Batenhorst will join Natter on the court. And it’s not like the Huskers have no flaws.

What Harper Murray & Co. are working on

The Huskers’ stars had pranked the media, saying that Dani Busboom Kelly would also play on the alumni team; they’re the ones who need DBK’s experience. After all, they’re not going up against active volleyball veterans who are rusty from months or years of inactivity. Rather, the current roster will face some of the best volleyball players in the world.

Take Jordan Larson, for example. Besides being a Huskers legend and an Olympic gold medalist, she just played a full season of pro volleyball with LOVB Omaha. She finished the season with 133 kills and 141 digs, and it’s a similar story for most of the others as well. So it’s safe to say that the weakness DBK highlighted less than a week ago could cause Harper Murray and the girls some problems.

“A lot more serving and passing,” Dani Busboom Kelly said when asked what the team would be practicing leading up to the August 16 clash. “I think that’s the toughest thing to do when you’re nervous and when there’s a lot of pressure, and I thought that showed a little bit today,” Coach Kelly said after studying the intra-squad Red-White Scrimmage.

Speaking to the media, Dani Busboom Kelly also admitted that beating the alumni squad won’t be a walk in the park. “The depth is pretty amazing,” the 40-year-old said about the former Huskers. However, there’s a silver lining. Natter revealed that the alumni squad hasn’t practiced. “We are going to do a 30-minute practice right before and see how that goes,” the assistant coach confessed. So maybe that’s something the Huskers can take advantage of.