By james art 
Angie Oxley Berens knew that her ex -coach John Cook was retiring in the “near future”.
But now? After 25 seasons and two straight trips to the final four?
“I didn’t know it would be so soon,” said Oxley Berens, who played in the first Cook Huker team in 2000 – who won a national title – and now serves as an assistant in Creeton. She saw Cook dealing with “a lot of pressure” as the volleyball coach of the National University “very well”.
Oxley Berens gets to know Cook at the anterior end of his NU coaching career and remembers his job with kindness.
“He allowed us to be part of the decision -making of the team and allow us to manage things,” Oxley Berens said Wednesday night as the stands were rolling for Cook.
Creeton’s head coach Kirsten Bertal Butt, a longtime and friendly rival of Cook, called him a “legend” after what he made for sports in Nebraska, which included the perception of Nu/Cu’s rivalry with increasing crowds.
“He will be missed,” Butet said. “He leaves the program in a great position to continue to be successful and I know that this must be something that is really important to him as he makes the difficult decision to close it, which I am sure was a very difficult decision because I know how much he loves to train.
“It’s a bitter day in the country.”
Sweet because the heir to Cook, Danny Busbum Kelly, is a former player and assistant to Husher who took Louisvil to many final fours, including the NCAA 2024 title match. Last season, the Cardinals defeated both Creeton and North Iowa – where the daughter of the daughter Butt, Reese, plays – in five sets.
“Danny’s fantastic,” said Kirten Bertal Butt. “The program will not skip the rhythm. The success she had in Louisvil, after which she managed to return to the country where she grew up and the program she played in, really enjoyed her and her family.
“I’ll root for Danny every time he plays, as long as he doesn’t play Creeton.”
The Uno Coach team was part of the Volleyball Day in 2023 at the Nebraska event, which attracted 92,003 fans, a world record for a women’s sports event. Later this season, Mavericks made the NCAA tournament.
“He was so influential in the growth of volleyball in the state and even more in the country,” Buttermore said. His wife Laura (Pilakovski) Buttermore was also part of the National Cook title team since 2000.
Buttermore said Cook has always supported the Uno and Buttermore program that Cook has given work references.
“It’s hard to imagine volleyball in the state without it,” Butterore said.
Nebraska’s former Ad Moos called Cook “among the best coaches” he has ever known.
“He could train any sport and be successful,” Moos said.
Tryve Alberts, another former Nebraska advertisement, works with Cook to create a volleyball day in Nebraska.
“He made a really significant feature of athletics in Nebraska and it would be difficult to do what he did in the future,” Alberts said. “I’m happy for Danny too.”
Alberts said Busboom Kelly was “made of the right things”. Busboom Kelly trains in Louisville when the daughter of Alberts, Astynne, a game of Acc opponent Clemson.
“You can immediately see that Louisville plays with perseverance, strength, sand, which I think will really transferred really, really well at the Nebraska Volleyball Fair,” Alberts said.
Alberts said Cook had never told him that he was soon retiring. Alberts said he had told Cook that the coach had “won the right” to give feedback, “just like Terry Petit he had John.”
“I knew he had great respect for Danny,” Alberts said. “But I knew he had a lot of respect for many coaches.”