In Volleyball, What is a Libero?
Just like American football, soccer and some other sports, volleyball teams have the opportunity to have a player who specializes on defense. This player is called a libero. This player is usually quick, may be shorter than many of the other players and has honed his or her defensive skills to a fine point. For the libero, life is all about defending against spikes and helping control the ball for an eventual attack. While the libero may have dreams of scoring a point, this rarely happens due to the rules designed specifically for this specialized player. In order to use a libero, a team must declare that person as such before a tournament begins. Once declared, that libero can substitute freely for any other volleyball player, but must stay on the back line. Liberos cannot block, attempt to block, or serve. Further, volleyball players on the front line cannot attack from a point higher than the net if receiving a fingertip pass from a libero who moves to the front zone during a rally.
