Without the libero, the back line would fall apart.

The libero, or the defensive specialist as it is more commonly referred to, is in charge of setting up the defense, receiving serves and making sure everyone is in the right place before the serve.

Sophomore Candace Timberlake and junior Melina Violas are the players asked to do these tasks for the Orange.

“The most important is serve receive,” head coach Leonid Yelin said. “But defense is important, too, but you know without serve receive you cannot start your offense.”

He went on to explain how they are the first true line of defense. If they do not hit it correctly, it can disrupt the whole play.

Their job during a serve receive is to get the ball to the setter, but if it’s not done correctly, it can hinder the play. Yelin explained that if successful, there should be three options for the setter. That means if the ball comes off the libero’s hands in a weird manner, it can mess up the entire play.

“In practice you work so hard as a team to prepare your offense, but ultimately it is prepared by the serve receive,” Yelin said. “Your offense won’t work if it’s a bad one. They are the primary passers. The position is so critical.”

Syracuse has two primary defensive specialists, Timberlake and Violas. In the previous tournaments, Timberlake has been the primary force on the court for the Orange.

“We have to make sure we are always behind the ball,” Timberlake said. “Our bodies have to be behind the ball so that we are not reaching to the sides to get balls because that is when you can shank the ball out of bounds.”

Unfortunately for them, Yelin said, is that the most exciting part of volleyball is offense. Not only do they not get the recognition they deserve, but they also do not get to “join in on the fun, per se.”

But the back line is still critical. Of course, getting the initial serve into the air is important, but without the defensive specialist every spike would turn into a point.

“Our job is making sure that everything is running smoothly in the back row which is on serve receive, defense and communicating to everyone which balls to dig,” Violas said. “It is all important, and of course the serve receive is big, but to win you need your defense.”

The libero wears a different color jersey than the rest of the team. Each team is only allowed so many substitutions during the match, but the defensive specialist doesn’t count as a substitution.

Basically, wearing the jersey gives them a free substitution.

“We can go in the court whenever we want,” Violas said. “We are only allowed a certain amount of subs each set.”

In general, players are not allowed to substitute unless it is within the 10-foot line, but the libero does not have to abide by this rule. They can freely sub in anywhere on the sideline, as long as it’s not through the back.

One other distinguishing characteristic about these players is their height—or lack thereof.

Both Timberlake and Violas are the shortest players on the team. Timberlake is only 5 feet, 3 inches, while Violas is 5 feet, 8 inches.

They will play a big role this weekend when Syracuse plays a tough No. 21 Purdue team on the road. Yelin said he hopes to see some improvement in their serve receive but believes the Orange’s defense is just fine.

“They are both doing good in terms of that they are trying,” Yelin said. “They are working hard.”

Published on September 18, 2013 at 12:00 am

Contact Eric: esriter@syr.edu