On the back row of the Olympic volleyball courts this summer, you might spot a shorter member of the team, diving for volleyballs and wearing what appears to be a wrong-colored jersey.
But the different jersey denotes that specific team member wearing it as a specialty player, known as a libero.
Learn more about the defensive specialist position that you’ll see as part of both the Olympic men’s and women’s volleyball teams this summer in Paris.
Origins of volleyball
In 1895, William G. Morgan, physical director for the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) created a new sport called "mintonette." This new game was a mix of badminton and basketball, birthed to meet the sporting needs of businessmen who found basketball too vigorous.
The game was later named volleyball just a few years after by James Naismith, a professor at Springfield College in Springfield, Massachusetts. Naismith noted the volleying action involved in the game. Volleyball's international governing body (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) was founded in Paris in 1947, and less than two decades later, the sport was added to the Olympic program for the 1964 Tokyo Games.
Introduction of the libero
In 1998, after over a century in play, the game of volleyball had a new position introduced, called the “libero.” A libero, which means “free” in Italian, is a specialized defensive player, especially adept at digging, who always stays in the back row. The libero was introduced to the game for better defensive plays, which resulted in longer rallies, and therefore made the game more enjoyable for spectators.
At the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games, among many significant rule changes to international competition, the position of the libero made its debut. Since then, the libero has served as an important weapon in a national team’s arsenal to take their game to an Olympic gold-medal level.
What does a libero do?
A libero is the first line of defense on the volleyball court. They are the main receiver of serves and bear the second line of defense against attacks. They are responsible for keeping the ball that has been hit over the net by an opposing team in play, and ideally passing it to the setter so they can set the ball for an attack from a hitter.
Liberos must keep the ball in play by any means necessary, including diving or “digging” for a ball, which is a defensive move in which a player gets one or both arms on the ball just before it hits the ground, keeping the ball in play. The U.S. men’s national team libero, Erik Shoji, demonstrates some passes and digs in the Tiktok below.
While liberos are often noted for their defensive skills, they are also an important piece to the offensive puzzle, as they are often the first pass on the offensive side. A solid pass to a setter will lead to a great set-spike combination to the opposing team, and potentially earn a point.
Libero rules and regulations
There are many rules surrounding the libero position in volleyball.
First, liberos can be substituted at any time, and their substitutions do not count toward each team’s substitution limit, of which teams have six throughout a set. The different colored jersey serves as an easy way for officials to identify a libero going in and out of the match. They most regularly substitute for a middle blocker.
Liberos can only play in the back row and cannot play in any of the front-row positions. Liberos cannot strike an attack hit if at the moment of the hit the ball is entirely higher than the top of the net, and a libero cannot complete a block or participate in a completed block.
Qualities of a good libero
The liberos on a team usually have the best ball control and can consistently pass the ball to the setter. They are also experts in out-of-system setting, transitioning from a pass to a set quickly, and putting the ball into an offensive position.
Liberos need to be fast and agile with an impressive court knowledge, as they are usually covering the entirety of the back court.
Although it’s not required, many liberos tend to be diminutive in stature compared to their teammates. The shorter players are limber, and as they are lower to the ground, can dig a ball faster than their taller teammates. For example, the libero on the U.S. women’s national team, Justine Wong-Orantes, stands at 5’6". She is the only member of the team under 6’1", as the rest of her teammates are 6’1" and taller. U.S. men's team libero Erik Shoji is 6’0", which while not short for the average person, is the shortest member of his team. The next shortest member of the men’s team after Shoji is 6’3".
