Libero -- Defensive Specialist

There are Three basic defenses that most teams use and responsibilities vary by position according to the defense. 

The reason for different defenses has to do with your team's strengths and weaknesses and the way the other team is playing you. 

If you get locked in to one defense and your opponent finds that defenses' weak spot(and they all have some), they will take advantage of those spots. 

You will need to change to another defense.

Doug Beal, the former Olympic Coach, calls these three defenses:  Red, White, and Blue.

First we will look a defense the Russian Women's  Olympic Team used in the 1988 Games.

We will call it '' Setter has Tips all the way across the 10ft. or 3m. line''  or  ''Setter has Tips''  or "Rover" for short.

In this defense, since the setter is up, there are only two back players who split the back row into thirds.

We will refer to those two positions as 'Left Back' and 'Right Back'.

Left Back ---Shuffle feet right and left, up and back as necessary to be in proper position.

1.    When opponents hitting Middle,  Move up to about 5 ft. behind 10 ft. line, and 5 ft. from the left side out-of-bounds line, where you can still reach above head to get high balls but be able to move right and left.  Blockers should take away hard middle back shot.  But look to get to the back row on soft shot.

2.    When opponents are hitting from Their Right Side,  know that teammates should most likely be blocking down the line with the MB trying to get to block the cross court to protect the setter.  Don’t cover up blockers( meaning- don’t be in a position where you are in a direct line with the ball and the blocker’s hands(unless opponent's hitters are hitting over the block).  In 'Setter has Tips' you have the down-the-line shot.  Know the ability and consistency of your blockers.

A.       Move up to about 5-10 ft. from the back line and find an opening in your blockers' arms.  Be ready for ball in back left corner.  By moving up some and knowing how to use your hands to hand dig, you make the court smaller and can become a better defensive player, just be ready to protect your face.

B.       Look to move to the right as the ball is hit.  Have your weight on the balls of your feet.

C.      Have your hands in the 'Ready' position.  Hold your hands as if getting a manicure, about chest high.

D.      Move hands up and palms toward ball for hand dig or form arm platform for arm dig.

    3.    When opponents are hitting from Their Strong(Left) Side,  know that teammates should most be blocking down the line with the MB trying to get over to block the cross court.  Don't cover up blockers (meaning-don't be in a position where you are in a direct line with the ball and the blocker's hands( unless opponents are hitting over the block).  In 'Setter has Tips' you have the Cross-Court shot, but work toward the middle back position on the court.  Know the ability and consistency of your blockers.

            A.  Move in to about 10 ft. from the left line and 10 ft. from the back line.  Cover any openings in your blocker's arms and be ready to jump and use your hand dig for a high soft top-spin shot to the back left corner.

            B.  Look to move to the right as the ball is hit.  Have weight on balls of your feet.

            C.  Have your hands in the 'Ready' position.  Hold out your hands as if getting a manicure, chest high.

            D.  Move hands up and palms toward oncoming ball for hand dig or form arm platform for arm dig.

   4.    When opponent's setter has a tendency to 'dump' over the net on the second hit.

            A.  As the ball hits the setter's hands take one quick step toward the middle of the court.  If setter dumps ball, you are easily there.  If setter sets ball, you have time to get back in your position.

Right Back--- Shuffle feet right and left, up and back as necessary to be in a proper position.

   1.    When opponents are hitting Middle,  move up to about 5 ft. from the 10 ft. line and about 5 ft. from the right out-of-bounds line, where you can still reach above your head to get high balls, but be able to move right and left.  Blockers should take away the hard middle back shot.  Be ready to get back there for a soft shot.

   2.     When opponents are hitting from Their Strong(Left), know that teammates should be most likely blocking down the line with the MB trying to get over to block the cross court.  Don't cover up your blockers (meaning-don't be in a position where you are in a direct line with the ball and the blocker's hands( unless opponents are hitting over the block).  In 'Setter has Tips' you have down-the-line.  Know the ability and consistency of your blockers.

            A.  Move in to about 5-10 ft. from the back line.  Cover any openings in your blocker's arms and be ready for soft touch ball to back right corner.  By moving up some and knowing how to use your hands to hand dig, you can make the court smaller and be a better defensive player, just be ready to protect your face.

            B.  Look to move to the left as the ball is hit.  Have weight on balls of your feet.

            C.  Have your hands in the 'Ready' position.  Hold out your hands as if getting a manicure, chest high.

            D.  Move hands up and palms toward oncoming ball for hand dig or form arm platform for arm dig.

   3.    When opponents are hitting from Their Right Side, know that teammates should be most likely blocking down the line, with the MB trying to get over to block the cross court.  Don't cover up your blockers( meaning don't be in a position where you are in a direct line with the ball and the blocker's hands( unless opponents are hitting over the block).  In 'Setter has Tips' you have the Cross-Court shot, but work toward the middle back position on the court.  Know the ability and consistency of your blockers.

            A.    Move up to about 10 ft. from the back line and about 10 ft. from the right-side line and cover any openings between your blocker's arms.  Be ready to jump and use your hand dig for a soft high top-spin shot to the back right corner.

            B.    Look to move to the left as the ball is being hit.  Have weight on balls of feet.

            C.    Have your hands in the 'Ready' position.  Hands out in front like getting a manicure, chest high.

            D.    Move hands up with palms toward oncoming ball for hand dig or form platform for arm dig.

All Positions---Use different keys to decide where attackers are hitting ball.

   1.    As attacker goes up, decide the angle of their torso and shoulder area.

            A.    If torso is at a large angle to the net, then they will most likely hit cross court.

            B.    If torso is more parallel with the net, then they will most likely hit down the line.

   2.    As attacker goes up, decide whether the set is off the net or tight to the net.

            A.    If tight set, look for ball to hit short.

            B.    If ball is off the net, look for ball to hit further back.

A Second type of Defense which is more frequently used is what we will call a 'Rotation Defense'.  Another name might be, 'Attacking Side back-row player has Tips'.  It is somewhat different, but has many similarities to the "Rover".  With this defense, you have three back row positions.  Left back, Middle back, and Right back.  In a 6-2 program, the Right back player is normally the setter.  In a 5-1 program, the Right back is a setter when the setter is on the back and a good defensive player when the setter is on the front.

Left Back --- Move feet to stay agile and move into position as noted.

   Base position when the ball is on other side is about 5 ft. from the left side line, standing on the 10 ft. line.

   1.    When opponents are attacking from Their Right Side, most coaches want you to stay at base for tips.

            **Advanced technique**    A1.   Stand 3 or 4 feet outside the left side line, and just about 3 or 4 feet off the net. Yes,  Out of Bounds.  Here is why:  If you have good blockers and you are playing a good team, many balls will hit off the blockers hands and land out of bounds on your side in that exact spot.  If you are in the normal position, you cannot get to that out-of-bounds spot.  However, you can still get to a tip behind the block if you start from out of bounds and if the ball comes over behind the block, you can easily move toward the ball for an easy pass to the setter.  It does not work the opposite way.  If you are waiting at the 10 ft. line for tips, you don't have enough time to get to the out-of-bounds spot and then hit the ball back to the setter.  Don't move into the out of bounds spot until you are sure the setter is not going to 'dump' the ball.  Take step toward middle of the court when setter touches ball.  You will easily get the 'dump'.  At either spot, get your hands up and get ready.

   2.    When opponents are attacking the middle, your blocker should try and take away the biggest part of the court.  In most cases, you should stay in base position and get hands ready.

   3.    When opponents are attacking from Their Strong(Left) Side, you have middle back.

            A.    Move in a straight line from your base position to the middle back, shuffling your feet, watching the play as it happens.

Middle Back --- Move feet to stay agile and move into position as noted.

   Base position when ball is on the other side is about just behind the middle part of the back line or standing on the middle part of the back line.

   1.    When opponents are attacking the middle, the blockers should take away the biggest part of the court, and the middle back player should look to be moving forward as the ball is hit.

   2.    When opponents are attacking from Their Right Side, the middle back has down the line responsibility.

            A.    From the base position, shuffle feet quickly to the left watching as the play develops and stopping just short of the left side line and about 3 or 4 feet in front of the back line.

            B.    Look for keys and get hands in the 'Ready' position.

   3.    When opponents are attacking from Their Strong(Left) Side, the middle back has down the line responsibility on the back Right.

            A.    From the base position, shuffle feet quickly to the right watching as the play develops and stopping just short of the right side line and about 3 or 4 feet from the back line.

            B.    Look for keys and get hands in the 'Ready' position.

Right Back --- Move feet to stay agile and move into position as noted.

   Base position when ball is on the other side is about 5 feet from the right line, standing on the 10 ft. line.

   1.    When opponents are attacking from Their Strong(Left) Side, start out at base, make sure the setter does not 'dump' the ball.  To be ready though, take one step toward the middle of the court as the ball hits the setter's hands.  As soon as you notice the ball being set to Their Strong Side, move to a spot 3 or 4 feet outside the right side line, about 3 feet off the net.  Close to the referee.  Get hands up and ready.

   2.    When opponents are attacking from the middle, stay at base position.  Look for 'dumps'.

   3.    When opponents are attacking from Their Right Side, move quickly to the middle back position.

            A.    As play develops, shuffle feet quickly left, straight back to the middle.

The Third defense is what we will call the "Perimeter" or "Read" Defense. 

We will have more to come on this defense as time permits. Here is a snipet of the Perimeter/Read defense in action however.