Sorry for the posting lull, it’s been a busy week at work. I do also occasionally enjoy sleeping (but I try to keep that to a minimum). I have every intention to write up reports for the two BYU/Lewis matches this weekend (both are to be webcast). But here’s something interesting that I first hinted at in the report I wrote up for the first BYU match.
I must admit that I knew about this beforehand, and my reaction to it was something I’m not terribly proud of (basically I just ignored it and forgot it, as if that would make it go away). In reviewing the current standing FIVB rulebooks for beach and indoor volleyball, I noted that the libero rule seemed incredibly complex, far more complex than I ever knew. That’s because it talks about how teams are allowed to name two liberos.
Two liberos? Huh??
I have never seen that in a match I’ve personally attended, but on the sidelines for the BYU/Hawaii match that was webcast, both sides had two players dressed in off-color jerseys. That was the first time I had taken notice of it. The rule evidently thrives in international volleyball (which, of course, is what the FIVB rulebooks directly govern….NCAA rules tend to take after FIVB rules, but there are always differences), and it was added to USA Volleyball‘s rules and guidelines as of the 2012 NCAA men’s volleyball season. The rule isn’t (yet at least) present in the women’s game.
The rules for the second libero are pretty straightforward if you’re familiar with how a one-libero system works. Either libero can play only back-row rotations. If a libero was to rotate to the front row, he or (in international play) she must be replaced by the player he or she replaced in the first place. The wrinkle is that while the on-court libero is in a back-row rotation, he or she may also be replaced by the second libero at any time the ball is dead. I’m not sure why that would be necessary or advantageous, but I’m sure it must be in some way.
One reason this exists in international play is because FIVB rules also only allow 6 team substitutions per set, and that each player may only be substituted for one time and must re-enter in the same position they left (that last part is commonplace anyway). Same rule exists in NCAA men’s. I’ve often thought that there wasn’t a great deal of significance to the starting lineups in women’s college volleyball, and perhaps there indeed isn’t. Sure is in international, though, with this rule. The double your pleasure double your fun libero double dip affords a little flexibility if you have a HULK SMASH sort of player who is dynamite in the front row but hands of stone in the back.
Women’s college volleyball uses subs considerably more liberally than either international or men’s college — that is to say, “six rotation players” are more common in the latter forms. That’s led to some speculation that the two-libero rule may be integrated in women’s, leading to substitutions in college volleyball being further restricted, even down to the 6 per set in international. Given that the last thing the NCAA did was increase the number of subs, not decrease them, I see it as unlikely. But who could know.
I’ve surveiled some places where knowledgeable volleyball people chatter, and the rule seems quite unpopular for the American game. There are further nuances to international volleyball (such as the fact designation of a libero lasts an entire tournament, not just a single match) that make the two-libero rule make more sense abroad. Stateside, there’s really just not much reason for it.
I must admit I don’t really see the point either. I mean, I don’t see it as bad or anything, I just don’t see the point. What do we gain by having two liberos? We gain…a second libero. That’s about it. I’ll be interested to see if the women’s college game adopts this rule. it seems men’s college volleyball is under the auspices of USAV, but women’s is not, falling strictly under the NCAA. This is why the men’s game more closely follows international rules.
And the jury’s probably still out on this one — it’s only been in even the international game for a very few years. For now, and for the next four years at least, it’s on the books. So it’s good to know about.
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