When you begin experiencing volleyball there are so many different things to learn, whether you’re watching or playing. Within volleyball, the libero is one of the most unique positions in all of the sports world. They instantly stand out because of their opposite jersey and the way they substitute without registering with the referees.
This article is meant to be the definitive guide to understanding the libero position.
You need to understand the unique rules for playing that position.
Liberos have a very different system for rotating. While this is confusing to newcomers, it’s quite simple once you understand what to watch for.
Also, I’d like to share some tips that are specific to you if you’re playing libero. In many cases, you’re the only one on your team and you’ve been selected because you already have some of the right skills. Let’s amp those skills up to make you the best libero on the courts!
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Volleyball Libero Rules
There are many rules that only apply to the libero:
1. Teams may designate up to 2 players on their score sheet as liberos. The libero is an optional position and a team does not need to use it if they choose not to.
Once the score sheet has been given to the referee, it’s too late to change players to become a libero or change them from libero to a regular player.
2. Only 1 libero may be on the court at any given time for the team. Some coaches and teams use 2 liberos, but they can never be on the court together.
3. Liberos must wear a uniform that has a different and contrasting color from the rest of their team. Many teams will use reverse colors for their “home” jerseys and “away” jerseys and then the libero may just wear the opposite.
So for example, if your team’s jersey is yellow with black trim, the libero would wear the black jersey with the yellow trim. This part is not necessarily a rule, the libero may have a totally different color jersey, as long as it’s very noticeably different from the main color of the rest of the team.
4. The libero is strictly a back-row player. They can’t occupy a front-row position of the rotation at any point. If the libero didn’t substitute off and began to play on the front row, it would be a rotational fault.
5. The libero is not allowed to serve. This is a rule that depends on the league that you’re in. By FIVB rules, the libero can’t serve, but in the USA most leagues allow the libero to serve in one rotational position. There’s a section below that goes into more detail on the libero service.
6. The libero can replace any back-row player.
Libero substitutions happen through the libero replacement zone. You may be asking “What in the world is the libero replacement zone?”
When you see regular players substitute, they approach the sideline near the net, between the net and the attack line. This area of the sideline is called the substitution zone.
There the player coming onto the court waits at the line. When the player coming off the court meets them at the line, they reach out and touch right palms together like as if they’ve frozen in an awkward sort-of high-five.
The down ref (also called the 2nd referee) will then recognize them and announce the substitution to the official at the scorer’s table. In international competitions, the players use numbered paddles to indicate the person they are alternating with.
It would be far too confusing for liberos to substitute here as well, so they have the area from the attack line to the end line (the furthest boundary of the court). The libero runs onto the court anywhere along that line, and the player they are switching with runs off through that same zone.
They don’t have to wait for the officials to recognize them, they just switch on their own. So the actual terminology is that other players substitute, liberos replace.
7. Liberos may replace a back-row player at any stoppage of play, an unlimited number of times. Whenever the play is stopped, the libero may replace.
The rule in international play is that there must be a rally between when the libero leaves the court and when they come back in for another player.
Many leagues who allow liberos to serve will make an exception here and say that the libero may alternate from position 5 (they come off because position 4 is the front row) to position 1 (the server’s position), IF they are about to serve because this is the spot in the rotation where they are serving.
For an explanation on position numbers, visit this article.
One thing to be cautious of here: the replacement needs to be quick and seamless. If you or the player you are replacing are not ready, do NOT interrupt the flow of the game. These switches should be pre-arranged and happen like clockwork.
If you do switch after the whistle for the service, the referee should not call a fault, but you will probably get a stern warning. Continuing to do this may earn your team a “delay sanction.” You hate to lose a point over something so silly!
8. Whoever the libero replaces, must be the same person who comes back in when the libero leaves the court. The only exception to this would be if a second libero replaced the first libero.
9. The libero can’t attack the ball from above the height of the net. Even in the backcourt, the libero is limited in attacking.
Remember, the position is designed to be defensive. So the libero is allowed to hit an attack, but it must be when the ball is below the height of the net. Most liberos must not jump then when they spike from anywhere on the court.
10. The libero can’t set a hitter with an overhand finger pass to be struck above the height of the net within the front zone. Ok, so this one gets complicated, let’s start with the basics.
The attack line has several names. It’s the line that’s 3 meters away from the centerline of the court and runs parallel to it. It’s often called the 10-foot line since 3 meters is so close to 10 feet. This line marks what is called the Front Zone in the rule book.
When the libero is in the front zone, they are not allowed to use an overhand finger pass (what we call a volley or a set) for a hitter to strike above the height of the net.
The libero has a few options:
A. Perform a platform pass set (a bump set),
B. Perform a volley and call the hitter off so they do a standing attack instead of a jumping attack, or
C. If they are close to the line, they may raise an offending foot (a foot that’s touching the line or inside the front zone) for the moment of contact with the volley so that the only contact they have with the floor is in the backcourt.
This rule is a strange one and gets annoying as a player because often the libero is used as the default second setter. Meaning, if the setter has to make the first contact of the ball over the net, the libero is often assigned to play the second ball.
This can be troublesome because players are used to sending the ball to the setter in the front zone. It would be wise for coaches to teach their setters (if they will be using the libero to be the backup) to automatically set the ball further back, just behind the attack line.
11. The libero is not allowed to be captain. This varies in some leagues, but according to the FIVB rules for international play, the libero can’t be either the team captain or the game captain.
In our experience in high school, the libero was named co-captain and that was fine, but it depends on the rules in your league.
12. The libero is not in the starting line-up. I think the idea here is: if they started in the line-up, who would take their place?
On the list in the rotation, the libero is meant to be a replacement for an original line-up player, not the other way around. If she occupied a primary position in say rotational position #1, then how would she replace the player in rotational position #4 later in the set?
So when the libero is meant to be a starter, the team will line up, the down ref will verify the lineup and then you’ll see the libero immediately swap out with a back-row player before the first service.
13. After the line-up has been verified by the referee at the beginning of the set, the libero may substitute, even before the first point. This is common practice unless the first player the libero will alternate with is the first server.
If you are the libero and intend to replace a starter before the first serve, stand near the sideline in the replacement zone. When the down ref (the 2nd referee) has checked the line-up, they will
14. The libero replacement must be recorded on the Libero Control Sheet. This is the job of one of the officials at the scorer’s table, to track which players are being replaced so that they can make sure the right players are going back into the right positions.
In some cases an electronic score sheet is kept and that allows for this tracking to be done with that sheet.
15. The libero can’t ever be involved in a block. It is a violation if the libero even makes the attempt, whether they touch the ball or not.
16. If a team only has 1 libero and they become unable to play, the coach or team captain can re-designate a new libero. If your only libero gets injured or becomes ill and has to stop playing, your coach can choose any player on the bench to become a new libero.
Once that first libero has been declared “unable to play” they may not play for the remainder of the match. If a team has 2 liberos and one is declared unable to play, then no re-designation will be allowed unless the second libero is also declared unable to play.
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Volleyball Libero Rotation
There are 2 things people are referring to when they say libero rotation:
- The first is which rotation position the libero is serving in IF they are serving. Once the libero replaces a player and serves in that rotation spot, that becomes the only spot in the rotation they may serve in. This is sometimes called the libero’s rotation.
- The second thing that libero rotation refers to is the way you can adjust your rotation around your libero to keep the libero in the middle back position throughout the game.
You have probably seen as players rotate around the court, that they don’t all stand in the same spots when they come to a particular position. There are strategies that coaches and players can use that are well within the rules that allow players to “push up” or “stack” in ways that get a particular player as close to their optimal position as possible.
For many teams, the focus is on keeping the setter as close to their target position (where they receive their passes) as possible. For other teams, keeping the libero in the middle back position is the priority. For some teams, they alternate between these two.
For a better understanding of rotational planning, this article offers a more in-depth explanation.
Volleyball Libero Tips
Libero Serve Receive Tips
As the libero you know you’ll be receiving serves all day long. For you, it’s a little bit different than your teammates. You are usually considered the best passer on the team and you need to be making every pass possible, to give the setter as many solid passes to work with as you can.
Other players may be relieved when the ball isn’t hit to them, they don’t have to receive and they won’t mess it up. For you it should be the opposite, you should be relieved when you do get to play the serve.
Communicate with your teammates about what area you are covering and what they’re responsible for. Someone else may be the captain and the setter is pretty much the leader of the offense, but defense is yours, you are the leader!
Adapt and make changes when your teammates are getting picked on. Too many times a good server will abuse one particular player and gain point after point and no one adjusts.
One tactic that can have some wonderful effects is to “bait” a server. If they are destroying your teammate, ask them to scoot over a bit so they have less area to cover and then you take a large step in their direction and make SURE the server sees you. This will often mess with their head, you’ve left a larger space than usual wide open.
Then, you have options:
- When they begin their tossing motion they have to look at the ball and you can slide right back to where you were.
- You can stay where you’ve moved to and just be ready to move back quickly if needed, this allows you to protect your teammate’s area.
- You can have another teammate anticipate moving to cover.
Whichever you decide to do, share your plan with your back-row teammates. They need to know what you’re planning.
Watch and see how the server reacts. Often it makes them think about what they’re doing so much they take a lot of power off their serve and end up making it easier for you by accident.
Libero Digging Tips
When you’re the libero you are guaranteed to spend a lot of time practicing digging those hard-driven balls. Your coach will give you feedback on what you should work on, but here are some things to work towards mastering.
Become Comfortable Diving
You know you’re going to have to get to some balls that others wouldn’t even try for. Many times you’ll be just out of reach and have to dive. Diving should be a skill that you practice so that your technique becomes fluid and you’re not injuring yourself.
Many young players learn to slide and dive in ways that cause a lot of wear and tear on their bodies. If you are a libero, you want to learn to dive landing on your elbows and chest so that you’re not always landing on your knees.
Practice A Variety Of One-Armed Saves
Liberos and defensive specialists are put in situations all the time where they have to lunge and stretch and go for a one-armed save. Practice using your fist or the heel of your hand until you get good at making the ball react how you want it to. Work on hitting the ball with the flattest surface you can make regardless of which way your facing in relation to the ball.
Learn To Perform A Pancake
The pancake save is the most desperate of saves and is a unique skill every libero should have in their toolkit. Definitely ask your coach to work on this if you’ve never practiced it.
To learn all about the pancake, and how to do it, check out our article What is a Pancake in Volleyball?
Master The Overhand Dig
The overhand dig looks similar to a set, but it’s performed with very strong hands. You will keep your fingers together and step into the pass. On this contact, it’s okay if it’s a little messy.
The rules allow for these to be not quite perfect, you’re trying to catch a bullet! Don’t flick your wrists, you push through the ball in the direction of your target.
For a more detailed explanation of digging and drills and tips on digging, check out this article.
Libero Communication Tips
Strong liberos are not only amazing passers, but they are observant after their contact and they communicate. Don’t think just because you hit a good pass your job is done.
Be vocal about what the other team is doing. Your setter is staring up at the ball, she can only have an idea what the blockers are doing. Sometimes you’ll need to wait until in between rallies, but let your offense know what you’re seeing as opportunities the other team is leaving open.
On defense, let others know what you expect and what you are covering. On defense you are the expert, communicate where their coverage area begins or who is covering the seam in between you.
Qualities Of Strong Liberos
Leadership
A strong libero must be a meaningful presence on the court. The other team should be trying to avoid you because they know you want the ball. The libero can be a great teammate by taking more than their share of the court real estate.
You don’t want to be a ball hog, but your hitters will appreciate if you can defend a larger footprint of the court. Opposing servers and hitters will try to pick on them and you can help them by using your skills to frustrate the opposition.
A Student Of The Game
Playing libero is kind of like being a high-speed fortune teller. You are analyzing what’s going on all over the court in real-time and figuring out where you need to be before you need to be there.
The more time you spend studying the game instead of just watching or playing, the better you’ll get at knowing what the other team is trying to do before they do it.
Study during breaks, and really watch the other team, looking for tendencies. When you watch a game on TV, don’t just watch as a fan.
What is the libero doing? Watch their decisions and try to figure out how they knew where to be when they made that great save.
Reaction And Speed
As a libero, your reaction time needs to be incredibly fast. Focus on drills that push your reaction time to the edge by not giving you enough time to react.
Choose exercises that pressure you to make quick cuts, solid adjustments, and fast top-end speed like sprinting. When your coach pushes your team in these type of drills, if you’re not the best at these, determine that you will learn to dominate in this area.
Solid Passing
Early in your journey to being the libero for your team, you need to excel at being rock-solid at serve receive. You are the ideal person to be returning every serve, so make that your objective.
As you progress in digging, focus not just on saving the ball, but making quality passes for your setter. The more control you have with the ball, the more you can neutralize your opponents and set your team up for success.
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The “Never Give Up” Attitude
Do you know when you give up on a play? When the ball hits the ground, not before. Liberos are the ones who will chase every ball, diving anytime, anywhere, all the time.
You need to take it personally that the ball is about to land on your side of the net. Be determined to put every single ball back into play. When your coach looks at you, they should think of the word hustle.
Can The Libero Serve in Volleyball?
In international play, according to the FIVB rules, the libero is not allowed to serve. In the USA, all the other levels of volleyball have modified the rules to allow liberos to serve. If you live in another country, it depends on what your volleyball organizations have decided to do with that rule.
The reason for the international stance is because the libero was designed to be a purely defensive position and serving is considered offensive. The reason for the American choice to let liberos serve seems to be in the development of the players. If you have a young libero who is told they can never serve for a reason (or many reasons), think about how limiting that would be for their future growth as a player.
So in this case, the libero doesn’t have to serve but is allowed to serve in one rotation spot during the game. The first time the libero serves, that position becomes the only rotational position they are allowed to serve in for the rest of the game.
Are Liberos Usually Short?
Many people wonder about the height of the volleyball libero. They wonder, do they have to be the shortest person on the team?
The answer is that they don’t have to be short, but they usually are. It’s easy to generalize and assume that tall players are slower, but it goes deeper than that. To understand why they tend to be short, think about it as a coach.
You have a roomful of players to staff your team and you get to choose the best. Who will you pick? We know you’re going to choose the setters that can deliver excellent sets for beautiful strikes.
You’re going to choose blockers that can rise up and create a wall that stops the best attacks your opponents can summon. You’ll choose the hitters that can bring down the thunder with amazing speed.
So what about that other kid? You know the one! The kid who’s got all kinds of volleyball skills, but they don’t have the height to play the net. They have heart and dedication and ball control skills, but you simply can’t put them on the front line.
Some taller players can actually make very good liberos. But these taller players can be defensive specialists so that they are more open to attack the ball. Or sometimes, they’re just an all-around player who plays as an outside hitter but is secretly awesome at defense.
When it comes down to it, across the board, the shorter and smaller players tend to be best suited for the job. They tend to be faster, they’re naturally lower to the ground, and they deserve a spot on the team!
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The Origin Of The Libero
The question of “Where did the libero come from?” and “What is the role of the libero on the team?” are wrapped up into one answer. Volleyball has evolved over the years, and adding the libero position to the game is one of the most meaningful changes that’s happened in volleyball’s entire history.
Once upon a time, back before 1998, volleyball was intense and physical, and very competitive. But there was a problem with the game, volleyball was dominated by offense.
Back then teams would load up on the tallest players they could find, and the players with the highest vertical jump, the most powerful arm swings, and just try to out-blast the competition. While this might sound fun and exciting, it could also be boring.
Other sports have gone through these kinds of situations (imbalance of either offense or defense) and many of these sports have made changes to their rules. None have been quite so dramatic as the invention of the libero.
Games seemed predictable because certain teams (on the international scene, certain countries) traditionally had stronger hitters who would just pummel their opponents with the offense.
So the FIVB decided to add the libero position to create an advantage for teams to appoint a specialized defensive player. The dream was that this player would keep rallies going, level the playing field (at least a bit) and make volleyball more competitive.
Teams who use the libero position gain a substitution advantage which can sometimes be very meaningful. As a coach, you’re limited to 15 substitutions per set, but the libero can substitute unlimited times and those substitutions don’t count as part of the 15.
Volleyball would be more fun to watch again as hitters could unleash their hardest spikes and sometimes have them popped right back up. You see, the player the libero substitutes for is not amazing at defense. They’re usually a hitter, a blocker and maybe they’re ok on defense.
But the libero is the player with lightning-quick reflexes. They have the volleyball IQ to know the possibilities and narrow them down to deduce where the ball WILL go. While every volleyball player seeks to keep the ball off the floor and in play, this is the libero’s whole mission!
The libero is the one you’ll see diving and rolling on the floor more than any other. She or he will usually be the one running into the stands, diving for that one-armed save.
Who’s the libero? She’s the one with the weird jersey and maybe the biggest heart. She’s often the shortest person on the court and the one with the strongest courage. She’s the one who will keep your team in the game.
How Do Liberos Relate To Defensive Specialists?
The defensive specialist and the libero are very similar positions. Both share the traits and focus of receiving hard-driven balls and strong passing skills.
The defensive specialist isn’t limited by the libero rules, but in many ways, they are mirroring the same role. The DS is often a player who is strong on defense but may have some offensive weapons as well.
Volleyball Libero Pronunciation
There are a couple of different ways that the word is pronounced. In the southern USA where I live, it’s said Lih-BEAR-oh. In some TV broadcasts, you’ll hear it pronounced LEE-bear-oh.
Related Questions
What Is A Rotational Fault In Volleyball?
The order of rotation is the order players began in the original lineup of the game. They must remain in this order throughout the game and when a substitute comes in for another player, they must maintain that same place in the order.
As the points progress, players rotate clockwise after each time they win a rally that began with their opponent’s service.
Any time that a team is out of their rotational order when a serve is made by either team, they are called for a rotational fault. This awards a point to their opponents.
If the serving team is the team at fault, they lose the point and the serve. Whenever this call is made, the team must get back into the correct order before the next play.
What Position Should I Play On My Volleyball Team?
In many cases you’re going to be told what position to play, your coach will decide for you. In some instances, you may have the option and if that’s the case, you should consider what you enjoy.
Have you played enough to know which positions are the most fun for you to play? If you enjoy it, it’s less like work and more just fun and games.
If you don’t know which you’d rather and you have a few choices, I’d choose the role that typically has the least number of people playing it in your area. Some clubs or school programs are loaded with some positions and have no good options for others.
In general, that means choosing to play middle hitter instead of outside. It means choosing a setter for a lot of teams, over anything else. Even if you’re tall, if you’re a good setter, consider that as an option. At the higher levels, coaches love finding an amazing setter who can also block and hit and dump.
What Position Is The Hardest In Volleyball?
Of course, this is a very subjective question and everyone would have their own opinion. Each position has its own challenges and pressures to deal with.
In my opinion, playing the setter position is the hardest because you’re running the offense and a lot of the team’s success or failure depends on you. To run it effectively you need to know where everyone is on the court at all times and make the tough decisions in real-time.
Many would say the libero is the most difficult position because they have a lot of pressure to handle the digging and receiving responsibilities. Others would say playing middle hitter/blocker is the toughest position because of all the jumping to block nearly every play and then hitting as well. But for me, my answer is the setter, that’s the hardest job on the team.
Photo credits:
Feature image by Tania Van den Berghen from Pixabay
Team with red libero image by George Groutas on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, image cropped to emphasize libero focus.
USA volleyball image by skeeze from Pixabay
Yellow team with blue libero image by Matt Sims on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
Blue and white diving image by White & Blue Review on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/
Ready to react image by popo.uw23, available in the public domain: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/
Red and white dig image by AJ Guel on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/
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