In football, it’s the quarterback. In basketball, it’s the point guard. Both positions run the offense, pacing their teams to victory or defeat.For a volleyball team, it’s the setter who runs the offense — the most versatile player on the floor who runs to meet any second touch for the offense to assist the attack on the opposing team.In LSU volleyball, it’s a duo of upperclassmen, senior Sam Dabbs and junior Brittney Johnson, that runs the offense.That duo led LSU to a 2-1 record in the Tiger Classic this weekend, dishing out a combined 118 assists total during a five-set loss to then-No.6 Nebraska and a pair of sweeps against in-state rivals Louisiana-Lafayette and Tulane.”We run every play, we make plays happen off second contact and we have to know what the other side is doing to set up our attackers,” Dabbs said. “Our hitters are our receivers. We are setting them up for the best set possible so they can put the ball away.”The setter stands near the net about 5 feet from the right sideline to prepare to dish out the assist off first contact from the libero’s pass.In addition, the setter will often block on defense and attack if she does not control the second contact.One attacking move setters will sometimes rely on is hitting the ball over the net on a second touch instead of setting the ball to a teammate for a kill.This move, commonly known as a “dump,” allows the setter to catch the opposing defense off guard before it can set up a block.”If I don’t see the middle in my vision or if I feel like we need to get the other team off balance, I’ll dump it,” Johnson said. “But with three amazing hitters around me, I don’t have to do it all the time.”Dabbs is the starting setter for the Tigers, a role which she had last season in 26 of the Tigers’ 28 matches.A transfer from Louisville, Dabbs earned 2008 Louisiana Newcomer of the Year while dishing out 9.22 assists per game last season to go along with 1.91 digs per game and 1.10 kills per game.This weekend in the Tiger Classic, Dabbs was named to the all-tournament team after dishing out 90 assists in nine sets to go along with 21 digs, seven kills and two block assists.”Dabbs is a great all-around player, but she hasn’t always played with the confidence level in the other aspects of the game that she does offensively in terms of setting,” said LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory. “She’s a great offensive weapon, and we try to encourage her to dump more balls and be more creative to score on her own.”Although Johnson is the backup setter for the Tigers, she may be the more athletic and versatile of the pair.The Baton Rouge native doubles as a right-side hitter and was a two-sport star in basketball and volleyball at University High School.”Basketball is the sport I use to base everything else off of,” Johnson said. “Volleyball is just kind of raw [athletic ability] to me.”Flory said Johnson’s versatility gives the Tigers an extra weapon and more options in their offense.But Flory admits Johnson needs to have more confidence in herself, which is why she allowed Johnson to play setter Saturday against Louisiana-Lafayette. Johnson racked up 23 assists, five digs and three kills in the match.”Athletically, Brittney does a great job, but Brittney doesn’t have as much confidence setting [as Dabbs],” Flory said. “The goal [Saturday] was to get her more experience so she could feel comfortable running the offense and managing people … She’s going to be a great setter, but she just needs experience and more opportunities.”- – – -Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]