It’s all about the first touch in volleyball — the point of attack where defense turns into offense off the serve.If a team can successfully handle a serve from its opponent and turn the first touch into a solid set, it could create a point for the team. But if the first touch is unsuccessful or wild, it could easily lead to a point for the serving team.That job of controlling the first touch for the Tigers falls on the three liberos — sophomore Lauren Waclawczyk and freshmen Meghan Mannari and Sam Delahoussaye.”If you have a good first touch, you can help the setter with where to go with the ball to get away from the block,” Waclawczyk said. “If you have a bad touch, the defense knows exactly where the ball is going to go — to the outside, and the block is going to be sitting there.”The word “libero” comes from Italian roots, meaning “free,” and the starting libero — or defensive specialist — on a team wears a different colored jersey than the rest of the team, analogous to a goalkeeper in soccer. The libero is generally the most skilled defensive player on the team, getting the team out of dangerous situations with rally-saving digs.Although the libero cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above the net, she can produce an overhand set from behind the 3-meter line and an underhand set from anywhere on the court. In addition, the libero can replace any back row player without telling an official.The position was introduced into international play in 1998 and later into the NCAA in 2002.”One of the reasons the collegiate game adopted it was because we have a lot of smaller people who needed a place to play in the game,” said LSU volleyball coach Fran Flory. “But the most important reason … is that it extends play because you have experts at keeping the ball off the floor to save rallies … which makes it more fun to watch a volleyball match.”Waclawczyk is the leader of the young group of liberos for the Tigers, who finished No. 7 out of 11 in the Southeastern Conference last season with 13.95 digs per set.But 35.5 percent (516 of 1452) of those digs came from former libero Elena Martinez, a 2008 First Team All-SEC performer and two-time SEC Defensive Player of the Year. Martinez finished her career at LSU No. 2 all time in digs (1,414) and No. 1 all-time in digs per set (4.39).With her departure, a void was left that must be filled by the three underclassmen.”I wouldn’t consider us inexperienced,” Waclawczyk said. “But we have to work harder because we know we have big shoes to fill.”The positive news for Flory is each libero has her own personal skill set she brings to the table to help the team.”[Waclawczyk] does a great job of playing both sides of the ball in terms of passing and defending,” Flory said. “She’s getting a lot of pressure from Sam, who is a very solid passer and is developing into a very good defender … Meghan is a feisty competitor who will compete for every ball.”So far Delahoussaye and Waclawczyk have done a good job in the libero spot, amassing 61 digs this past weekend (34.7 percent of the team’s digs).Delahoussaye saw her first collegiate action last weekend and picked up an impressive 17 digs Sunday in LSU’s 3-0 sweep of Notre Dame.”I was really nervous at first, but once I got out on the court, I got in a rhythm,” she said. “It wasn’t what I expected … It was a little harder.”—-Contact Andy Schwehm at [email protected]