Back in university I liked watching volleyball. In our infinite (yet immature) wisdom, my friends and I concluded that volleyball had the most-attractive women of any sport. Tall, athletic bodies in increasingly skimpy, clingy uniforms — that was everything the 20-year-old me liked.
Watching the Manitoba Bisons women win the national championship this past weekend, I was reminded of a big reason I love volleyball as a sport (as opposed to an oggling exercise). The people who run volleyball were willing to make a big change to make the game more inclusive. Whether that was their goal, or merely a side effect, doesn’t matter to me now.
In volleyball, height has always been a significant advantage. The Bisons roster lists nine women who are 5-foot-10 or taller, five of whom are at least 6 feet. The average Canadian woman stands 5-foot-4. It’s pretty clear that height helps.
In 1998 the FIVB (Federation Internationale de Volleyball) created a new position — the libero. It’s from the Italian word meaning free. That player can enter and leave the game almost without restriction. The libero can’t hit, serve, nor can he/she really set from the front row. It’s a position for defending and receiving serve. Neither of those skills is dependent on height.
The change was made long before second-year Bison Caleigh Dobie began playing. But since she wasn’t able to will herself to grow past 5-foot-7, the change dramatically extended her volleyball career.
“I’m very grateful for it,” says Dobie. “I wish I could play in the front row and hit some balls down some girls’ throats, but it’s not the case. And I love my position.”
Dobie wouldn’t have started for a university team if she was still a middle blocker — the Bisons have women at 6-foot-2 and 6 feet playing that position. And she is not a ridiculously good leaper, like her teammate Rachel Cockrell.
But with her skill set, Dobie has a place on the court.
“It’s given great athletes who aren’t as physically gifted, especially in terms of height, a starting position,” says Bisons head coach Ken Bentley. “It’s every bit as important as setting.”
To me, the advent of the libero acknowledged that there are different types of athleticism. We can be fooled into thinking that “athletic” = “runs fast, jumps high.” There’s also hand-eye co-ordination, reaction time, and the ability to launch your body across the court, square your arms to the ball so you can dig up that spike that’s screaming toward the floor.
“(Dobie’s) defense is ridiculous,” says Cockrell, who was the MVP of the Bisons run to the national championship. “She gets everything up. I wish I was that good.”
“When the other team digs it up it is demeaning,” says Dobie. “Like ‘what the heck? That’s what we threw at you and you got it up? Now what have we got?’ Yeah, I love being that girl that can shut them down once in a while.”
And that is the genius (intended or not) in bringing in the libero. It allows all girls (and guys) who like volleyball to dream of playing at the highest level, even if they need help getting things down from the highest shelf in the cupboard.
“Everybody loves hitting,” says Dobie. “Everybody loves the team running in and giving you a hug for scoring that point. It took me a couple of months in the position to feel right, but now it feels great. I couldn’t imagine myself playing any other position.”
That the 5-foot-7 Dobie can proudly claim to be a national volleyball champion, and girls even shorter can dream of follow in her footsteps, that’s why I love volleyball.
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