The SIU volleyball team went 2-1 at the Holiday Inn Express tournament this past weekend, with junior Mariana Pilon starting all three games at libero.

The graduation of Alex Rivera left an opening in the libero position. The Saluki roster has four liberos. 

The libero is a defensive specialist who wears the opposite colored jersey. It is the only position that does not follow the rules of rotation. A libero often replaces the middle hitter when they rotate to the back row. It is rare to spot them in the front row.

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“Libre in latin means free,” SIU coach Justin Ingram said. “One of the most important skills a libero has is service retrieval. The ability to keep the rally alive is so vital.”

In her first match, Pilon kept the rallies alive with 23 digs. Pilon also had six service retrieval errors, allowing the Delaware servers to tally a service ace on those plays. SIU won the match in five sets.

Through the rest of the tournament however, Pilon settled in and reduced the number of her retrieval errors. In the next matches Pilon committed two retrieval errors against Northern Colorado, and just one in the match against Central Florida.

“The game is different in Brazil, and I’ve been playing different my whole life,” Pilon said. “I’ve been too focused on trying to find passing angles, and I struggle a little bit — but I hope I can do a better job.”

Pilon transferred to SIU from Salt Lake Community College in Utah where she helped the Bruins finish ninth in the NJCAA Division I National Volleyball Championship. She played in all 112 sets and recorded 529 digs throughout the year.  

Pilon finished the Invitational with 54 digs — six more than any other SIU player.

Freshman Tara Routliffe is another defensive specialist that is in the running for starting libero. She saw significant playing time last weekend in the back row —she recorded 25 digs and 3 service aces. Routliffe said she is willing to step into any role the team needs her in.

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Ingram said after the SIU scrimmage, all three girls vying for the libero spot were ready to start.

Sophomore Ashley Edelen — the third Saluki player in hunt to start at libero this season — saw minimal action, playing in three sets the entire invitational.

Evan Jones can be reached at [email protected] or on twitter @EvanJones_DE