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Long Beach State libero Mason Briggs is trying to do the impossible. He plays the most underappreciated position in the nation’s most underappreciated sport, and when he’s not learning how to handle 75 mile per hour serves or preparing himself to be an Olympian, he’s trying to find a way to change the narrative and garner…well, some appreciation.
“We joke all the time about ‘libero life,’” laughed Briggs. What does libero life mean? “Well at the pro level it might mean less money. In the college world it might be that, ‘Oh I was an undersized outside now I guess I’m a libero.’ It’s not that we need recognition, but it’s a really important position. But it’s hard in a sport where people look at statistics and you don’t fully realize or see that impact. And in the match you’re watching these huge athletic guys who can jump out of the gym and hit it straight down, of course that’s what draws peoples’ eyes.”
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Briggs is like many volleyball people who want to bring more eyes to the sport–although he’s probably thought about that question a lot more than the average player–in that he uses other sports as analogies to explain what he’s talking about. Liberos are like offensive linemen in football–when they do their job most people don’t notice them, and when they mess up they draw a lot of attention. But they’re also like quarterbacks in that they’re involved with creating and directing a team’s movement while a play is already in action. Except wait, they’re also like hitters in baseball, trying to catch up to a fastball, curveball, or a slider that can come in at any different speed.
Unlike baseball players, though, liberos have to move their feet to catch up with a hot serve, before then trying to pass it to the setter at a specific spot. And the pitcher doesn’t stand in one spot, they can move all along the baseline across the court.
“If a batter strikes out on three pitches it’s ‘okay, it happens’ but a libero can’t miss three passes,” he said. “We try to make it look easy but it’s really tough.”
Briggs has, indeed, made it look easy, and has the billing of being the rare libero who’s worth the price of admission. His diving digs and pinpoint passes have earned him unusual status for his position: he’s a four-time All-American and is second in LBSU history with more than 900 career digs with the Beach. But as any libero or volleyball aficionado can tell you, stats don’t tell the full story of that position.
LBSU head coach Alan Knipe knows as much about the sport as anyone, having served as a national team coach and also the coach at Long Beach since literally the year the libero position became a permanent one in the NCAA. Knipe pointed out that nearly every rule change since has made things harder on the position and on all passers, as servers have been freed up to move along the baseline and as more aggressive serve approaches have made it harder and harder to make a good pass.
“Mason has committed his life to being a libero and he knew he was at a very early age,” said Knipe. “He puts a ton of effort into perfecting his craft, he’s constantly looking for an edge to get a little better. To play that position you have to have an undying thirst to want to be a complete volleyball junkie, to understand all the nuances of it.”
Briggs and Knipe can be a funny pairing. Both are cerebral volleyball obsessives who want to grow the game as much as possible. But while Knipe is old school, preferring to do as much behind the scenes on that front as possible, Briggs is 100% new school, with a massive social media presence and six-figure follower counts. Briggs puts himself out there and is a savvy vet already with media, but has proven to be willing to try new things, like distributing trading cards for sale so that he didn’t have to just sign peoples’ shirts or shoes when they stopped him for a picture and an autograph after matches.
“I would say we balance each other out,” said Briggs with a laugh when asked about his relationship with Knipe. “It’s never been an issue on the team and I think we really both see eye to eye about wanting to grow the game. We might go about it in different ways but I think that’s something we’re both really committed to.”
There’s no doubt that the audience for men’s volleyball is expanding. The No. 2-ranked Long Beach State team once again outdrew the school’s men’s basketball team this year, and ticket sales have been near capacity already for this week’s NCAA Tournament, which the Beach are hosting at their Walter Pyramid. But as that audience is growing, Briggs is happy to see that recognition for the libero position is growing as well.
“I get people coming up to me and saying they want to play libero, I’ve never heard that before,” said Briggs. “For a long time it was, ‘Hey I was outside but maybe I’m not big enough,’ now it’s people who are really excited to be liberos and to embrace that. It’s really exciting.”
