Tough schedule ahead for Hoosiers this season

IU men's basketball coach Kelvin Sampson preaches that the best offensive is a good defense. This idea, one practiced among many sports, also holds true for the IU women's volleyball team. \nThe Hoosiers understand the importance of defense and have scholarship athletes in the defensive specialist positions. These players anchor the back row and start most plays, but they don't get a lot of fan recognition.\nIU coach, Katie Weismiller said she understands their role and recognizes the importance of the position.\n"This is my 14th season, and we've always had a defensive specialist on scholarship," Weismiller said. "That shows how important this position is to me."\nDespite its importance, the positions are still widely overlooked by most spectators. That doesn't keep senior Sara Diehl, the team's libero, from loving the position. The libero is the defensive specialist who wears a different jersey color and can substitute with any player in the back row at any time.\n"The crowd doesn't always recognize what you do," Diehl said. "But your teammates appreciate what we do."\nSophomore Juli Pierce said she also understands the importance of her job.\n"Without us, nothing would be happening," Pierce said. "Every point always starts with a dig or a pass. If our dig or pass is off, then the whole play is off."\nEven though the defensive specialists usually don't spike the ball to get kills, they still get to contribute in making big plays.\n"If someone gets a great hit off of our pass, then we get excited," Pierce said. "We get as excited as the hitters do."\nWeismiller said she agrees that the defensive specialist is a position that the players don't overlook.\n"They are huge," Weismiller said. "From a passing standpoint, from a digging standpoint and from a serving standpoint, they are important. They run the back row."\nThough the offense is what brings the crowds to its feet, Weismiller knows that it is the defense that will carry the team to victory.\n"Defense wins games," she said.