Volleyball Position Preview: Liberos/Defensive Specialists

Aug. 24, 2015

With the 2015 FAU volleyball season starting this weekend, FAUSports.com takes a look at each position on the court leading up to the Owls' home tournament. The first installment takes a look at the liberos and defensive specialists.

BOCA RATON, Fla. â€" Nathalie Rosado enters her junior year figuring to be the starting libero for the third straight season, after leading the team in digs for the second consecutive year. Rosado is on pace to approach 1,100 career digs by season's end, which would put her sixth all-time in program history.

Nicole Unger is another experienced backline player, having appeared in 54 career matches. The junior has been used primarily as a back row substitute, but has occasionally played libero in place of Rosado. "I think Nathalie and Nikki are both ready to take on that back row leadership role," said Nelson. "They're both going to be very important to us."

Part of that leadership role is helping freshmen Jessica Robinson (Deland, Fla.) and Alex Cardona (Kissimmee, Fla.) adjust to the collegiate game as they attempt to strengthen the back line rotation.

"Alex is fearless, she's not playing like a freshman. She's going to work very hard for an opportunity. Jess has been very good, very fast and very athletic. She's a little shy right now, but she'll get there pretty soon.

The 2015 FAU volleyball season starts on Friday, August 28 with the Owls hosting Bethune-Cookman, Stetson, Binghamton and Georgia Southern. On Friday, FAU faces Bethune-Cookman at noon and Stetson at 7 p.m. The Owls will then play Binghamton on 11 a.m. on Saturday, August 29, before finishing up against Georgia Southern at 6 p.m.

Live stats for all tournament matches and live video of all of FAU's matches will be available at fausports.com. For tickets, contact the FAU Ticket Office at 1-866-FAU-OWLS or log on to fausports.com.

Calendar

Upcoming Events

Players Mentioned

Alex Cardona

Nathalie Rosado

Nicole Unger

Upcoming Events

Upcoming Event: Women's Volleyball versus American Tournament on November 21, 2025 at TBD

Florida Atlantic University Athletics