As the 2016 San Pedro Prep Girls Volleyball season continues to takes shape, there will come a time where some fans attending a San Pedro, Mary Star or Port Of Los Angeles High girls volleyball match that isn’t familiar with the sport watching it for the first time may be confused.

There will always be that one girl on each team more often than not, that will be wearing a different colored jersey than everyone else… but it’s not what they call ‘star treatment’.

It’s a whole lot more than what people may think.

Believe it or not, it really is special come to think of it. The particular player wearing the different colored jersey than the rest of her teammates is actually called a ‘libero’, and there’s a lot of many special ways to describe what a libero actually does.

“When most people hear libero they automatically think, ‘The player wearing the different colored jersey’,” Mary Star sophomore libero Jena Denardo says. “The Libero is usually the best passer on the team, the person the team can turn to and knows that they can get the ball up.”

Really. A little more clarification anyone?

“A libero's jobs are to pass, dig, set, and serve from the back row,” San Pedro junior libero Alison Lyons says. “Many of times, we are the best passers on the court. Our job is to control the back row with much confidence and lead by example. As liberos, we have a lot of pressure to pass a good ball every time, dig every driven ball thrown our way, and be a presence on the court.”

Here’s just a little more convincing for those who want to attend ‘Libero Class 101’.

“Our responsibility is to be prepared and be aggressive to never let the ball touch the floor,” POLA junior outside hitter turned libero Sachi Verner. “Our teammates depend on us to get the pass to the setter so we can get a kill.”

All those descriptions are exactly what a libero’s job entails, and these three all-league liberos in Lyons, Denardo and Verner fit them perfectly.

Out of these three, Lyons also has a deadly serve, which has helped the Pirates to a current 13-7 record, and 5-1 mark in the Marine League. Last year, Lyons had 22 digs in her most famous memory of last season when San Pedro became the only team to take a set off eventual league champion and CIF-Los Angeles City Section Division 1 runner-up Carson during a four-set home loss in mid-October 2015.

“It was an exciting and exhilarating game for the Pirates as we made a statement,” said Lyons, who made All-Marine League first team last season. “Putting out our all in (that second set) against the Colts proved that we were a force to reckon with. In a tight game that ended 27-25, we were thrilled to take the only game from Carson and tarnish their 20-0 game win streak.”

Lyons’ overly aggressive style in getting digs and serve receptions sets up perfectly for All-Marine League senior setter Katie Bentovoja to feed a variety of weapons like All-ML sophomore outside hitter Sara Peterson, and junior hitters Selene Ramirez, Rebecca Alvarenga and sophomore Hadley Grooms. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren Sutrin has also became a pretty important figure in the Pirates' recent ten-game winning streak.

Over at Mary Star, Denardo is the youngest of seven All-Santa Fe League returning players as the Stars return their entire roster from last year’s back-to-back league championship squad. Denardo’s will to keep rallies alive makes the Stars dangerous with the likes of all-league senior hitters Ally Spillane, Lexi Andrie, Ticela Molio’o, Kaitlyn Martinez and Gianna Fletcher putting away shots set up by all-league senior setter Angela Pisano.

When Denardo asked what her biggest volleyball inspiration is, she didn’t have to look far.

“My biggest volleyball inspiration would have to be my Mary Star team,” Denardo says. “I never really had that one player on a college team or USA team who I just specifically focused on. Watching my own teammates put their all into matches and having fun while doing it is all the inspiration I can ask for.”

San Pedro and Mary Star (8-6 overall, 3-0 Santa Fe League) will clash against each other in what promises to be a pivotal in-city intersectional showdown on Wednesday, 6 pm at Mary Star High.

Verner last year challenged the tall hitters in the Crosstown League as an outside hitter, helping the Polar Bears go through their current stretch of tough matchups in the mid-point of the season. Now with her new job as a libero, she’ll carry that same drive as a hitter into a more demanding role.

“Our new team is bigger and we have a good amount of new faces, so it'll be a challenge to work together with them and have compatibility,” Verner says. “But it's nothing we can't overcome. From what I've seen at practice, we're getting better every day.”

Other players to keep an eye on over at POLA (3-11 overall, 3-1 Crosstown League) includes junior middle hitter Areelle Navarro, and the trio of senior outside hitters Mariam Moreno, Anissa Navarro and Dominique Wade.

The Polar Bears will host Animo Venice Charter today, 4 pm at Peck Park.