McLaughlin is Denmark’s senior libero as the Danes work through the state bracket. The word I associate most with good senior libero play is ownership. That includes difficult balls, but it also includes communication when nobody touches the ball at all, thatis one of Gabby’s real strenghts.

A libero who recognizes a seam problem before it produces an ace saves points without receiving a statistic for it. For recruiters, I want to see McLaughlin’s command of serve receive, her movement behind the block and whether the quality of her contact allows Denmark to remain aggressive offensively. That’s the distinction between digging and defending. One saves the rally. The other helps win it. ~ Samantha Fitzgerald @BenchtoBeast_prepdigga