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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Nebraskas Justine Wong-Orantes prefers bananas smashed between her pancakes, and Stanfords Morgan Hentz is all about the pancakes with chocolate chips. Texas Cat McCoy is partial to the sweet kind that taste like cinnamon rolls. Nothing fancy for Minnesotas Dalianliz Rosado -- just hot syrup, thank you.The four -- all starting liberos for the teams in volleyballs final four, which will be played Thursday at Ohio States Nationwide Arena -- dig talking about flapjacks for breakfast. Mention the pancake in volleyball, and they give a look.Hentz shivers thinking about the floor burn that comes with that SportsCenter highlight when a player dives and slides her hand flat to the ground to prevent an accelerating ball from ending the point.Thats only an emergency skill, when you make the wrong read, Hentz said.That doesnt happen much with any of these players because volleyballs premier defensive specialists are simply that good at what has evolved into one of the most important roles in the sport. In fact, after the setter position, Creighton coach Kirsten Bernthal Booth, whose team fell to Texas in the regional final, prioritizes libero second.Its the position you probably have to be the most mentally tough to play, she said. We always say if we can break down a libero, it will break the team.Its pretty cool when 5-foot-6 can counter 6-foot-1.Sometimes you think you have your shot, and they dig it like its nothing, said Minnesotas Sarah Wilhite, the espnW player of the year.Volleyball used to be a game reserved for the big kids with the heavy arms. Nobody said the word LEE-bah-ro or Luh-BARE-oh -- take your pick -- before it was introduced internationally in 1998.Along with rally scoring, the libero position was added to the college game in 2002, and that led to players in darker jerseys becoming fixtures on the floor. Thats because unlike every other player on the court, liberos do not rotate in and out. They regularly play the entire game.Before the rules change, a player such as 5-foot-6 Wong-Orantes, named an AVCA first-team All-American on Wednesday, would have been overlooked. Instead, she turned down Hawaii in favor of playing for the Big Red at Nebraska.It changed the womens game. It changed the mens games. It made it so much more exciting because of the rallies, Stanford coach John Dunning said. We can now just hit rockets, and the libero adds to the ability to continue the rally. Theres two quarterbacks on the court instead of one.The setter runs the offense in the traditional sense, but the libero does more than prevent big guns such as Wilhite and Nebraskas Kadie Rolfzen from amassing kills.The best liberos pass with the precision of Tom Brady. They put their teams back into system. They are thinkers who can read an opposing hitters tendencies so well that a defensive play can actually become an offensive one.In fact, credit Wong-Orantes for Nebraskas still being in the hunt for a second straight NCAA title. The Cornhuskers trailed Penn State 0-2 and were tied at 24-24 in the third set of the Sweet 16 last weekend when Wong-Orantes dig extended the point. Instead of a Simone Lee kill, the seniors read on the ball allowed her to set up Mikaela Foecke for a Nebraska point.Rather than being match point down for a third time, the Cornhuskers were set point up. It was the start of the epic comeback that led to this final four.Honestly, beach [volleyball] has helped me a ton, said Wong-Orantes, a California native who became the Cornhuskers all-time leader in digs this season. I played that probably for a decade. Beach prepared me in ways I never would imagine. For beach, you have to do all these skills, and that really benefited me.Diving on sand -- well, thats one thing. The grains are far more forgiving on the body than Sport Court, a softer surface that cushions the body somewhat from the physical toll liberos endure. Fresh Sport Court laid Tuesday night at Nationwide Arena is something Hentz is thankful for.It makes it easier to slide, she said.Knees and elbows take a beating, of course, no matter the surface. Hips and thighs are sore afterward too. Burns and bruises are just a given for players who typically sacrifice their bodies recklessly.The very first play of our first practice back in August, [Hentz] dug a ball that the rest of the people went, Oh, my gosh. Shes going to try harder than the rest of us on every play, and were going to have to change, Dunning said. She has done it every drill of every practice since then and every game. That attitude she brings is just marvelous.Among the four liberos in the final four, McCoy is the only one who came into college having spent substantial time at the spot. Wong-Orantes was a setter prior to Nebraska; Hentz and Rosado were outside hitters.Ive played it since I was 11, McCoy said. I love going for balls and having that fearless attitude. Thats just a liberos mentality.Pittsburgh Penguins Pro Shop . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. 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Madrid is third in the Spanish league, six points behind leader Barcelona, going into Saturdays game against Valladolid.SALT LAKE CITY -- Philadelphia 76ers rookie Ben Simmons, the No. 1 pick in last months NBA draft, battled cramping in both legs during his summer league debut and needed assistance getting off the court in the fourth quarter of a 102-94 loss to the Boston Celtics. Simmons?did not return to the game.The 76ers said Simmons would not play in Tuesdays game against the San Antonio Spurs as a precaution.We might have been able to put him back in, but on July Fourth, we didnt need to create those fireworks, Philadelphia summer coach Billy Lange said. Weve got a long summer league schedule ahead of us, between the rest of this summer league and Vegas. We said yesterday we were going to take it smart from here on out.Simmons said he would make an effort to ward off cramps by drinking more fluids.Thats the worst Ive ever cramped, so Im definitely going to stay on that, he said.In his first NBA appearance, Simmons posted 10 points, eight rebounds and five assists over 23:41 of play. He connected on just two of nine shots but displayed excellent court vision and pushed the ball up the floor after rebounds. Philadelphia was plus-9 in plus/minus when Simmons was on the floor. He committed just one turnover.Simmons, who hadnt played a game since his final collegiate game with?LSU?on March 12, played only short stints at the start of Mondays game. He was seen trying to stretch out both calves in the second half of the 76ers summer league opener at Vivint Smart Home Arena.Im good, Simmons said. Just cramps. ... Its been about four months since I played. Thats the main reason. I havent played in a while.When not hindered by cramps, Simmons showcased the ballhandling and passing abilities that made him the top selection in the draft. He had a particularly good second-quarter sequence with conssecutive highlight-caliber dishes.dddddddddddd The first came when, pushing the ball after a rebound, he threaded a pass to fellow rookie Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot for a layup.Its hard to stop somebody thats 6-[foot]-10 coming at you full speed, Simmons said. As long as everybody else is running with me, I think good things could happen.Soon after, Simmons delivered a spectacular one-touch pass from the high post that fed Richaun Holmes on the blocks for an easy dunk.?Simmons also fed Holmes with an over-the-head no-look feed as part of his passing highlight reel.Oh, [Holmes] was just open, Simmons said. I dont know. He was open and made a play. The big came over trying to block my shot, so I dished it.Asked what he liked from Simmons debut, Lange rattled off: Passing, ballhandling, confidence, communication, swagger, enthusiasm, love for teammates. It wasnt about him. I said that [at Sundays practice], it was the first thing I noticed. He just was excited to be 19 years old and around a bunch of guys and put that [76ers] logo on his chest.The conversation steered to Simmons passing abilities and the notion that he could be a rare breed as a point forward.Lets label it, right? Lange said. Everybody wants to put a label to it. But hes a basketball player. Hes a really good basketball player, and this is summer league, so theres still a long journey ahead. But I think anyone thats watched enough basketball sees a skill set there thats really exciting, and that skill set involves ballhandling, dribbling, driving, passing and looking to score.Simmons was asked what exactly hell take away from his NBA debut, and he deadpanned, I gotta drink more fluids. ' ' '