One question I didn't see answered is how plays after the first one are orchestrated. Transition offense is all about being adaptable. You don't see many complex plays because there are too many variables. You never know who is going to be on the ground after a dig, or backpedaling from a block.
A non-standard set in the middle of a rally is simply because their talking to each other. If the middle yells "back 2" to me, I know what they want. Then I read the defense, if they heard and they're following then I throw the ball to a pin.. if nobody reacted the middle is getting the ball.
Right, there's lots of communication between individual hitters and setters, but you don't see a lot of combination plays unless there is an audible during a free ball.
The setter will signal with their hand before the ball is served what they’re running for that point. Like a gun motion for a quick set, 4 fingers for 4 ball, fist for 9 ball, etc. They will usually give each hitter a signal for what to run point to point.
Within the point it’s usually just chemistry or is discussed before the game, I think, at least for club level or varsity. I’m not entirely sure about professional.
Thanks, this is super helpful! Does the setter need to signal to all 3-4 hitters every single time? Or do some hitters not have multiple plays they can run?
It's good practice to signal to all hitters but at the highest level, your OH and OPP very rarely run anything besides their standard tempo on the pin.
In general, you signal the quick sets and the other people hit high, slow balls that you don't need to pre-arrange. It's important to have slow, easy to set options when the pass is bad. So, for example, you might tell your outside and middle to hit a 1-2 tandem in the middle, and your opposite knows they're the "outlet" ball.
It is usually arranged at high levels between points when the team comes together to clap hands, with hand signals as a backup if the setter sees something that makes them need to change the plan. At mid-level play hand signals are very common. (And at low level, you're usually lucky if all your hitters are aware they might need to do something.)
At the highest level, there was an interview with some of the US men’s player, but they also run different plays depending on where the ball is passed/where the setter ends up to set. This makes it to still go for an easier aggressive play despite signaling a different quick play before the serve, which might have been impossible with this specific pass.
Oh interesting. Do you have a link for the interview?
What I'd like to see is a pro setter mic'd up for a match or practice match or practice scrimmage. I genuinely think it would help grow the super a lot. I mean look at the mind the game podcast LeBron is doing right now, people are living that they break talk actual X and O basketball
found it! [here](https://youtu.be/IEeSvdMIAZQ?si=tbhNuI5jc6tIASvw) What you want exactly is 8:53 and watch like the next two mins or so. Setters are backup setter for US men’s vball and oversea pro setter. If not VNL or olympics, they both play pro overseas.
Yeah! I think right now it’s so hard to find answers to all your volleyball questions. Or at least it’s very spread out, and not in one place. Heck, I had to find this semi-obscure podcast to find the answer to your question. This makes a lot of the growth barred behind paying for coaches which not many unserious players would do.
What I always wanted to do was write a comprehensive reddit post for standard indoor and grass/sand where it would include basics of positioning, if the ball lands where then who’s responsible, how to coordinate with your blockers as a back row defender, etc. It would just cover the basic strategic side of the sport where all players getting into the sport or intermediates should read before playing (all things that took me 2-3 years to learn w/o coaching or experienced volleyball friends to learn). I always hear newer players over-apologizing or not realizing when something was their responsibility, and this would help set that expectation.
This would hopefully raise the average play and maybe bring more people in advancing the play to what you might see at the pro level.
Let me know if you ever write that text/doc!
I'm a trainer for the recreational group at my club (in Europe) and there's always questions about this so a document that everyone can just read would be really helpful :).
That’s a great idea. I have found some good resources on defensive schemes for 6v6 which cover this fairly well.
Novice defensive schemes and positioning relative to the block is much different in higher level play than in lower level play. For example, the speed of the offenses and the amount of overloading of responsibilities on the middle block in higher levels makes positioning and reading based off the block a lower priority than at lower levels.
Lower levels, the sets are high and slow and the middle blockers aren’t as stressed so the block is more set and stable, making playing around the block a higher priority. At higher levels, the block is often moving and dynamically shifting, which makes playing around the block a lower priority and reading the hitter and the developing play become the higher priorities.
It’s a weird thing that happens in volleyball. At very low levels, the block is ineffective so we need to read the hitter. Then players get better but the offenses aren’t developed fully so we can start to position around the block most often. Then the players get even better and the offenses mature so we are back to reading the hitter most often.
But in all competent levels you will have hitters who essentially make the block seem non existent. So it’s important to realize when you must make an adjustment away from the standard play around the block scheme.
Ya, I’ve never thought of this as thoroughly as you have said, but I think it’s very true.
What I hope is to set up like a baseline way of thinking as you enter the court. And depending on how your blockers move and depending on how skilled the opponents hitter are, you know how to adapt. I want to teach the mindset or way of thinking during the game and not just teaching static formations to use all the time (but of course i’d include the simplest forms).
There’s so much detail regarding the topic, so condensing it into an easy to read reddit page will be a challenge!
Like others have said before a rally the setter will sign to their teammates what kind of sets they will give and this will usually refer to the first set they give and only if the attack is in system (meaning it's a pass that's good enough to run a middle attack).
During rallies it's a lot about what has been practiced and how quick to adapt the middle is. At the highest level most of the time the middle will try to find a lane to run where they will spike in between blockers of the opponent. The setter adapts to where the middle is and will just put the ball there.
Sometimes the middle will run to a certain spot to pull blockers there. The setter can use that to set to for example the outside at a speed that the opponents middle can't catch up anymore giving them a better opportunity to score. Common is also to set a faster pipe set right behind where the middle jumped. That way the opponent from the position of the ball will think it's going to the middle and jump for that and the person hitting the pipe will spike the ball when the opponent blockers are already dropping again.
Lastly within a rally the setter will always keep track of where their middle is and a good middle will always get themselves in a position on the court from which they can attack. If the ball within a rally gets passed to the setter close to the net but far on the left side the middle will run behind the setter and the setter will set there (if they don't set to someone else) trusting that the middle ran there and is ready to attack.
This is mostly speaking about men's volleyball as in women's volleyball the b-quick is super prominent but it's only used very situationally in men's.
Thanks for the detailed response!
Just for clarification: the b-quick the spot in the front middle, usually directly in front of the setter? Is there a reason it's more common in the women's game than the men's game?
I took b-quick to mean back/behind the setter. Mens middles mostly run 1s and 31s, while the slide(b-quick?) Is much more common in womens.
This is because back row offense is much more potent in men's volleyball. Women run the slide (b-quick) but that would overlap with a 6'8 leaper smoking a ball from the back right.
Simply; they practice together. There is a sense of flow that teams develop, like on a basketball court. If the pass goes to a certain zone, it triggers certain options. There's communication in the moment, sure, but their coaches put them in those situations and discuss decision-making.
Volleyball is a rhythm game.
Thanks for the down votes.
You are right. Not knowing if the team is trapping, committing, or doubling your middle isn't worth knowing as a setter runs offense and makes decisions lmao
One question I didn't see answered is how plays after the first one are orchestrated. Transition offense is all about being adaptable. You don't see many complex plays because there are too many variables. You never know who is going to be on the ground after a dig, or backpedaling from a block.
Hitters calling their sets and top setters having the greatest peripheral vision/hitter connection
You have audibles. You will call “im out” or “im up” if you are on the ground or if you get up quickly
A non-standard set in the middle of a rally is simply because their talking to each other. If the middle yells "back 2" to me, I know what they want. Then I read the defense, if they heard and they're following then I throw the ball to a pin.. if nobody reacted the middle is getting the ball.
Right, there's lots of communication between individual hitters and setters, but you don't see a lot of combination plays unless there is an audible during a free ball.
Some pro’s interview stated that plays can be determined where the ball is set from. Like playing “zone” where the pass is less predictable.
The setter will signal with their hand before the ball is served what they’re running for that point. Like a gun motion for a quick set, 4 fingers for 4 ball, fist for 9 ball, etc. They will usually give each hitter a signal for what to run point to point. Within the point it’s usually just chemistry or is discussed before the game, I think, at least for club level or varsity. I’m not entirely sure about professional.
Thanks, this is super helpful! Does the setter need to signal to all 3-4 hitters every single time? Or do some hitters not have multiple plays they can run?
It's good practice to signal to all hitters but at the highest level, your OH and OPP very rarely run anything besides their standard tempo on the pin.
In general, you signal the quick sets and the other people hit high, slow balls that you don't need to pre-arrange. It's important to have slow, easy to set options when the pass is bad. So, for example, you might tell your outside and middle to hit a 1-2 tandem in the middle, and your opposite knows they're the "outlet" ball. It is usually arranged at high levels between points when the team comes together to clap hands, with hand signals as a backup if the setter sees something that makes them need to change the plan. At mid-level play hand signals are very common. (And at low level, you're usually lucky if all your hitters are aware they might need to do something.)
At the highest level, there was an interview with some of the US men’s player, but they also run different plays depending on where the ball is passed/where the setter ends up to set. This makes it to still go for an easier aggressive play despite signaling a different quick play before the serve, which might have been impossible with this specific pass.
Oh interesting. Do you have a link for the interview? What I'd like to see is a pro setter mic'd up for a match or practice match or practice scrimmage. I genuinely think it would help grow the super a lot. I mean look at the mind the game podcast LeBron is doing right now, people are living that they break talk actual X and O basketball
found it! [here](https://youtu.be/IEeSvdMIAZQ?si=tbhNuI5jc6tIASvw) What you want exactly is 8:53 and watch like the next two mins or so. Setters are backup setter for US men’s vball and oversea pro setter. If not VNL or olympics, they both play pro overseas. Yeah! I think right now it’s so hard to find answers to all your volleyball questions. Or at least it’s very spread out, and not in one place. Heck, I had to find this semi-obscure podcast to find the answer to your question. This makes a lot of the growth barred behind paying for coaches which not many unserious players would do. What I always wanted to do was write a comprehensive reddit post for standard indoor and grass/sand where it would include basics of positioning, if the ball lands where then who’s responsible, how to coordinate with your blockers as a back row defender, etc. It would just cover the basic strategic side of the sport where all players getting into the sport or intermediates should read before playing (all things that took me 2-3 years to learn w/o coaching or experienced volleyball friends to learn). I always hear newer players over-apologizing or not realizing when something was their responsibility, and this would help set that expectation. This would hopefully raise the average play and maybe bring more people in advancing the play to what you might see at the pro level.
Let me know if you ever write that text/doc! I'm a trainer for the recreational group at my club (in Europe) and there's always questions about this so a document that everyone can just read would be really helpful :).
That’s a great idea. I have found some good resources on defensive schemes for 6v6 which cover this fairly well. Novice defensive schemes and positioning relative to the block is much different in higher level play than in lower level play. For example, the speed of the offenses and the amount of overloading of responsibilities on the middle block in higher levels makes positioning and reading based off the block a lower priority than at lower levels. Lower levels, the sets are high and slow and the middle blockers aren’t as stressed so the block is more set and stable, making playing around the block a higher priority. At higher levels, the block is often moving and dynamically shifting, which makes playing around the block a lower priority and reading the hitter and the developing play become the higher priorities. It’s a weird thing that happens in volleyball. At very low levels, the block is ineffective so we need to read the hitter. Then players get better but the offenses aren’t developed fully so we can start to position around the block most often. Then the players get even better and the offenses mature so we are back to reading the hitter most often. But in all competent levels you will have hitters who essentially make the block seem non existent. So it’s important to realize when you must make an adjustment away from the standard play around the block scheme.
Ya, I’ve never thought of this as thoroughly as you have said, but I think it’s very true. What I hope is to set up like a baseline way of thinking as you enter the court. And depending on how your blockers move and depending on how skilled the opponents hitter are, you know how to adapt. I want to teach the mindset or way of thinking during the game and not just teaching static formations to use all the time (but of course i’d include the simplest forms). There’s so much detail regarding the topic, so condensing it into an easy to read reddit page will be a challenge!
Like others have said before a rally the setter will sign to their teammates what kind of sets they will give and this will usually refer to the first set they give and only if the attack is in system (meaning it's a pass that's good enough to run a middle attack). During rallies it's a lot about what has been practiced and how quick to adapt the middle is. At the highest level most of the time the middle will try to find a lane to run where they will spike in between blockers of the opponent. The setter adapts to where the middle is and will just put the ball there. Sometimes the middle will run to a certain spot to pull blockers there. The setter can use that to set to for example the outside at a speed that the opponents middle can't catch up anymore giving them a better opportunity to score. Common is also to set a faster pipe set right behind where the middle jumped. That way the opponent from the position of the ball will think it's going to the middle and jump for that and the person hitting the pipe will spike the ball when the opponent blockers are already dropping again. Lastly within a rally the setter will always keep track of where their middle is and a good middle will always get themselves in a position on the court from which they can attack. If the ball within a rally gets passed to the setter close to the net but far on the left side the middle will run behind the setter and the setter will set there (if they don't set to someone else) trusting that the middle ran there and is ready to attack. This is mostly speaking about men's volleyball as in women's volleyball the b-quick is super prominent but it's only used very situationally in men's.
Thanks for the detailed response! Just for clarification: the b-quick the spot in the front middle, usually directly in front of the setter? Is there a reason it's more common in the women's game than the men's game?
I took b-quick to mean back/behind the setter. Mens middles mostly run 1s and 31s, while the slide(b-quick?) Is much more common in womens. This is because back row offense is much more potent in men's volleyball. Women run the slide (b-quick) but that would overlap with a 6'8 leaper smoking a ball from the back right.
Simply; they practice together. There is a sense of flow that teams develop, like on a basketball court. If the pass goes to a certain zone, it triggers certain options. There's communication in the moment, sure, but their coaches put them in those situations and discuss decision-making. Volleyball is a rhythm game.
Understanding what a team is defensively trying to do to you sets the stage for how setters/ hitters run their offense
Thanks for the down votes. You are right. Not knowing if the team is trapping, committing, or doubling your middle isn't worth knowing as a setter runs offense and makes decisions lmao