Written by Cassidy Lichtman for the USA National team to answer the question: What are all the responsibilities for a player in that position during a match?
Before the game starts:
Before the serve:
- See the other side’s passers/alignment and find our target
- Recognize the moment: how much risk should I take
- What’s the score—is the game close? Are we past 20 points?
- What did our last server do? What did I do on my last serve?
Serving objective: hit a tough serve, with movement, speed and accuracy
- Set up my feet to allow for repetition and accuracy as well as body rotation
- Toss in front of my hitting shoulder
- Make solid contact with the ball using a strong, flat hand
Post-Serve: get to defensive position with haste
Passing
Before the pass:
- See the server and recall tendencies from scouting report or previously in the match
- Discuss seams/responsibilities and tendencies with other passers
- See the server’s setup
- Does she give away where she’s serving—where she stands, where her shoulders and/or hips face, where she looks
- Does she have more than one kind of serve? Can we distinguish what kind she is using?
- See the server’s approach and toss
- Does her approach indicate where the serve will go?
- Where is the toss in relation to her body?
- See the server’s arm movement and contact
- Recognize the speed of her arm—short vs. deep
- Recognize the directionality of her hand on the ball—hitting the middle vs. the side
- See the flight of the ball
- Find the line of the ball as early as possible
- Continue tracking the flight of the ball all the way into my platform, recognize movement laterally and in depth
- Communicate new information with other passers at each of the previous steps
Passing objective: get the ball 3-5 feet off the net in the middle 15 feet of the court over ~ 7 feet high
(Ideal pass location varies slightly based on the setter—know who’s setting and what works best with her)
- Talk to other passers, confirm I’m taking the ball
- Start with arms straight and keep them straight for the duration of the pass—no extra movement
- Start on balance, move feet to the ball by shuffling, be on balance when I am passing the ball
- Get my platform in the line of the ball as early as possible and keep it in the line
- Angle the platform to the target
- Recognize a deep serve—turn and face in order to make the angle
- Hold the form, be solid and quiet
- Communicate with teammates depending on where the pass goes
Defense/Blocking
Before the play:
- See the alignment on the other side
- 4-2 vs. 6-2? Stacking vs. Splitting?
- Assess the threat level of each hitter, prioritize
- Know the likely routes they run, talk about potential combos
- Confirm responsibilities with teammates
During the rally:
- See the pass/dig
- In system vs. Out of system
- Over the net— play it
- See the setter—look for indication of where the set will go
- Use peripheral vision to recognize the routes the hitters are running
- See the set
- Which hitter does it go to?
- As a blocker: is the hitter my responsibility or am I pulling off?
- Inside/outside, on/off the net
- See the hitter
- Line of approach
- Speed/balance of approach—can she hit hard or will she have to hit an off-speed shot
- Arm movement and speed—anything hinky?
- Ball in relation to hitter
Blocking objective: (1) Block the ball (2) Get a good touch on the ball so we can play it (3) Channel the ball towards our defense
- Split hop on setter contact
- Small but deliberate first step in the direction of the set; bigger, dynamic second step facing the hitter
- Close with the last step and jump up without drifting
- Bring hands down on first step, swing arms back and up, press hands over the net
- Recognize a faster set—shuffle over and don’t swing arms, still press hands over
Defense objective: get the ball up, 3-7 feet off the net in the middle 15 feet of the court at a height over ~ 7 feet
- Stopped and balanced, ready to move
- Present a surface
- Face whoever is contacting the ball
- Whenever possible, stay on my feet and use both arms
- If it is necessary to go to the ground—sprawl
- Talk to teammates before and during the play
- Just GO
Attacking
Before the play:
- See the alignment on the other side
- Blockers—small setter? Slower middle?
- Defense—middle serving? Right back defender?
- Understand the situation on our side of the net
- Who’s setting? 4-2 or 6-2?
- Threat levels of our other hitters
- Know the pattern we’re running
During the play:
- See the dig/pass and run the right tempo set
- Call for the correct set clearly
- Recognize the distance between the setter and me and allow for variance in set flight time
- See the set and recognize the line as soon as possible
Hitting objective: jump and hit high and hard, find the open court when possible or take good swings at hands
- Timing: be on 1st step (out of system) or 2nd step (in system)
- Feet: take all steps towards where you want to go in order to get you in line with the ball
- Steps go from smaller/slower to bigger/faster
- Use arms, swing back and forward
- See the daylight and hit it
- If there is no daylight?swing for high hands or the sides of the blocks
Non-ideal situations: recognize when I don’t have a swing and make them play
- Figure out how to hit the ball so that we’ll get it back easier
- Hit to the setter or a middle; tip and make them scramble
- Roll/tip off their block so we can cover
Other Responsibilities
Trouble setting
- Be ready to step in and put up a hittable ball so that we can get a good swing
- Call it clearly
- Recognize the position I’m in and what my options are in terms of where I can set it
- When using hands—keep them open, get feet to the ball early and face the target, finish the set
- When bump-setting—get feet to the ball, try to face the target when possible, angle platform to the target
- Put the set higher than in-system, drop it slightly inside
Covering
- Be diligent in covering other hitters, low and ready to play the ball or run it down
- Face the block and watch the hands
- Know what part of the court I’m responsible for, adjust if teammates aren’t there—e.g. on the ground/ran off the court
On the bench
- Watch and see everything I would want to see if I were on the court plus the things that are difficult to see while playing
- Relay helpful information to the outside hitters (or other players) who are on the court
- Other team’s defense
- Opposing hitter’s tendencies
- Help on technique for our outsides
- Support the team on the court through engagement, cheering, helping during timeouts
- Be ready to go in at any time