Substitution strategies

In college volleyball, substitutions are an aspect of the game that Mark Rosen of the University of Michigan strategizes carefully about. Near the beginning of the season, Rosen advocates for keeping potential 6-rotation players in the entire game even if their skills are not quite up to par yet. By training these diverse players early in the season, it allows for development into effective offensive and defensive players. Much of Rosen’s decision making is centered around eliminating weak spots: If one rotation struggles to get a kill, substitute a strong back-row attacker to help out the offensive line for that particular rotation.