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Understanding Your Role and Position in Indoor Volleyball
Indoor volleyball much like other ball sports has specific positions on court. Each position plays a vital part in how the game is played and every player has a role.
In this article I am hoping to go over what each specific players role is within their team.
Now for the sake of this article I am going to assume you have a basic understanding of the rotations, if you want to brush up on your rotations click here to read my Rotations Article.
So the first thing we need to establish is what are the different positions.
Positions in Indoor Volleyball
To keep this article clear and easy to digest I am going to break down not only each position but I am going to split each position into their roles and responsibilities when both in the front row and back row where applicable
Roles and Responsibilities of an Outside Hitter
Front Row
When an outside hitter is front court they will be hitting and blocking on the left hand side of the court. This means their job is to block the opposite player (or any player hitting from the right) on the opposition side.
The first thing I want to mention is when blocking the opposition it is important to make sure you don’t drift outwards towards or past the aerial when blocking, the reason for this is the middle player needs to help you block and if you as a wing blocker are drifting outwards this creates a gap in the block between you and the middle making it easier for the hitter.
This brings me to my next point and that is if the opposition are using the middle hitter a lot, you as the outside player where possible should try and help block the middle hitter, to do this you want to step towards your middle player and make sure you stop your body weight before jumping upwards to block, this will ensure you don’t drift and crash into your middle blocker. If you can not get to block you want to obtain a base position to give yourself the best chance of picking up the hit. The base position you want to adopt is approximately 2-3 meters off the net with your body facing towards the middle of the net.
If the opposition are setting their outside hitter meaning the hitter will be hitting from the opposite side on which you are blocking you as the outside have 2 options. At high level you will sometimes see the outside hitter helping out with the block. As you can image a 3 player block is extremely hard to hit round as they block takes away such a large hitting area. The second option you have is again to adopt a base position that offers you the best chance of picking up the ballm the base position for the outside hitter would normally be on the 3m line with a couple of steps towards the centre of the court.
Your last role as an outside hitter is obviously to hit the ball and win the point for your team. Now I have covered hitting approaches, spiking and different attacking options in this article here so I wont go into detail on the different options, however the standard thing you as an outside hitter want to do is take a step outwards from the court to get ready for the hit, assess the set and pick your timing to start your approach, meet the ball at the peak of its arch and spike the ball around, over or past the block to win the point.
Back Row
So when in the back row as an outside you will likely play a vital role in passing the ball from serve and or when defending in open play. Now there are a few different ways that back court can be played and depending on how your team lines up and prefers to play may mean you defend in different positions. However for the sake of this article I am going to explain it from a traditional line up point of view.
When playing back court in open play you will often have your outside hitter in the 6 position (this would be the centre position) the reason for this is generally outside hitters will be well versed at both passing and attacking. By being at this 6 position you can be in prime position to pick up the ball regardless of whether the ball is hit from the 2 or 4 position from the opponents. When defending again you want to get in your base positions, the normal base position would be to step away from the centre of the court in the opposite direction in which the opposition have set, the idea of this step is to get in your opponents power line to pick up the hard hit balls. You also want to ensure when you step away from the centre you are not hiding behind the block. In general terms you want to step outwards to the side but forwards from the back line so you are in a prime position to pick up them hard driven hits.
The other reason the outside player will be positioned at 6 back court is because it can be very good hitting opportunity. It is quite common for a setter to put the ball up for what is known as a pipe hit. This is where the outside hitter when back court will take off before the 3m line and spike the ball. This can be a very effective move if executed correctly as it can be very hard for the opposition to line up a block correctly. Just make sure if you are an outside hitter and you are attacking from the back court you take off before the 3m (10 Foot) line and attack the ball before you land inside the 3m line.
Roles and Responsibilities of an Opposite
Front Row
So when the opposite is front court they will act much like the outside hitter noted above however they will be responsible for blocking the oppositions outside hitter and middle.
Again much like the outside hitter it is important to note that the block should not drift outwards so that the middle blocker can help.
Also as with the wing hitter you want to try and help the middle blocker when the oppositions middle is hitting and again I hate to sound like a broken record but if you can’t assist with the block you want to adopt the same base position as the outside hitter but on the opposite side of the court.
The oppositions setter will most commonly set at the 2.5 spot meaning the distance they have to set when putting the ball up for the opposite on the other team is very short, this makes getting a 3 man block very difficult and although not impossible it is unlikely so I would suggest obtaining the base position to receive the ball from the hit. Much like all the other actions that are the same as the outside hitter but mirrored, this is no different, the base position to receive the hard cross hit would be just on or inside the 3m line facing back towards the hitter.
Now I have mentioned this in many other articles but let’s move on to hitting. If you are right handed and hitting through the opposite position you would want to step inwards slightly towards the centre of the court, the reason for this is because you always want to try and keep the ball in your hitting window which as a right handed player would obviously be on the right. The reason we step in is to ensure that if the setter undersets (doesn’t set the ball far enough) you as the hitter still have a chance to attack the ball. The opposite would be true if you were left handed.
Back Row
The opposite plays one of the largest roles out of most of the other players when back court. Not necessarily when defending but more as an attacker. In volleyball the opposite will defend and attack from the one position, the setter would perform what is known as a 10 set for the opposite to attack, the setter would put the ball up nice and high and in front of the 3 meter line for the back court opposite player to jump and attack. Again as with all back court players make sure you jump from behind the 3m line.
Now we have the most important part of the opposites back row role out of the way lets get on to defending. The most common set especially at lower levels is to set the ball out towards the 4 (outside) hitter, This means the hitter on the opposite side will be hitting from your side. Your job as an opposite defending against a 4 hit would be to defend the line hit, this means you would position yourself approximately halfway between the back court and the net and you want to have your right foot on the outside line. The reason for this is it gives you the best opportunity to get the tips over the blocks, the hard hits directly down the line and the volley’s/ roll shots to the corners. By having your foot on the outside line it gives you a good sense of where you are on the court and it allows you to know that if the ball is going to land outside your right foot you can be safe in the fact that it will be out of the court.
The next base position to discuss will be if the middle hitter on the opposing team is swinging. Much like the outside hitters base position you want to be at a 45 degree angle from the hitter near the 3m line. Normally the middle will be hit a lot quicker and at a much steeper angle.
The last base position is if the other team and hitting from either the 2 or 10 position you want to again by up towards the 3 line and a step inwards towards the centre, this allows you to take the hard angled hit.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Middle
Front Row
The middle can be one of the most powerful hitting positions in volleyball this is because it is often the shortest distance to set meaning it is traditionally very quick, this makes it very hard for blockers to line up with the middle hitter, also traditionally the middle will already be in the air before the setter performs the quick set so not only is it quick but it can be hit very steep.
As the middle when front court you have a very hard task as you are expected to be involved in every block where possible. Your base position will be in the middle of the net with your arms in the upright ready position, this allows you as a blocker to not worry about your arms but simply step towards the hitter, jump, press and block the ball.
Obviously to try and make the job easier for the hitters the setter on the other side will try and disguise their set to make the middles job as difficult as possible. It is obviously much easier for a hitter to win a point when hitting past one block rather than two. When I was talking about the outside and opposite blocking I was stressing that it is important that they do not drift when they jump and block as it will make the middle’s job very hard. Well this is where you can in your job is to assess the set and get out towards the outside or opposite blocking, the idea is to create one blocking wall as opposed to two separate blocks.
The next job of the middle is to attack the ball. As I briefly touched on at the start of this section the middle hit is often a quick short set, by short set I mean just above the height of the net. Your starting position for this hit as a middle will be roughly on the 3m line and you want to start your approach just before the setter receives the ball, you want to have a quick 2 step approach and you should be in the air before the setter releases the ball, it is the setters job to find you in the air as much as it your role to find the ball and attack.
When starting your approach you want to ensure you are jumping right next to the setter because as I said it should be a quick short set. There is also another type of hit known as a shute set where you would jump approximately 2 meters away from the setter, although if you are going to run a shute just make sure this is communicated with your setter.
Back Row
This is slightly more difficult to talk about, the reason being depending on what level you are playing your team may play with a libro. If this is the case your job back court besides performing a serve and one sideout in defense you will be likely off court. This is certainly not true for every middle but generally speaking the middles are the weakest passers hence why they are replaced by the libro’s back court.
If you are required to play court of even when playing court for the few points that you are serving your base position will be the 5 spot. Regarding defending and base positions these will all be the same at the opposite but mirrored. If you are a middle and want to learn about your roles back court please read the opposite back row section minus the hitting part and mirror the base positions.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Setter
Front Row
So we have gotten to my favourite position and that is the setter. The setter is the key component to nearly every single point won or lost in volleyball, the reason for this is a setter on good form can put their team in winning positions even when the pass isn’t. However the flipside is also true if the setter is having an off game it can make it very difficult to formulate good attacks. So as the setter front court you always want to rotate towards the 2 position and ideally you want to perform your set from the 2.5 (between 2 and 3) position, the reason for this is because it allows you to have the quick setting option of the middle, the near reverse 10 option and the forward 4 set. When in the front row the setter also has the option to dump the ball over or get up and attack.
As I said you as the setter will want to rotate straight to the 2 position, this means you will be responsible for blocking the opponent’s outside hitter, regarding how you want to block this will be exactly the same as the opposites blocker.
Back Row
When backrow your job will pretty much be exactly the same, hopefully your teammates will help you out by taking more of the court so you can still set the ball. The main difference will be you have the option to set 2 rather than 10. Your base position when defending will be the 1 position as this leaves you the shortest distance to step up and set the ball. Hopefully you won’t need to defend as you really want to take the 2nd ball and set your teammates but this is not always possible. Your aim as the defender will be the same as the opposite regarding base positions and defensive duties so to learn more about your role as a defender refer back to the back row defensive duties again minus the hitting.
The main thing to note when you are a back court setter is you are allowed to jump and set the ball from within the 3m line however you are still not allowed to attack from within the 3m line just like every other position.
Roles and Responsibilities of a Libero
Front Row
The Libero is known as a defensive specialist, the Libro has no place being front court.
Back Row
The Libero is a defensives specialist and their main role is to pass the ball up for the setter. The Libero must wear a contrasting jersey colour to the rest of the team. The libero is allowed to swap with any back court player when the ball is out of play however they can only swap with one back court player at a time. The most common switch will be the middle player who is rotating from front court to back court. The reason for this as detailed earlier is that generally speaking the middle hitter is the weakest defensive player on the team. As the libero is likely to swap with the middle hitter this means they will be responsible for defending from the 5 position. This means they are responsible for defending the hard driven angle when the set goes out to 4 and the line when the set is to the 2 player. Again much like the other defenders if the middle is hitting the libero would want to defend at approximately a 45 degree angle from the middle of the net just behind the 3m line. The libero is normally the most skilled defensive player on the team and having a good libero who reads the game well can be the difference between your team losing lots of points or defending with very little errors.
The other main role of a Libero is to set the ball if the setter plays the first pass.
It is worth noting that a Libero is not allowed to block or attack the ball from above the height of the net.
