Helping You Visualize Positioning On The Court
Rotation #1 (Stack Right)
- In the first rotation, the Setter pulls 1 up to the right-hand corner.
- As soon as the server makes contact with the ball, the Setter should move to the setter’s position, right-of-center on the net.
- 1 and 2 should move to their hitting position, ready to take an approach.
- 3 drops back to help 4 and 5 pass the ball. In this rotation, overlap risks are minimal, as long as the Setter remains to the right of 5 and ‘behind’ 1.
Rotation #2 (Stack Middle)
- In the second rotation, the Setter pulls 3 up to the center-front.
- It is critical, as soon as the server makes contact with the ball, for 3 to back up into hitting position. Otherwise the player will be in the way of the setter.
- 4 drops back to help 5 and 1 pass the ball.
- In this rotation, there is an overlap-risk with the back-row. The Setter must be in between 5 and 1 and ‘behind’ 3.
Rotation #3 (Stack Left)
- In the third rotation, the Setter pulls up 5 and 4 into the left-hand corner. It is critical, as soon as the server makes contact with the ball that the Setter sprints into position.
- 4 should quickly move into position on the outside.
- Once the path is clear, 5 should quickly move into position.
- 3 drops back to help 1 and 2 pass the ball.
- In this rotation, overlap-risks are minimal, as long as 5 remains on the left of 4, and the Setter remains ‘behind’ 5.
- The Setter cannot leave too soon without risking an overlap with 1.
(For a 6-2 rotation – 6 Hitters, 2 Setters – Setters always set from the back row. In the front row, the Setter becomes the Opposite Hitter; the Opposite (3) sets when entering the back. Positioning recycles to Rotation #1).
Rotation #4
- In the fourth rotation, the Setter is now in the front row.
- When the Setter is in the front row, the remaining two hitters have greater flexibility as to where they set up and where they hit.
- As long as the Setter is to the left of 5, and 5 is to the left of 4, all is well.
- The three front-row players could, conceivably, all ‘stack’ in the left, middle or right depending on where the hitters are heading.
Rotation #5
In the fifth rotation, much like the fourth, the front-row has a lot of flexibility. The diagram above shows what is called “split hitters“. The Setter should still expect passes right-of-center. If the setter receives passes in the middle (i.e. calls to the team “pass middle!”), the opposing team will know there will be no middle offensive attack.
Rotation #6
In the sixth and final rotation, much like the fourth and fifth, the front-row has a lot of flexibility. Hitters 1 and 2, at the direction of the Setter, can hit from wherever they’d like. Depending on the offensive play, all the back-row players should be ready to hit.