The volleyball setter position is one of the most difficult to train and to play. They run the offense and the hitters are completely dependent on them to place the ball at the right spot at the right time. That is why this section of the website is so critical.
Your offense will flow as well as your setter knows how to run it. If you are running an offense with multiple setters, then there are multiple people that must understand the offense and how to distribute the ball.
There is a saying that says that the speed of the pack is determined by the leader of the pack. I have seen from experience that this saying is true. The setter is the leader on the court and the general of the offense. When they know how to lead and how to read the defense, incorporate the whole team, the entire team literally improves. That is how important the setter is.
So, how do you train some of these concepts and techniques?
There are a lot of different components to this kind of training.
First of all, the setter must know the basics of their position. These volleyball setting drills can help facilitate some of that learning during your practices. When it comes to distributing the ball to your various hitters, they must understand each hitter and where they like the ball. That learning happens during each practice through the repetition of setting each hitter during these drills. This is learning that only comes through experience. This is an important first step in setter training.
Another aspect of training a setter for volleyball is knowing how to read the defense. Who is their strongest blocker? What match ups can you exploit to your advantage? Who is your best hitter for a clutch kill? These are the foundational questions that will help you read the defense.
The setter must also know how to distribute the ball. If they are continuously setting the same hitter, the defense can adjust and put two or three blockers up and shut down the hitter.
There is also the skill of knowing how to set from different court positions. Volleyball setters would love for each pass to be perfect, but they must know how to set a bad pass, and from different locations on the court.
These points and ideas give you a glimpse of what a setter must be able to do. That is the purpose of this section of the website. This volleyball setter training will help you improve your offense by mastering the setter position.