Volleyball setting strategies are focused on reading the defense while setting so that you can get the best match ups when running your offense. So, this page will focus more on where to set and why rather than how to set. If you want to learn proper setting techniques, you should go to that page.
Volleyball Setting Strategies
When it comes to setting strategies for volleyball, you need to think about how you can get your hitters isolated for the best one-on-one match ups possible. As a setter, your job is not only to deliver the ball to the hitters and run the offense, but you are responsible for creating those mismatches by being deceptive.
When you are able to have your best hitters hitting against their worst blockers, you are stacking the odds of scoring a point in your favor.
It all begins by reading the defense prior to the ball being served. Where are the blockers for the other team? Which one of them is the least likely to block your player? If you get a good pass where you can set to any of your players, that would be a good place to set so that you exploit a weakness on the other team.
Another volleyball setting strategy that you can use to create hitting opportunities for your team is to run an X play (from time to time) or a crossing play. A crossing play is where you have your middle blocker come in for a quick attack with your outside hitter coming right behind them for a second hitting option.
When this happens, you as a setter are reading the defense to see where they are going to block and giving the ball to the other hitter. If the blockers all jump to block the first hitter, you simply set the ball to the second hitter because they will be hitting the ball as the blockers are landing. You have created a hitting opportunity where the blockers are out of position.
A similar situation can be achieved when you are setting the ball to the opposite hitter using a back set. However, this can only be achieved when you are disguising the set. When the other team sees that you are arching your back for a back set, they will start to move over. Do it at the last minute to reduce their reaction time.
The opposite is also true for volleyball setting. You can arch your back the whole time and let them start moving towards the opposite hitter and then you can set the ball in front of you to your middle blocker or outside hitter.
When you are on the front row, dump the ball to the other team just to keep the defense honest. When you are on the front row, you are one of the hitting options and so you need to dump the ball as the other team is not expecting it. When you are receiving the pass and preparing to set the ball, take a quick glance at the defense to see where they are and react accordingly.
Many of these items will seem like small details, but these small details are the items that make the biggest differences in scoring points. Most teams do the big items well. It is the teams that do the small things well that makes the difference.
I hope these volleyball setting strategies will help you isolate your best hitters and in turn you will increase your chances of scoring points.
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