Finding the setter

[Andy]

Originally Posted by Back In The Saddle

I have pretty much the exact same questions. "Find the setter" sounds like one of those veteran catch-phrases that actually implies quite a bit of stuff. Perhaps somebody would be kind and patient enough to kind of connect the dots for us newbies?

Wow...this could be a long post......

The game of VB revolves around the setter. The basic strategy is that the ball comes over the net, the ball is passed to the setter, the setter sets one of the attackers who slams the ball down in the opponents court. Doesn't always work that way, especially at the lower levels, but that is the basic idea.

In my experience, which is HS ball only, most teams will use an offense that has either one or two setters. If it a one setter offense, that player will set from whatever position she is in in the rotation, front row or back row. You, as the official, have to know whether that player is front row, meaning s/he can legally attack the ball above the height of the net and block, or back row, meaning that s/he cannot block or attack the ball that is completely above the height of the net while she is on or in front of the attack line.

If a team uses an offense that has two setters, it is most likely that the player who is doing the setting will be in the back row. This allows the team to have three attackers in the front row the entire game - more options to run the offense. In this case, you just need to keep track of which player is setting in each rotation and when the "new" setter rotates to the back row. Some teams will use their subs for some of these rotations to bring in a player to set when that position is in the back row and another player to attack when the position is in the front row.

In my experience, the setter is the player that will most likely be involved in an overlap situation. In most offenses, the setter wants to be in approx the same position to run the offense on each play, but since s/he starts from a different position in the alignment each time, s/he has to move to get to the position she wants. Some setters will start moving prior to the ball being contacted for serve, and overlap one of the players adjacent to him/her. Other times, the setter will line up where s/he wants to start and the other players will adjust to receive the serve and overlap the setter.

Are you starting to see how important it is to identify the setters and know where they are in the rotation?

One thing that works for me - as the teams are going through their pre-game warmups, I will look to see which player(s) are setting in the hitting lines. Once I have those players noted, I will look at the lineups to find their "opposite" player, or the player that is three positions away in the rotation. If my setter is serving, her opposite should be in the left front position. Those two players or positions should keep that opposite relationship throughout the entire game. If I look at the players positions on the court and the setter and her opposite player are not opposite, I know that I have a problem and a possible illegal alignment.

I know this sounds like a lot and it is...it takes time and focus to understand and see these things in a game, but it will come if you put the effort into it.

For any of you other more experienced officials out there, feel free to add anything or correct anything that I may have gotten wrong......