Chapter 3 - The Setup

John K. Clark

"Pass, Set, Spike—Pass, Set, Spike" are the offensive fundamentals to be drilled into the novice volleyballer, improved in the mediocre player, and admired in the great player. Without the effective execution of all three maneuvers, no volleyball team can muster a winning offense. Without a good pass, the set is usually bad. Without a good set, the spike is usually bad. Without a good spike, both the pass and the set can become futile efforts. It is impossible to say that one is more important or less important than another in obtaining the point- or the ball as the case may be. The spike appears more glamorous, the pass can appear more difficult in unusual recoveries, but the set undoubtedly requires more precise co-ordination of the muscles and reflexes. All are important and all must be practiced constantly to attain a balance of efficiency.

The importance of good setters is illustrated in the appraisal of the 1952 Hollywood team which won the national championship that year: "Hollywood's win was strictly a team affair paced by two all-time great setup men, Manny Saenz and Jim Ward." 1

In this chapter we are concerned with the volleyball setup —its purpose, the player, the mechanics, and various other technical aspects of its use.

Purpose

The sole purpose of the setup is to place the ball in position in relation to the net from which the most effective spike can be made. Whereas there is much difference of opinion as to what constitutes the best height, the best direction, the best distance from the net, the best arc of fall, and the best floor target for which the setter should aim his set, there can be little disagreement with the premise that the best set ball is the one which enables the spiker to make an effective spike. To enable the spiker to make an effective spike must be the intention of the set. The set is not the blow which obtains a point, and therefore must be considered a supporting play. A reasonable consistency in setting the ball in a position in relation to the net from which the most effective (not necessarily the hardest) spike can be made fulfills the purpose of the set. Strategy and application must not confuse this purpose. It should be pointed out that a team must vary the set intentionally when the blocking gets tough. A mixture of high and low sets and sets close and back from the net is necessary to overcome a good blocking team.2

Qualities Desired in the Player

Just as in any other brand of endeavor, perfection in volleyball play or the perfect player is only an ideal, an impossible attainment. There are basic qualities for which a coach seeks in a setter, however. These are only a few of a long list of desired qualities.

Competitive spirit is placed at the head of the list. In the beginning it is not necessary that such spirit and desire be for the attainment of excellence in volleyball. Such a spirit is usually already evident in the rawest recruit through his attainments in other sports, such as basketball, track, and tennis. Seldom does one find a player intensely interested in volleyball at the outset, but if the competitive spirit, the drive, the desire to excel, are there, then such a player will soon develop a specific competitive spirit for excellence in volleyball if given the proper urging. Regardless of a player's abilities in other sports, it is essential for a setter or volleyball player in general to develop this specific competitive spirit in volleyball, or he will not be very good at the game.

Mental alertness comes second. Where is the net? Where are the blockers? Which spiker should be used? Where will my set be? These and many other questions will flash through the setter's mind and must be answered instantly, even instinctively. Of course, there is a premium to be placed on consistency in a setter's actions, but such consistency must make allowances for constantly developing variations during the course of the play. Such variations are so frequent in the course of fast-moving play that a setter must be mentally alert if he is to avoid the errors of mental lapses, so damaging to a team's morale.

Instinctive reaction time is difficult to differentiate from mental alertness. Often there is no time to answer all the questions logically, nor is it even necessary to do so. It is the instinctive reaction, the quickness of muscle co-ordination that will put a setter in balance with a bad pass, under a spiked ball, or in blocking position. Experience is helpful in developing the psychology necessary for a good instinctive reaction time, but it is not the whole answer. Advancing years show up quickest in a volleyball player in this particular phase of his play.

Mobility, good anticipation, and speed rate high in the qualities of a setter, and work hand in hand with mental alertness and instinctive reaction time. He must reach his proper position, often changing direction en route, to execute his play faster than any other single player, as a general rule. Short passes, low passes, and high passes to the setter and difficult spike recoveries by the setter are so frequent as to make the routine warm-up type of setup position an academic ideal seldom seen after the game starts. Even when the pass to the setter is good, he must usually recover his proper position from a block or from being pulled into a spiking defense or serve defense position.

Coolness under fire usually comes with experience in competitive play. Although volleyball is unique in many ways and experience is a quality that cannot be lightly regarded, this particular trait of coolness under fire can be developed in other sports. The player with the tendency to blow up or pull mental blunders when the score gets close and the time is about up will lose the close ones for a team. This particular trait is not confined to setters but seems to be accentuated by the position. Tied-up muscles when attempting short, low sets and sets over the net are common evidences of the lack of coolness under fire. Some players get better when the going gets rough and some get worse. Coolness under fire is the stabilizing factor in the man with the high emotional, competitive spirit, as contrasted with a smart player who lets the closeness of the play affect his logical thinking.

Endurance can be drilled into a player by proper training. Too few volleyballers are in condition to play the long, hard matches made necessary by the usual type of tournament. Many of the better volleyball teams are defeated in the latter stages of important tournaments simply because they become too tired to go the distance. This problem is not volleyball's alone, but it is so evident and so commonplace to the game because of the lack of proper training methods and the lack of intelligent use of team personnel.

Size is placed last, not because of its importance but because of its lack of importance. There are many traits too innumerable to discuss here which in their way are important to the setter, but size in itself is not one of these traits. It makes no difference how large or how small a man is in physical stature in order to be a good setter. On the contrary, all too often the setter is chosen simply because he is "too short" to be a spiker. There is no man too short to spike, and there is no man too tall to set.

If we think of the relative importance in point getting of the spiker and the setter, consider that the latter handles the ball twice as much on the front line as does the former, and with much more precision and accuracy in ball handling. Why then must we always allow a player equally good at spiking and setting to be a spiker when logic tells us he would be more valuable to the team as a setter? "The best ball handler with the most co-ordination should play this position." 3

All things being equal, one cannot deny that height is of great advantage for the setter when he must block. More and more of the leading teams are using tall men as setters. "No team can afford two short setters, because they reduce the effectiveness of the block. Even one short man causes additional switches." 4

Mechanics of the Setup

Position prior to set

Body balance is the most important directive in the proper set of a volleyball. While exact positions of various parts of the body are enumerated below, any other positions enabling co-ordinated muscular movement from a balanced body are acceptable and will produce good sets if the arc of the passed ball falls through the center of body balance from a position well above the setter's head.

Illustration #4. Walter Schiller, Hollywood YMCA Stars, prepares to set the ball.

The balls of the feet should support equally the body weight. Heels of both feet should be touching the floor but supporting no weight. The foot nearest the net should be about % -foot length ahead of the other foot and pointing in the direction of the intended set, or in exact opposite direction in case of an over-the-head set. The feet should be about 12 inches apart, but that will be determined by the player in relation to body balance.

Legs are slightly bent and are flexible. This is similar to the two-handed set shot in basketball. The body should be straight without stiffness. The shoulders will be naturally drawn in slightly by the position of the arms but should not be humped forward.

Illustration  #5.   Walter  Schiller,  Hollywood  YMCA  Stars,  in follow-through position after a setup.
 
Head and neck will be governed by the fall of the ball. Normally, contact with the ball will be made just before it would strike the nose. Arms from shoulder to elbow should be on a level with shoulders and slightly forward. Arms from elbow to wrist will be angled slightly upward so as to place the thumbs near and on a level with the nose.

Wrists should be flexible, yet bent back almost 90 per cent to allow palms of the hands to be upward from the floor. Fingers should be flexible and extended but not joined. All of the weight of the ball should be taken on fleshy parts of the fingers, most of the weight being concentrated on the thumbs and index fingers, while the remaining fingers act as directional guides. The ball should never touch the palms of the hands in setting.

Contact with ball and follow-through

Contact with the ball and follow-through is a co-ordinated muscle movement of wrists and fingers, arms, shoulders, knees and legs, and balls of feet, all designated to clearly bat the ball with a smooth, light touch to the desired height and position in relation to the net. Careful consideration and practice should be devoted to eliminate: (1) jerky muscles causing height and direction errors; (2) lifting the ball— usually caused by allowing ball to strike palms of hands or by late arm reflex; and (3) a spinning ball—caused by too much wrist and finger action.

Great setters such as Rolf Engen and Walter Schiller of the Hollywood YMCA Stars employ a technique emphasizing arms and wrists and fingers. Very little body action is noticeable. "The more big muscles that get into the act, the more inaccurate it may be." 5

Over-the-head set

There is a marked similarity in body position prior to the routine forward set and the over-the-head or backward set. In the first place, there is no necessity for a different stance, and, in the second place, a different stance would tip off the direction of the set and destroy the surprise element.

Differences occur upon contact with the ball and are as follows. The arc of the pass should be judged so as to be set off the forehead instead of the nose, the neck should be bent more sharply up and back to follow properly the flight of the ball, and the wrists should be bent back more than in the forward set so that the fingers handle the set direction more than the thumbs.

Other sets

The normal overhand set, either forward or backward, is not the only legal set. Any clearly batted ball is permissible. However, other sets have the disadvantage of either resulting in ball-handling errors or tending to be inaccurate. Most common of this type is the underhand set with palms up.

For situations when the overhand set is impossible because the pass is too low or too wide, the most practical alternatives are the dig sets made with the wrists or with a closed fist. These methods of handling the ball are covered in Chapter 6.

Technical Aspects and Strategy

Perfect qualities of the player and thorough application of the mechanics are the goals of good setters. It takes more, however, to be a great setter.

He is the brains of the offense. He chooses the direction of the spike and the spiker's most effective play in any given position. He is in the best position to know if a spiker is getting a reasonable set. He knows if the passes are short or too low, indicating weakness in the back line. Accordingly, he knows best the capabilities of his team mates, their temperament, and physical condition. He is able to observe the weaknesses and strong points of the opposing defense. Proper use of this knowledge will enable him to make more effective use of his spikers. If he can add to this a flair for doing what is unexpected to the opposition but in co-ordination with the capabilities of his team mates, the resulting surprise action will win many plays.

Where should the set be in relation to the side line? Normally, the arc of the ball should be such that the spiker makes contact with the ball about 36 inches inside the court, whether it be the right or left side.

How high should the ball be set? Normally, the ball should be set slightly lower than most spikers prefer for their most relaxed, hard spikes. Between 13 and 16 feet is the most effective height of the set, the height being in direct relation to the distance of the setter from the spiker. When players are first learning how to spike, setters should strive to set the ball at a consistent height. This makes the ball easier to hit. As mentioned previously, the height of sets should be varied in good competition. Sets of consistent height give the opposing blockers the advantage of knowing when the spike will be hit. This makes the job of blocking easier.6

Good spikers who practice can hit sets of two or three different heights. First they learn by a system of signals with the setter. Later they develop a sense of intuition as to when sets of varying heights are coming.7

How far from the net should the set be? Normally, the ball should be set from 12 to 18 inches from the net unless the opposition blocking is particularly effective. In that case the ball should be moved back to 24 inches or 30 inches from the net. If the opposition blocking is highly ineffective, the ball can be set near the net.

Should a setter directly play the ball which has been hit over the net by the opposition? Normally, the setter should avoid making this play if another player can make a reasonable pass. Occasionally, a setter may choose to eliminate the pass from the fundamental pass-set-spike by setting the first ball. This is a difficult but very effective play when properly executed.
When should the setter not take the first pass from a team mate? He should not set the ball when it is passed away from his normal position. In this instance the player closest to the ball should set it, and the usual setter should get ready to spike.

When should a setter spike the first or third ball? If he cannot spike well, it would be unwise for him to attempt this play. However, the good setter can also spike when necessary. De Groot believes a good setter should win one or two points per game by spiking.8 Wilson concurs when he states: "If the setters practice, they can win many games with the occasional spike when needed!" 9

Conclusion

Basically, the purpose of the setter is to place the ball in a position from which the most effective spike can be made. Pass-set-spike should be considered as one continuing play, each equally necessary for a winning offense.

References

1. Wilson, Harry E., "The Nationals," International Volleyball Review, November, 1952, p. 9.
   
   
2. Wilson, Harry E., personal correspondence, July 8, 1959.
   
   
3. Odeneal, William T., "Syllabus for Beginning Volleyball"  (unpublished material), Florida State University, Tallahassee, p. 16.
   
   
4. De Groot, Lt. Col. E. B., Jr., personal correspondence, July 11, 1959.
   
   
5. Ibid.
   
   
6. Ibid.
   
   
7. Wilson, personal correspondence, July 8, 1959.
   
   
8. De Groot, personal correspondence, July 11, 1959.
   
   
9. Wilson, personal correspondence, July 8, 1959.

Are You Ready To Move Onto The Next Lesson? Click Here….