Chapter 7 - Offense

George J. Creswell, Jr.

Before becoming involved in details of attack formations and strategy, there are a few principles of sound volleyball offense which must be considered. The principles outlined below are based entirely on the experience and opinions of the writer. Therefore, they are probably incomplete and possibly inaccurate in spots. In any case they serve as a basis for the evaluations of the various attack patterns discussed later.

Genera! Principles of Team Offense

The key to good offense is good ball handling

Regardless of the perfection of its planned system, a team that is not superior in the ball-handling department cannot be consistently good on attack. Most players and coaches have heard this same old song many, many times, but the sad part of it is that almost no one takes it seriously enough to do anything about it. If a team really wants to improve its offense, it will spend a majority of its practice time in drilling for perfection on the all-important first pass and setup. More championships are won by superior ball handling than by any other factor.

Successful team offense depends on teamwork and co-ordination

This principle is so obvious that it should not be necessary to discuss it. The only reason it is mentioned here is that more poor teamwork and lack of co-ordinated effort occurs in volleyball than in any other team sport. There seems to be at least one player on most teams who is more interested in pointing out the mistakes of his team mates than in winning the game. You can hear his shrill scream of accusation throughout the game, but particularly in the crucial spots when team morale is so vital. Fortunately, the problem is easily solved by giving this player a seat on the bench next to the coach where he can put his insight to more positive use.

There is another enemy of teamwork which a good volleyball team must overcome. That is the tendency of most players to become disinterested when not actually playing the ball. It is usually caused by a lack of intensive drilling on team play and can be solved by a well-planned practice schedule.

A good offense must be simple enough to hold errors to a minimum

This principle is one which is understood by all too few teams. It seems that the first reaction of most teams, when their offense is not working, is to dream up a complicated system designed to deceive the opposing blockers and to enable the home-town spikers to put the ball away against a hurried, disorganized block. The fallacy in this line of thinking is that, in nine cases out of ten, the reason for weakness in the attack is poor ball handling. An attempt to employ a tricky, deceptive offensive system can only magnify the ball-handling weaknesses and bring about more mistakes.

It will be pointed out later that the writer is not opposed to the use of deception in the attack. The point made here is that a team must first completely master the fundamentals before a razzle-dazzle system can be used effectively.

A good offense must provide for many optional plays

Each play in volleyball begins from a different point, with the offensive players in different relative positions facing a different defensive pattern. Because of these factors and because as the play develops there are so many other quick changes in the situation, the writer does not advocate the use of standard plays which involve signals. If the offensive spikers do not know where or how the ball is going to be set, they cannot telegraph the play to the defense; they will be more effective as fakers if they actually hope to get the ball; and the setter is given that important extra split second to decide on the best play. Since the spiker has no preconceived picture of what he is going to do with the ball, he is in a better position to figure out his best play when he gets the set. There are a few teams which emphasize plays.

Florida State University uses a regular system of plays in volleyball similar to those called in football. Net men are numbered left to right, one, two, and three. The opponent's court is divided into three long areas corresponding to the front position from left to right, one, two, and three. This gives the playing captain an opportunity to call every play if necessary before it develops. If we want our left spiker, whose number is one, to hit off the outside blocker or down his side line, the 11 play is called. If this same spiker wants to hit diagonally across the court, the 12 play is called. If this same spiker wants to hit the ball sharply to his right diagonally, the 13 play is called. Likewise, the middle man is number two and he has a choice of hitting left for a 21 play, down the middle for a 22 play, and to the right for a 23 play. If a tip is wanted just over the net, it is designated by adding the letter A to the number called. If a deep lob is wanted, the letter B is added to the play called. In this manner every player knows who is to hit the ball and where it is supposed to go. This system strengthens team play, adds color to the team, strengthens defensive play, and builds confidence in offensive play. (See Figure #7.)1

Fig. #7. System Of Plays 2

O—Player; Path of ball
 
To function at its best even the most powerful offense needs a trace of deception

Just as a good fast ball pitcher is more effective because of a change-up pitch and just as a "line-busting" fullback gains much more yardage if he has a team mate who can sweep the ends, every volleyball team needs some variety and deception in its attack.

The dangers of an offense based on deception have already been pointed out. Volleyball is a percentage game if ever there was one, and experience soon teaches that the percentages are not with the trick play. However, blocking has improved so much in recent years that an occasional change in pattern or timing has become a necessity.

The style of offense must be adapted to the team personnel

Surely one of the most important factors in determining the best offense for any team is the players themselves. Experience, ball-handling ability, height, and speed must all be considered.
The Mexicans have done a wonderful job of adapting their offense to their available personnel. With almost all of their spikers under 6 feet they have developed an attack based on speed, agility, and superb ball-handling skill, which came within two disputed points of beating the great U.S. Pan-American Champions of 1955. To attempt to use the U.S. power system would have been suicidal. On the other hand, it would be just as futile to use the Mexican style of play with spikers like Al Kuhn, Bill Olsson, John Gay, and Mike O'Hara.

The key player in any offensive maneuver is the setter

It is impossible to overestimate the value of a topflight setter to a team. He is the equivalent of the quarterback in football and the playmaker in basketball. The spiker gets all the glory and most of the thrill from the game. There are few thrills in any sport that can compare with getting up on top of a good set and blasting it through the floor, but it has been proven many times that if other team skills are equal, four fair spikers and two good setters will beat four good spikers and two fair setters almost every match.

Why is a good setter so important? All he has to do on any particular play is to make a perfect set placed at the particular spot where the opponents' block is weakest—at the exact height, angle, and distance from the net which is required for the spiker he has selected as most psychologically and physically capable of achieving success at this particular moment in this particular situation with this particular play! Often he must make this play after having received a poor pass from a team mate.

First-class setters are few and far between. Although the woods are full of good spikers, all of the first-class setters in the U.S. today can be named on the fingers of one hand. Unless we do something about this situation the quality of volleyball played across the nation cannot greatly improve.

The player who fits best into the fast moving offensive systems of today must be an aggressive competitor who can set and spike effectively

Most of the offensive systems in use today require that a player be versatile enough to do everything well. It is possible, of course, to shift a man on the floor in order to use his strength or cover up his weakness, but excessive shifting is dangerous.

Team Offense Formations

The "Three and Three" (three spikers and three setters in alternate position in the lineup)

              X—Spiker; O—Setter;                   Path of player; ----> Path of set

Figure #8 shows the setter in the center forward position and the spiker at left forward. Figure #9 shows the setter at right forward and the spiker at center forward. The center back is generally used as the recovery man for blocked spikes. As shown in the diagram, he drifts in behind the spiker and anticipates the probable line of a blocked ball from the direction of the spike and position of the blockers. The setter, the other front-line player, and the spiker himself are also ready to recover a possible blocked ball. Some teams use the left back rather than the center back as the recovery man when the spiker is at the left front position.

In the pure "Three and Three" with the setter at center forward, his spiker at left forward receives every set even though another spiker is at right forward. When rotation places the setter at right forward he invariably sets to his spiker at center forward.

Until the late forties this system was used almost exclusively. It seems the most natural way to line up a volleyball team, and it offers some advantages that the most complicated, modern systems cannot match. The lineup contains three offensive units within a team. These setter-spiker units can work together until they know each other's every reaction and mannerism. The spiker has to learn to hit only the sets of his own setter, and the setter can concentrate on keeping only one spiker happy. The two men can spend hours together in perfecting their teamwork.

The only variation in the pure "Three and Three" system occurs when a left-handed spiker appears in the lineup. He spikes from center forward and right forward positions but otherwise does not alter the pattern of one spiker active at the net. Very effective deception can be achieved in the "Three and Three" pattern by assigning a right-handed setter who can spike to work with a left-handed spiker who can set.

By 1948 rule changes permitted switching court positions after the serve, and several variations of the "Three and Three" began to arise. Strong spikers were switched from right forward to center forward to give them more opportunities to spike. Soon it was discovered that when this switch was made, the inactive spiker at left forward could be used to advantage when the blockers concentrated on the power hitter. Then some spikers became adept at hitting from the right forward position, and the setter at center forward learned to set forward or backward to either spiker at the net. When the 1949 rules permitted three blockers, some or all of the above variations became a necessity, and every good spiker had to learn to hit from the right forward position. Further liberalization of the rules to allow unlimited blocking had practically eliminated the "Three and Three" system from use by the nation's top teams.

Mexican teams use a variation of the "Three and Three," but their fast style of play is completely different from ours. They use a very low, very quick set with the spiker in motion running parallel to the net and jumping off one foot to hit the ball almost as it leaves the setter's hands. They sometimes use the right forward spiker as a setter who sets to the center forward setter or to the left forward spiker for variation. They also have the right forward setter set to the center forward spiker or the left forward setter in the same pattern. This system demands skill in both setting and spiking by every player in the lineup.

The "Four and Two" (four spikers and two setters)

In the "Four and Two" system one setter is always in the center forward position between the two spikers. Figure #10 shows the relative positions of front-line players when the setter is at center forward. Figures #11 and #12 show the player shifts (made as the serve is hit) which move the setter to center forward from left forward (#11) or from right forward (#12).

Both spikers expect to get each set and actually begin their approach to spike before they know the direction of the set. The setter, of course, must be able to set equally well forward or backward so that the opposing blockers do not know until the ball leaves his hands where the set will go.

Figures #13 and #14 below show the positions of all six players as the ball is spiked at left forward (#13) and at right forward (#14).

When the ball is set to the left, the left back covers behind the spiker, the right back moves slightly in and toward center, and the center back plays deep to cover the back court. When the ball is set to the right, the same protective shifting takes place to the opposite side.

Some teams always use the center back as cover-up man behind the spiker no matter in which direction the set goes. The other two backs cover the back court area for deeper blocked balls.

The objective of the "Four and Two" system is to provide both power and deception in the attack by keeping two spikers in position to hit on every play. Deception may be greatly increased by use of:

1. Varying types of sets—high or low; close or deep; toward center court or wide at the side line.
   
   
2. Varying types of spikes—power and "change-up"; different angles; hitting over the block; and deliberately playing the ball off the blockers' hands.
   
   
3. Setting direct to the spiker on the first pass.
   
   
4. Use of the setter as a spiker—usually on the first pass and occasionally on a set when another player is forced to play the second pass.

Note: Effective use of these variations, particularly #3 and #4, requires exceptional ball-handling skill.

The dream of many coaches is to field a team of two right-handed spikers and two "lefties." With this lineup every spiker is in his best power position in two of the three net positions. Since this dream rarely comes true, a majority of teams are lined up so that their two strongest spikers hit from the left forward position twice and from the right forward position once in the rotation order. However, several of the top teams have experimented in recent years with the opposite order, to keep their stronger spikers in the more difficult right forward position a majority of the time. There is no set rule to follow at this point. Every team must determine the best alignment of its own personnel.

One advantage of the "Four and Two" system, in addition to added power and deception, is that first passes are always made to the center forward position. This makes for fewer errors in passing and puts the setter in better position to recover bad passes. An inevitable disadvantage of this system compared to the "Three and Three" is that it puts more pressure on each setter. Where the "Three and Three" calls for only two attack situations in which to set to one spiker, the "Four and Two" demands that the setter familiarize himself with three attack situations and four different spikers in two different positions. The right set to the right man at the right time requires a high degree of judgment and skill.
For the past six years the "Four and Two" has been used almost exclusively by the better teams across the country. There is no indication at present that its popularity will not continue.

The "Five and One" (five spikers and one setter)

The "Five and One" is an offensive system in which the lineup is composed of five spikers and one setup man.

Figure #15 shows the setter shifting from the right back position to the front line to get in position to set to any one of the three front-line spikers. From any of the three back-line positions the setter always shifts into the position shown in Figure #15. (Even when he is the server, he immediately moves into the same front-line post.)

X—Spiker; O—Setter;    Path of player; ----> Path of set

When the setter is in one of the front-line positions, there are only two spikers at the net. In this case the setter always shifts to the center forward position as in the "Four and Two," and the offense actually becomes the same as the "Four and Two" until the setter again rotates to a back-line position. In other words, the basic attack pattern of the "Five and One" can be used approximately 50 per cent of the time.

The objective of the "Five and One" is to inject more deception into the attack by the use of three spikers on the net. The center spiker is used primarily as a decoy, with the set going to him often enough to keep the opposing blockers from "ganging up" on the other two spikers. All sets to the corner spikers are, of course, kept wide toward the side line. Each spiker expects to receive every set. This makes for excellent faking and makes it extremely difficult for the opponents to get more than two blockers into any one play. Especially effective is the occasional use of the low quick set to the center spiker. In this play the ball is set just above the net, and the spiker runs and takes off "with the set" so he is on top of the ball before a block can form.

Figure #16 shows the set going to the right forward spiker. The attack pattern is identical when the ball is set to either of the other spikers. The setter moves immediately to cover up his spiker in case of a block, and the back-line player nearest the point of the spike moves in slightly to assist. The opposite back covers the remainder of the back court.

The setter, always on the front line, becomes a blocker on every defensive play.

Some weaknesses of the "Five and One" are listed below:

1. The entire offensive burden is squarely on the shoulders of the setter. He is the quarterback on every single play. He is also in a key position as cover-up man and as a blocker. It takes quite a volleyball player to fill this assignment.
   
   
2. With three spikers hitting or faking on each play, the offensive team is short one man in the important task of covering the spiker against the block.
   
   
3. Opponents soon learn to serve to the setter as he is shifting from a back-line position to his post at the net. This forces a weak situation for the all-important first pass.
   
   
4. This intricate system requires  superior ball-handling skill by the entire team.

Before selecting the "Five and One" as an offensive system, teams must face these questions: (1) Do we have the personnel necessary to use this system effectively? (2) Does the advantage of increased deception offset the increased possibilities for mistakes?

Lessons from International Competition

The fact that the U.S. Men finished sixth and the U.S. Women ninth in the 1956 World Championships certainly substantiates the accuracy of two observations often made by keen students of the game in this country: (1) We have only scratched the surface of potential offensive and defensive volleyball, both from the standpoint of individual and team play. (2) Until the day when volleyball is adopted as a varsity sport by high schools and colleges on a nationwide basis, U.S. teams will be at a disadvantage in international competition.

When we consider the fact that practically every other top team in the last World Championships was state supported and that they went through intensive daily drilling for a three- or four-month period during which time their major concern was volleyball, it is amazing that our teams did so well. In view of other factors (1) that our U.S. teams were composed only of those players who could spare the time and money for the trip; (2) that they had practically no training as a team; and (3) that the World Championships were played under strange rules during our off-season, they could hardly expect to place better than they did.

With volleyball now accepted as an official Olympic sport, we will be in a much better position to field truly representative teams in international competition.

Attack patterns of the top world teams

1. As reported by several observers, perhaps the most outstanding difference in offense from the U.S. style of play arises from the ability of all spikers to hit the ball hard and effectively from almost any position with either hand. This skill, along with superior ball handling, permits these teams to spike on the second play in more than half of their attack situations.
   
   
2. There  are no  setters who are not also hard-hitting spikers. Almost all players are over 6 feet tall. This means that there is little or no shifting of front-line players to get into position. All players set and all players spike. This factor allows for almost unlimited variation in the attack.
   
   
3. When the first pass is set directly to a spiker, it usually goes wide and average height to one of the corner spikers. If he is covered by the block, he can jump-set across to the opposite corner spiker. This is not an uncommon play in U.S. volleyball, but International Rules make it more effective. Since no back-line players may block, the defensive team has difficulty in consistently getting more than one blocker into position.
   
   
4. Often a back-line player is brought to the net to set to any one of the three front-line spikers, as in the "Five and One" system discussed earlier. A favorite play from this situation is diagramed in Figure #17.

The center forward and right forward take their position together near the center of the court. When the first pass goes to the setter, both of these spikers run toward him, the center forward just to his left and the right forward circling just behind him to his right. The setup man feeds the ball to one or the other, always using the low quick set with the spiker in the air almost simultaneously with the ball. The object, of course, is to get the ball down ahead of the block.

Fig. #17
X—Spiker; O—Setter; Path of player

Attack Patterns of the Future

Briefly outlined below are three offensive systems which may indicate trends in team offenses of the next few years. The writer claims no supernatural powers of clairvoyance, and it is highly possible that this attempt to anticipate trends is completely off course. On the other hand, "he who fails to look ahead seldom gets ahead."

The "Six and Six"

As the name indicates, this is a system in which every member of the team is both a spiker and a setter. It operates exactly like the "Four and Two," except that it is much simpler and offers greater deception. As each player reaches the center forward position, he automatically becomes the setter. He sets from this one position only and becomes a spiker again when he rotates to right forward. Advantages over the conventional "Four and Two" are:

1. There is no shifting of position at all. This provides a much stronger team alignment for receiving the opponent's serve and setting up the play.
   
   
2. Each setter has a comparatively simple assignment. He must learn to set to only two spikers, and they are always in the same relative position at the net. Practice drills may be easily set up to perfect the teamwork of each "attack team" of three men.
   
   
3. Every setter can use his spiking ability to advantage. He is a constant threat to spike the first pass on every play when in the setup position, and many other combinations may be worked out to use him as a spiker or as a decoy.

The "Six and Two"

This system is based on a lineup of six spikers, two of whom are also used as setters. As in the "Five and One," three spikers are in position to hit from the three net positions. The setter is brought up from the back line to take his post between the center spiker and either corner spiker. When this setter has reached the front line in the rotation order, he becomes a spiker, and the player opposite him in the lineup is brought in from the back line as the setter. This attack pattern is superior to the "Five and One" in several respects:

1. Three spikers are at the net 100 per cent of the time. In the "Five and One" three spikers are at the net only about 50 per cent of the time, making it impossible to use the basic attack pattern throughout a game.
   
   
2. The setting responsibility is shared by two men, where as one setter carries the entire load in the "Five and One." This is a vital advantage.
   
   
3. There is no shifting of positions by the front-line players. This provides a stronger position for receiving the opponent's serve. It is true that bringing the setter from the back line is hazardous at this point. However, most top teams bring a back-line player to the net as a fourth blocker regardless of their offensive system. In the "Six and Two" the setter is also the fourth blocker on defense.

The Westside Jewish Community Center of Los Angeles used the above system in 1959 and finished in the runner-up spot in the National Open. The Westside team deserves a lot of credit for this innovation, which marked the first successful use of a new offensive system in about ten years. So good was their execution that they came within an eyelash of dethroning the great defending champions, the Hollywood YMCA Stars. Certainly the hair-raising double final matches between these teams treated fans to the most exciting volleyball witnessed at a national tournament in many years.

The Westside personnel is particularly suited to the system. The entire team has exceptional maneuverability, speed, and ball-handling skill. Eugene Selznick and Ronnie Lang, the team's most powerful spikers, double as setters. This is unusual but effective. It further stresses the all-around ability of the squad, which is perhaps the best defensive team in the country.

Eugene Selznick, coach of the Westside JCC and the United States' only All-World player, furnished the information from which the following figures and explanations of the Westside attack were made.

These figures show the Westside positions for receiving the serve and moving into an offensive pattern, with the setter moving to the net from each of the three back-line positions. When the setter rotates to the left forward position, he becomes a spiker, and the man playing opposite him in the lineup rotates to the right back position and becomes the setter.

Fig. #18 (Opponents serving)
 N£T-

X—Spiker; O—Setter; Path of player; ----> Path of set
Explanation:

1. Front-line spikers, at half court with plenty of room between, are main receivers. Corner spikers near side lines to take serve or force it to center court. Setter at right back hides behind right corner spiker.
   
   
2. When ball is served, setter runs outside court around right corner spiker into position to receive pass. Receiver attempts to pass just off center where setter has three options: normal wide set to strong-side spiker (LF); quick, low set to  center spiker  (CF);  backward wide  set to  weak-side spiker (RF). The diagram illustrates the strong-side set.
   
   
3. If the first pass is near the center of the court, the center spiker starts his approach sooner than usual, to take advantage of a low set. He approaches the net straight on and always in the center so he can hit on either side of the block. If the set goes to him, he is ready to take off almost with the ball so he can stay on top of it and put it away quickly. This maneuver is designed to keep the two middle blockers of the opponents occupied until it is too late to get a solid three-man block on either of the corner spikers. A two-man block is about all the opponents can muster against either of the three spikers if the passing and setting are adequate.
   
   
4. If the first pass is out toward either corner, the setter still has the three options mentioned above, but he is not in nearly so effective a position to execute them. He can then set medium height to center, shoot a fast set to the far corner, or set directly behind him to the near corner.

Fig. #19 (Opponents serving)
NET

X—Spiker; O—Setter;    Path of player;-----> Path of set

Explanation: Setter (center back) hides behind center front spiker as ball is served. He tells that player which way he wants to go in order to avoid a collision, then moves ahead of him either to the left or right of center to receive the pass. This figure shows the setter going right and using the option of the backward set to the weak-side corner spiker.

Fig. #20 (Opponents serving)

X—Spiker; O—Setter;    Path of player;-----> Path of set

Explanation: Setter (left back) hides behind left corner spiker, then circles outside and around him to receive the pass. This figure shows setter choosing the option of the low set to center spiker, whom he is facing. He is also in perfect position for the fast shooting set to the weak side or the normal backward set to the strong side.

"Six and Six" (variation)

This system is mentioned last because it is a combination of the "Six and Six" and the "Six and Two" offensive formations outlined above. Three spikers are in position to hit from the three net positions as in the "Six and Two." However, every spiker in the lineup becomes a setter when he is in the center back position, which is the easiest position to shift from back line to front line. This eliminates the hazardous play in which the setter serves, and then has to run rapidly to reach the net in time to block.
It is, of course, more difficult to find six spiker-setters than to find two who can carry the extra load. Like the other offenses described in this section, this system can be wonderful—// you have the personnel.

Summary

The "attack patterns of the future" outlined above are impractical for use by most American teams at the present time. With the exception of all-star Armed Forces teams, all of the top teams are YMCA or club teams which do not undergo a really intensive training schedule. Many players, even on National Championship teams, are past their physical peak. Their family and career responsibilities make it impossible for them to go "all out" for volleyball perfection, in spite of their desire to do so.

Nevertheless, progress is being made. More younger players are taking up the game. More schools and colleges are adopting volleyball at the varsity level. Great progress has been made in the quality of play in the Armed Forces. Intensive tournament volleyball has far more followers in every part of the nation than ever before.

Eventually, the writer expects to see very few short men in the game at the championship level. Only exceptionally talented specialists or those who can learn to put the ball away as spikers will survive. This does not mean that the setter will be less important. It means that every player must develop all-round skills and no longer be content with only one specialty.

There will probably be an increase in use of the deep set and in spiking on the second play of the ball. This calls for a marked improvement of the spiker's ability to hit the ball from any position. It calls for even greater improvement in general ball-handling skill.

There may be a few gradual rules changes in the next few years to bring closer together USVBA rules and the International Volleyball Federation rules. Any changes toward present International rules would tend to restrict the defense and give the offensive team more freedom. This could be a step in the direction of more spectator appeal. Whether or not future rules changes favor the offense, there will undoubtedly be better, faster, more exciting volleyball for player and spectator alike in the years ahead.

References

1. Odeneal,   William   T.,   "Volleyball—Major   Sport,"   Journal  of Health, Physical Education, and Recreation, January, 1954, p. 10.

Odeneal, William T., "Offensive Volleyball," Scholastic Coach, November, 1954, p. 38.

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