Master the art of setting: 4 techniques to excel in volleyball
Published: 6/22/24
Last revised: 6/22/24
Author: Thalia Urena
How to be a better setter in volleyball (for beginners!)
I was a setter, and I know how much pressure someone can feel when trying to learn the techniques of the position. As a beginner it can be hard to remember all the technicalities of the position, but I’m hoping this blog post will help with that!
I learned so much within my four years playing as a setter competitively, and even more during my 8 years coaching volleyball. I’m excited to share these 4 setting tips that helped me, and my teams improve on our setting!
In this blog post we will be going over:
What the volleyball setter’s position can be defined as
4 setting techniques (that will help you be become a stronger setter)
Agility, and knowing your hitters
What is a volleyball setter?
The setters position in volleyball is one of the most important players on the court! I often compare the position to the “quarter back in football” because of the similarities seen in both roles. Just like a quarter back in football, a volleyball setter is responsible for “setting up” the team’s offense. The setter chooses who to distribute the ball to which is the most impactful role for your team’s offense.
They ideally get every second ball, within our 3 touch allowance for each play. This can look like:
1st contact) Pass
2nd contact) Setter, sets
3rd contact) Hitter, hits
That helps us see how impactful, and often a setter is utilized within the game of volleyball. Now we know why so many new setters are seeking advice to improve in the position!
Let’s jump into my 4 technical tips to become a better setter in volleyball
1) Set the ball “from your forehead”
One of the first tips I got as a setter was where to “take the ball from”. What I mean by that is where your hands are placed when you get in contact with the ball, to overhand pass.
When you are taking the ball in the correct form, your hands will be making contact with the ball “from your forehead”, or your hands will be overhead your forehead. If I brought my hands down as I’m in correct setting position, my hands would land on my forehead.
To give you a visual example:
(Make sure you’re standing for this) and lift your arms above your head like you are about to set. Then see where your hands are naturally placed when you look up at the “ball” (or where your hands are currently). If your hands are in the correct positioning when you look up, then your hands will be above your forehead (with good spacing of course).
To make this even more clear, you can use a volleyball to practice this positioning (standing):
Toss a ball up, and intend to set it. Place your hands in correct positioning (above your forehead with spacing), and when the ball is contacted with your hands… FREEZE. Now you can check if your contact with the ball was “from your forehead” (the ball would be somewhat close to your eyes if so!).
Incorrect positioning often looks like taking the ball “from your chest” which can result in a carry, or double call from the referees (resulting in a loss of point). This shows why correct positioning is important because it feels awful when you lose points for your team due to your ball handing mistakes. (if you’re a beginner, be easy on yourself as you learn!). Incorrect positioning can also look like taking the ball too far behind your head.
2) Wrists + hand shape
Another one of the first technicalities I learned as a new volleyball setter was how my wrists, and hands should look while I set.
Your wrists when setting should be bend a bit inwards, and your hands should be “cupped” versus having flat hands.
It is easy to misunderstand writing when explaining technicalities, so lets give another visual example of how to practice this:
Wrists: Put both of your hands up in front of your face, with your nails facing you. Your thumbs should be as far apart as a volleyball is, Then start to bring your pointer fingers towards each other like they have magnets attached (but still with distance between them). You’ll notice your wrist’s start to naturally bend, most likely showing correct positioning!
Hands: VERY important with setting is how your hands are shaped when taking an overhand ball. Your hands should never look like you are ready to give a high-five when setting, they should instead have a “C” shape to them. How I learned this is to imagine your hands are (lightly!) holding your neck… then bring your hands out keeping that same shape. THIS is correct hand shape, and creates a great place for a volleyball to be re-directed from!
3) Hips + feet
Once you have the main technicalities of setting down (hands, wrists, placement of hands) you can then focus on making your set’s more accurate. This is usually done by angling your hips, and having correct feet placement.
Let’s dive into another example:
Hips: Practice this with a volleyball net. Start on the volleyball net, in setting position (right side, just off the net, etc). Then have someone toss you a ball for you to set. You will now go for the ball, and before making contact to set rotate your hips to be aligned to the volleyball antenna (Ex: You go off the net, intended to set outside, rotate your hips to face the antenna closest to the outside hitter). This looks like pointing your feet towards your outside hitter (if setting them) and ensuring your hips are also aligned with the antenna. Ensure not to over rotate as well!
Feet: A general rule of thumb for our feet as setters is to have one foot a little in front of the other. However, I often jump set (jumping before making contact with the ball, so contact is in the air) so my feet are often a tricky explanation in regards to jump setting. Ensure your are set, and you are sturdy before setting most importantly.
4) Elbows
Your elbows should both be slightly pointing towards your left, and right side (left elbow pointing left, right elbow pointing right). How you can ensure you have this correct is to see if your forearms are facing each other when setting. If they are, your elbows are possibly too close together. When I set my elbows are pointing out, and my forearms are mainly facing away from my body.
Having correct elbow placement is important because it helps keep your wrists in correct alignment as well!
In conclusion…
Explaining sport technicalities through writing is a tough challenge, so I plan on creating a youtube video in the near future to help explain these 4 techniques. Be on the look out for that!
Additionally, there are tips that are not about technicalities like agility, and “knowing your hitters”. These can be mentioned in a future blog post aw well, in the near future!
If you have any questions please leave a comment, but i hope to see you in a future blog post!
-Coach T