The 5-1 Volleyball Rotation Explained: A Beginner Friendly Description
Posted on: 4/14/25
Last Updated: 4/14/25
Author: Thalia Urena
Wether you’re a Volleyball coach or an athlete, knowing the rotations is a vital part of your success seen in each match-up. Since there are numerous rotation options that coaches can use, its important that athletes and coaches are confident in their understanding of each system to ensure their confidence.
In this blog post I will give a beginner friendly description of the 5-1 rotation, one that is often seen in higher levels of volleyball (Varsity teams, Collegiate, and professional).
If you want to learn the basics of rotations (What is rotating in volleyball?) prior to learning this higher intensity 5-1 rotation check out the link below which will bring you to my fundamental description of what/when/why: volleyball rotations (at the simplest level):
https://defyinggravityvolleyball.com/blog/how-to-rotate-in-volleyball-what-is-rotating-in-volleyball
With that being said…lets dive right in to the 5-1 rotation!
What is the 5-1 Volleyball Rotation?
The 5-1 Volleyball rotation can be defined as a volleyball rotation which has 5 hitters, and 1 setter. The setter sets from both the front and back-row in the 5-1 rotation. Additionally, when the setter is playing out of the back-row (court positions 1, 6, and 5) there are only two front row hitters available to set up for their offense. To add even more fun… when the setter is in the front row (court positions 4, 3, and 2) they have the choice to be an attacker themselves at the net.
The 5-1 rotation is an option which is commonly used with experienced teams (ex: High school Varsity teams, collegiate, professional). With the amount of agility, stamina, and athleticism needed from a setter is makes sense that the 5-1 rotation is mainly seen with more experienced teams!
What are the Advantages of a 5-1 rotation?
There are advantages and disadvantages for every rotation option, but its vital as a coach to ensure you are choosing the best option for your current team and programs needs/talents. Each season will bring different dynamics, talent, and challenges with your athletes so knowing all your options advantages & disadvantages will help you make the correct choice for which rotation will best support your team’s needs and talent.
Pros:
One setter for all 6 rotations = Setting consistency! Hitters do not have to adjust to a new setter every 3 rotations… big advantage!
Running offensive plays: With one setter for the entire match, hitters can work with that setter to practice complex offensive plays to run during a game. This can look like running a “shoot” with the outside, a slide with middle, etc!
Well rounded setters: A well rounded setter can not only set but also block, play defense, etc… and the 5-1 is the best option to ensure that setter gets the most opportunties to impact multiple areas on the court.
Setter is an offensive threat when playing front-row: When the setter is playing in the front-row (positions 4, 3, and 2) they have the option to be a threat at the net as well. This can look like a “setter dump” which is when a setter hits/tips/pushes a ball over the net on the 2nd ball (versus setting the ball to their hitters on the 2nd ball).
What are the disadvantages of a 5-1 rotation?
Lets also discuss the disadvantages of running a 5-1 rotation, because this will also help you make the best decision for your team based on their current needs, talent, and goals of the season.
Cons
Dependance on one setter: Since the rotation has one setter playing the entire match, this makes the team dependent on that setter. This can cause issues if that setter gets injured, has an off-game, or feels too much pressure for that big of a task.
Setter needs stamina and Agility: Coaches who choose to run a 5-1 rotation (I have used it for numerous seasons myself) must ensure that setter has stamina and agility. The setter will need to have enough stamina to play a full 5 set match if it came down to it… and that can be a lot for some athletes!
Setter needs high skill level to excel: I have run multiple seasons using a 5-1 rotation, but I have also purposefully chosen to not run a 5-1 rotation with teams who I knew were not ready to handle it. Not only do you need to have a highly skilled and well-rounded setter, you also need a team who can uphold that standard with their serves, passes, attacks, blocks, etc.
How to run a 5-1 rotation
Now that we have learned what a 5-1 rotation is, and the pros and cons of choosing to use the rotation… we can move into what the 5-1 rotation looks like!
When teaching rotations you need a lot of visuals, and verbal instructions to ensure your athletes can deeply understand it and remember throughout the season. That being said, there is no way I could type out a description of all 6 serve receive rotations for the 5-1 system I run with my team… but I can offer a free Youtube video description, and a downloadable copy of my 5-1 system + an in-game cheat sheet of it!
Link to Downloadable template of my 5-1 rotation + In-game cheatsheet:
(Coming this week!)
Link to Youtube video:
(Coming this week!)
In conclusion…
Learning new rotations as an athlete or coach can be a frustrating, time consuming, and overwhelming process… but the pay off is often times worth it! As someone who ran a 5-1 rotation system as an athlete, but also taught it and ran it as a head coach… I know both sides of this coin and the hard work was worth it in the end! This is my favorite system to run as a coach when I have the right setter and team to keep up with it so I hope my blog, Youtube video, and downloadable templates help you (and your team) excel in your season.
See you in the next blog post!
-Coach T