Setter footwork: setting to 4 and 2

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Volleyball drill · Age 10 and up

A setter who arrives late sets on the run, and a set made on the run goes anywhere. This drill trains the part of setting nobody sees: the release from the back row, the run to the target, and the stop with the right foot forward and the shoulders square to the left antenna, so the front set to zone 4 and the back set to zone 2 come from the same position and the block cannot read which is coming.

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Time
15 minutes
Players
A setter, a coach or a tosser, and a hitter or a catcher in zones 4 and 2
Equipment
  • 10 balls and a cart
  • A cone on the target, a metre off the net and 6 metres from the left sideline
  • A hoop or a chair at each antenna as a target if you have no hitters

Setup

  1. The setter (S) starts in zone 1, 7.5 metres from the left sideline and 6.5 metres back from the net.
  2. The coach (C) stands near the middle of the court, about 4.5 metres back, with the balls.
  3. An outside hitter (OH) waits at the left of the court, 3.6 metres back, and the opposite (OPP) on the right, ready for the back set.
  4. The setter runs to the target. The coach tosses a high ball to the target, and the setter sets it high to the outside hitter in zone 4.
  5. Every second ball, the setter sets the same height backwards to the opposite in zone 2.

Coaching points

  • Get to the target before the ball does, then stop. Setting while still moving sends the ball where the feet are going.
  • Right foot slightly forward, hips and shoulders square to the left antenna, every time, whichever way you are setting.
  • Hands up early, above the forehead, in the shape of the ball. Contact with the pads of the fingers, not the palms.
  • Front set and back set from the same body position, so the opposition block cannot read it from your shoulders.

On the run sheet: Run to the target, stop, right foot forward, face the left antenna. Set from your forehead, high to 4 and the same height back to 2

Progressions

  1. The coach tosses off target, a step short or a step wide, so the setter has to move to it.
  2. The coach calls 4 or 2 as the ball is tossed, so the setter decides late.
  3. Add a middle, so the setter has a quick ball in front of them as a third choice.

How it runs

The setter (S) starts in zone 1, back right, where a setter spends half of every match. They run to the target, a metre off the net and a little right of centre, between zones 2 and 3. The coach (C) tosses a high ball to the target. While the ball is in the air the outside hitter (OH) makes a curved approach from the left of the court, and the setter sets a high ball to the left antenna. The animation ends as the set reaches the hitter, who would hit it. In the drill, the next ball is a back set to the opposite (OPP) waiting in zone 2 on the right.

In the animation the setter arrives before the coach tosses. In the drill, toss as the setter releases, so they learn to run and find the ball at the same time, as they will in a match.

The rule it is practising

Catch and double contact. The ball must be hit, not caught or thrown, and a player may not touch it twice in a row. A set that sits in the hands, or comes off one hand before the other, is a fault under the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules. Setting from a stopped, square position is what keeps both hands touching the ball at the same moment.

The rules about who may set are generous: a back-row setter may set from anywhere, including in front of the attack line, as long as they do not attack the ball from above the net. Youth leagues and mini-volleyball formats judge sets very differently, some allowing a short catch on the second contact, so check your federation's or league's rules.

The mistakes to watch for

Setting before the feet have stopped. Turning to face where the set is going, which tells the block. A low, fast set to a young hitter who needs time. And a setter who drifts towards the antenna as they run, so the target moves and the passers lose it.

More volleyball drills

Put Setter footwork: setting to 4 and 2 in Tuesday's session

It lands on your practice plan already timed, with the coaching cue printed under it, next to your own plays.

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