Three passers, and a setter who starts deep
Volleyball · Set piece · 6 of your players and 1 opponents
Both outside hitters and the libero share the passing line, the opposite and middle wait at the net, and the setter tucks in behind the right-side passer, ready to run to the target the moment the ball is served.
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Who stands where
Serve receive, setter in 1 is the first formation most volleyball coaches teach, because the setter starts in the back right corner, zone 1, where they will serve from in this rotation. Our six are numbered by their zones. The setter (1) stands 8.4 m from the left sideline and 7.6 m back from the net. The front-row outside hitter (2) is in front of them, 7.2 m across and 5.6 m from the net, taking the right of the passing line. The middle blocker (3) and the opposite (4) are at the net, 1.2 m off it, the middle about 4 m in from the left sideline and the opposite 1.2 m in. The back-row outside hitter (5) passes on the left, 1.8 m in and 5.8 m back, and the libero (6) takes the middle of the court, 6.2 m back. Their server is drawn on their end line.
Why the setter has to start deep
The overlap rule (FIVB rule 7.4) says each front-row player must be nearer the net than the back-row player behind them at the moment of serve. Zone 2 is in front of zone 1, so the right passer must be nearer the net than the setter. That is why the setter stands behind the passer rather than beside them, and why the left-to-right order across the back row (5, then 6, then 1) still holds with the setter wide on the right. Every pair here is at least half a metre apart, so a nervous twelve-year-old can stand in the wrong place by a step and still be legal.
Coaching it
- Release on contact. The setter may leave the moment the server hits the ball, not before. Draw their run to the target, between zones 2 and 3, and animate it so they see the timing.
- Seams belong to someone. Decide who takes the ball between the libero and each outside hitter, and write it on the diagram before the first drill.
- Front row stays out of the way. The middle and opposite are not passers in this shape; they open up and get ready to attack.
The volleyball rotation maker prints this shape for all six rotations with your players' names, and the volleyball play designer lets you draw the setter's run and share it as a link.
Also known as
- serve receive
- rotation 1
- 5-1
- three passers
- overlap rule
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Put the Serve receive, setter in 1 on a pitch
It opens with the shape already drawn. Move the players your team does differently, drag the runs, and send your squad a link that animates.
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