4-2 volleyball rotation maker
Two setters across the court from each other, and whichever is in the front row sets: the system most youth teams learn first. Type your line-up and get all six rotations, legal at the serve, and where everyone goes next.
Names stay in this browser. Nothing you type is sent to Playmaker unless you press Save this rotation. Free, no account, nothing to install.
Plan your rotations
1. System
Two setters, opposite each other. The one in the front row sets from the net, so there are two hitters at the net and no setter has to run in from the back row.
2. Line-up, in the order you start
Zone 1 is back right, where the server stands; the order goes round to the front right, the middle and the front left, then the back left and the back middle. Leave a box empty and the court shows the role instead.
3. All six rotations
Where everyone stands while the other team serves. Blue circles pass; the dashed line is where each player goes next.
Rotation 1
Legal at the serveS2 sets from zone 4, front row
Passing: OH2, L, OH1
Serves: S1 · libero in for MB2
Rotation 2
Legal at the serveS2 sets from zone 3, front row
Passing: OH2, L, OH1
Serves: OH1 · libero in for MB2
Rotation 3
Legal at the serveS2 sets from zone 2, front row
Passing: OH2, OH1, L
Serves: MB1 · libero in for MB1
Rotation 4
Legal at the serveS1 sets from zone 4, front row
Passing: OH1, L, OH2
Serves: S2 · libero in for MB1
Rotation 5
Legal at the serveS1 sets from zone 3, front row
Passing: OH1, L, OH2
Serves: OH2 · libero in for MB1
Rotation 6
Legal at the serveS1 sets from zone 2, front row
Passing: OH1, OH2, L
Serves: MB2 · libero in for MB2
Every formation keeps the overlap rule (FIVB rule 7.4) at the moment of serve, with half a metre to spare. The libero replaces the back-row middle and does not serve under FIVB rules; some youth and school rule books differ, so check your federation’s.
One page with all six rotations, A4 or US Letter, free. It carries a small playmaker.click mark at the foot, which Pro removes. The share link carries the line-up after the # in the address, which browsers never send to a server, so the names reach the people you send it to and nobody else. Saving keeps it in a free account, and is the only time the names reach us.
How it works
- Choose your systemPick a 5-1, a 6-2 or a 4-2, and whether a libero plays.
- Type your line-upName your setter, outside hitters, middles and opposite in the order they start, zone 1 first. The names stay in your browser.
- Check all six rotationsEach rotation shows where everyone receives serve, who passes and where the setter waits, and every formation is legal under the overlap rule.
- Watch the move to basePress Play to see every player move from their serve-receive spot to the place they play from once the ball is in the air.
- Print it or share itDownload a one-page sheet for A4 or US Letter with all six rotations, or send a link to the team chat. No account needed.
Six rotations, and every one has to be right
Every volleyball coach draws the same sheet at the start of a season. Six players, six zones, six rotations, and in each one the team has to stand somewhere legal while the other side serves, with the right three people ready to pass and the setter free to get to the net. Get one rotation wrong and it is a point to the other team before the ball has crossed the net.
This rotation maker draws all six at once. Choose a 5-1, a 6-2 or a 4-2, say whether a libero plays, and type your line-up in the order you start, zone 1 first. Every rotation appears on a court of its own: who is in which zone, where they receive serve, who passes and who serves when the rotation is yours to serve. Change a name and every court changes with it.
Legal under the overlap rule, every time
At the moment of serve both teams have to be in rotational order. Each front-row player must be nearer the net than the back-row player behind them, and each row has to keep its left to right order, front left, front middle, front right, and the same across the back. That is FIVB rule 7.4, and USA Volleyball and the high-school rule book use the same rule. It only counts at the serve; once the ball is struck, everybody may go anywhere.
Every serve-receive formation here keeps that rule with half a metre to spare, so a child who stands roughly where the sheet says is still legal. The passers are the two outside hitters and the libero, the setter hides where the rule lets them, and each court says so with a tick.
Watch the move to base positions
A printed sheet shows where to stand. It cannot show where to go next. Press Play and every player on all six courts moves from their serve-receive spot to the place they play from once the ball is in the air: hitters at the net, the libero left back, the back-row hitter in the middle of the back court and the setter or the opposite right back. On the sheet, a dashed line from each player shows the same move.
The three systems
- 5-1. One setter sets in all six rotations, with the opposite across the court. There are three hitters at the net when the setter is in the back row and two when they are in the front. The 5-1 rotation page opens on it.
- 6-2. Two setters opposite each other, and whichever is in the back row sets, so three hitters are at the net in every rotation. See the 6-2 rotation.
- 4-2. The same two setters, but the one in the front row sets: the system most youth teams learn first, with two hitters at the net. See the 4-2 rotation.
The libero
The libero comes in for whichever middle blocker is in the back row and stands where they would have stood, so the formation does not change. Under FIVB rules the libero may not serve: when that middle reaches zone 1 on your serve, they serve and the libero waits. Some youth, school and college rule books let the libero serve in one rotation, so check your federation's rules. Turn the libero off and the back-row middle passes in the same spot.
Print it, share it, keep it
Download the sheet for one page with all six rotations on A4 or US Letter, the passers
filled in and the move to base drawn on. It is free, with a small Playmaker mark at the foot
that Pro removes. Share the link to put the line-up in the team chat: it travels after the
# in the link, which browsers never send to a server. Save this rotation keeps it in your
free account for next week, and is the only time the names reach us.
Playing time is a different question, and it has its own page: the volleyball playing time rotation shares the sets fairly round the squad. To draw a play of your own on the whole court, open the volleyball play designer.
Volleyball rotations: common questions
What is a rotation in volleyball?
Which of your six players stands in which of the six zones. When your team wins the serve back, everybody moves one zone clockwise, so a line-up has six rotations, and the team needs a serve-receive formation for each one.
What is the overlap rule?
At the serve, each front-row player must be nearer the net than the back-row player directly behind them, and in each row the left player must be nearer the left sideline than the middle player, and the middle nearer it than the right. Diagonals do not count, and the rule ends the moment the ball is served.
Are the formations legal?
Yes. Every serve-receive formation the page draws, in every system and every rotation, with or without a libero, keeps the overlap rule with half a metre to spare, and an automated test checks every one of them against the rule.
Can the libero serve?
Not under FIVB rules. Some youth, school and college rule books allow the libero to serve in one rotation, so check your own federation's rules. On the sheet the middle the libero replaced serves when their turn comes.
Which system should a youth team play?
Most start with a 4-2, because the setter is always at the net and never has to run in from the back row. Teams with one strong setter move to a 5-1, and teams with two setters who can both hit often play a 6-2.
Do the names I type get sent anywhere?
No. The rotations are worked out in your browser, and nothing you type is sent to us unless you press Save this rotation with an account. A share link carries the line-up after the # in the link, which browsers never send to a server.
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