May 13, 1981

"Kill or be Killed" Running a Good Offense

Basics

1. Sets Pushed Out to the Antennas (4’s and 5’s)
a. Deep Shots
b. Line Shots
c. Cross Court
d. Hard Cross Court
2. Setter/Middle Connection
a. Quick Sets (Timing)
* Push 1’s
* Back 1’s
b. 2’s
3. Pass Low/Quick to the Setter (Especially Free Balls)
a. Quicker Pass = Quicker Offense
b. Free Ball = Quicker Pass, Set and Kill

After Basics

1. “Tweeners”
a. Used AFTER Posts are Set (4’s and 5’s)
b. Usually Quick (31’s and B31’s)
2. Back Row Sets
a. Especially Right Side
* Then You Always Have a 3rd Option
* Right Side should be your Best Back Row Hitter
b. Outside Hitter Usually Runs ‘Pipe’
3. Shoots
a. Outside – ALMOST ALWAYS Cross Court
b. Back – ONLY IF your Setter is Good Enough

Advanced

1. Trick Plays
2 Tandems and Stacks
3. Swing Plays
4. Etc. (Coaches Prerogative)

Defense, Offense and Scoring Points

D e f e n s e
"Pull Them Out Of Their Offense"

Best Methods of Defense
1. A Tough Serve
2. A Good Closed Block
3. Good Coverage of Open Shots (Line, Angle, Etc.)
4. Tip Coverage

O f f e n s e
“Better the Ball!”

Best Way to Run a Good Offense
1. Good Pass
2. Eye on the Court (Hitters in Position)
3. Smart Set (With an Eye on the Defense)
4. Good Hit (Pushed to the Hitter)
5. Smart Hit
6. Power Hit

S c o r i n g P o i n t s

Best Ways:
1. Ace Serves
2. Stuff Blocks
3. Better Transitioning

Passing: Starting Your Offense

Basics

Stay Low
Arms’ Straight, Knees Bent
Weight Forward, Stand on the Balls of your Feet
Be Loose and Ready to Move
Make a Flat Passing Area
Stay Behind the Ball, Pass INTO it
Face Towards the Setter

Digging

Hands in the “Ready” Position (Not Down in case the Ball Comes High)
Watch Your Blockers
Watch the Hitter
Get into Position
Know your Position on the Court
a. Know where the Lines are
b. Know where your Teammates are
Stay Low, Even More than Usual
Face INTO the Court

Serve / Receive and Free Ball Passing

Hands on your Knees to Start
Watch and Know the Server
React Early
a. Don’t wait until it gets close to react
b. Move to the Ball
c. React BEFORE the Ball gets to the Net“Push” the Ball to the Setter- Quicker Pass=Quicker Play

Setting

13 Setting Laws to Live By:

1. Set the “HOT HAND”
If Someone has been hitting well, Keep Setting Them

2. Pick on the Weak Blockers
Once you find them, move your plays to overload that side of the court
This Works Especially well with SHORT Setters

3. Run the Middles, But Don’t FORCE the Middles
Running the Middle Well Opens up your outside Hitters
If the passes aren’t there and you FORCE the middles, it can pull them out of their game, and your defense will crumble

4. Set Your Hitters, not just TO your Hitters
Part of Being a Setter is Knowing your Hitters
a. Know WHO your hitters are (Front and Back Row)
b. Know where/How High/How Fast/Etc. Each Player Likes their Sets (Front and Back Row
c. Even on a Bad Pass, Set the Best Option
d. Don’t Forget your Back Row Hitters

5. Remember: Bad Hits Happen to Good Hitters
If One of Your Good Hitters makes a hitting Error, don’t be Afraid to Go Right Back to Him
a. A Good Hitter Will Learn From their Mistakes
i. If They Block Him Line, Next Time He’ll go Angle, etc.
ii. If they triple block, he’ll tip or go High Hands
b. If You Don’t Set Him Soon, you lose your Opportunity to Regain your confidence in him, and for him to regain his confidence in himself

6. Consistent is Better than Flashy
It Doesn’t matter how good ONE PLAY is, if you can’t back it up with a consistantly good offense
No one Wins Games with ONLY FLASHY PLAYS, but some try

7. Open your Middles by Running your Posts and Vice Versa
Outside Sets (Right or Left) need to be Pushed Out to the Antennas
Middle Sets need to be Quick

8. Dump with Purpose, NOT as a LAST RESORT
A Dump is an Offensive Tool, not an Act o Desperation
Remember: Dumps are Blind, Hitters can see their Blockers

9. Wait for the OPPORTUNE MOMENT
Big Plays AT THE RIGHT TIME change the Momentum of a Game
Wait for the BEST TIME to Strike
a. After the Other Team Misses a Serve
b. After they Make a Hitting Error (Especially into a Block)
c. After a Questionable Call (Either Side)
d. After a Time-Out
e. After a Big Play

10. It’s Never Anyone’s TURN to be Set
Don’t Set Someone Just Because they haven’t been set for a While, ALWAYS SET WITH A PURPOSE

11. If Something’s Working, Do it until it Doesn’t
If the Other Team Can’t Stop It, Keep it up until they Can
You Haven’t Run it ENOUGH until they’ve shut it down TWICE

12. Don’t Forget the Back Row
Back Row can be used as much as a weapon as the Front Row if done correctly
Right Side Back Row Means you ALWAYS have a 3rd Hitting Option
‘Pipe’ Sets are a Great Way to Throw off the Blockers Timing

13. Always Know “WHY?”
The Best Setters can go through an entire game, Play-by-Play, and tell you why they set EVERY SINGLE SET
They Could tell you Which were mistakesAnd What they would change if they were to do it again

Hitting

Hitting Laws to Live By:

1. Never Talk Negatively to your Setter
If they are having an Off Night, HIT BETTER
Remember: They Choose How Many Sets You Get
Remember: Their Setting Percentage is Probably Better than Your Hitting Percentage

2. There are No Bad Sets
A Good Hitter can do SOMETHING EFFECTIVE with EVERY Set

3. See Your Blockers, Hit the Ball
ALWAYS Keep the Ball IN FRONT OF YOU, this allows you to See the Block, and the Ball
If you don’t know where the Block is, How can you Hit Around it?
A Hard Shot INTO the Block is Worth Much Less than a Soft Shot Hit AROUND the Block
This also Gives you the Chance to TOOL the Block

4. A Tip that Drops is Worth as Much as a Hard Hit –Sometimes More
Smart Tips are as Much a Weapon as Hard Hits
They’re Worth the Same Amount of Points
They Are Much More Aggravating than Big Hits to Your Opponents

5. Hits Open Tips, and Vice Versa
After a Couple of Great Hits the Passers will Dig in, and the Blockers will Press more, That’s a Great time to Tip
After a Tip, the Blockers won’t Press as Much, and You Can Hit Right Down the Front of them

6. Pick on the Weak Blockers
If Their Hands are Flat, Tool Them
If they aren’t Pressing, Hit Down the Front of them
If the Middle’s Late, Hit Their Lead Arm (the one closest to the other Blocker) as they come Over
If they reach Behind, Tip Just Over their Head, and Out of Reach of their Arm
If They’re Short, Speed Up your Arm Swing and Hit Down onto their Block and Out
If they Don’t Jump very High, Hit Down onto their Block and Out

7. Pick Your Spot, Don’t Just Hit Hard
If You See a Spot open, Hit towards that Spot, not just Cross or Line, but at that Spot
Hit Towards the Weak Passer –OR- the Setter

8. Tip in Smart Spots
Tip Where it will Throw-Off the Offense the Most:
a. Towards the Setter
b. Over the Block and Short
c. Just Off the Block, to the Right or the Left (Make the Block Reach)
d. Where it will take the Most Powerful Hitter out of their Approach

9. Hit the High Percentage Shots:
Line
Hard Cross
Deep Cross

10. Pick on the All-Star
If you can pull Him out of his Game, He will usually pull the rest of the Team Down With Him
Most of the time, even if he just dove on the ground, the Setter will Set Him
Put Him on the Ground, and that will Throw off the Other Team’s Offense

1. It also Makes Him Easier to Dig/Block

Serving (The Ten Commandments of Serving)

Never Miss A Serve When:

1. Your Teammate Just Missed a Serve
2. You Just Came Out of a Time-Out
3. Your Opponent Just Missed a Serve
4. You Missed Your Last Serve
5. The Last Play Ended with a Questionable call


Serving Laws to Live By:

1. Serve the Weak Passer

If Someone Misses a Pass, Serve to them Again (and again, and again…)

2. Mistakes Breed More Mistakes

It Doesn’t matter what Mistake is Made, (Passing, Serving, Hitting, Blocking) it will Throw off their Game- Take Advantage of That

3. Serve the “Head-Case Power-Hitter”

It Doesn’t Matter if He Passes Most of them Perfectly, one missed pass can and will throw off the rest of his game.
It Becomes a very effective way to take him out of the game


4. Make Them Move

A lot of Passers are lazy, instead of moving they’ll reach instead of move
Making them move will really hurt a lazy teams’ Passing (and most teams are Lazy)
Moving a Front row passer around can really throw off their offense
NEVER SERVE STRAIGH TO A PERSON- make them move

5. Serve the Setter

Especially unexperienced setters, many times won’t know what to do
Many times the setter will take the pass, and this will throw off the teams play, and limit their options for a set
Even better than serving to where the setter is, is serving into the path that they’re running to
Even if the setter doesn’t pass the ball, some of the hardest passes are those close to the setter

Blocking: Controlling their Offense

Basics

Line up With the Hitter’s Arm, not His Body
Watch the Angle of the Hitter’s Approach to Judge where to Set the Block
Watch the Hitter, then the Set, then the Hitter to get your timing
Jump Straight up, THEN Press
Press With your HANDS, Don’t Swing Your Arms
Keep Your Hands Turned into the Court
Block Over the Ball
*A well Contacted Block will Hit the Palms of your Hands
Watch Your Hitter, so that you can call out if they tip, or roll shot
Never Reach Back, If they Tip over your Head, let your Back Row People Pick it up
Remember: A Block is designed to Control their Offense, It doesn’t always need to end the play
*Limiting their Options, many times, is just as effective
*Many Hitters Will Miss their Hit if you Take away their Favorite Shot

On the Net

Jump when the Hitters Arm Pulls Back to Swing, Not When the Hitter Jumps
Reach for the Ball, “Cup it”
Push Farther over the Net to Limit the Hitters Options and increase your chance of getting a “Stuff Block”

Back Row (Behind the 10 Foot Line)

Jump when the Hitter Contacts the Ball
Don’t Push as far Over the Net, Instead Reach Higher
Press with Your Hands when the ball contacts them
Watch For the Miss-Hit, be careful not to Accidentally Get tooled off the top of your hands
Don’t Jump if you’re late, instead call “Down Ball”

Transitioning From Defense to Offense

Middles

Watch the Setter, then the Pass, then the Setter
Stay out of the Setter’s Way, Don’t make the setter go around you
Stay on the Left (“On-Hand”) of the Setter, if at all Possible, until you come in to Hit (then move to where your set is going)
Always Go up for a Hit, try to draw the Middle Blocker (no matter how Bad the pass)
If at all Possible Middles on the Front row should NEVER Pass

Outsides

Should Be out and ready to hit First (As soon as you see that the Ball is not going to you)
If the Pass is Bad Be ready for a Troubled Set
If you Pass the Ball, Pass it High, so that you have time to get out and take an approach

Opposites

Wait and Back up for your Approach AFTER you see the pass
Be Ready to set the ball, just in case
When you see that the Setter can get to the Ball, THEN Get out for an ApproachOpposites need to always be ready to hit in the Back Row

Transitioning From Defense to Offense

Middles

Watch the Setter, then the Pass, then the Setter
Stay out of the Setter’s Way, Don’t make the setter go around you
Stay on the Left (“On-Hand”) of the Setter, if at all Possible, until you come in to Hit (then move to where your set is going)
Always Go up for a Hit, try to draw the Middle Blocker (no matter how Bad the pass)
If at all Possible Middles on the Front row should NEVER Pass

Outsides

Should Be out and ready to hit First (As soon as you see that the Ball is not going to you)
If the Pass is Bad Be ready for a Troubled Set
If you Pass the Ball, Pass it High, so that you have time to get out and take an approach

Opposites

Wait and Back up for your Approach AFTER you see the pass
Be Ready to set the ball, just in case
When you see that the Setter can get to the Ball, THEN Get out for an ApproachOpposites need to always be ready to hit in the Back Row

Great Volleyball Quotes

1. “I Teach them Correct Principles and they Govern Themselves.” -Joseph Smith
2. “What I Do Depends on How I Feel About What I Know” -Hyrum Smith
3. “Better the Ball” -Coach Joann Reeve, Ricks College/BYU-Idaho
4. “In the Final Analysis, the Ball Only Knows One Thing: The Angle of the Forearm it Contacts.” -Carl McGowan, BYU
5. “In Volleyball Offense, it’s KILL or BE KILLED.” -Coach Joann Reeve, Ricks College/BYU-Idaho
6. “When the Time for Action is Come, the Time to Prepare is Over.” -Thomas Monson
7. “Out of Small and Simple Things Proceedeth That which is Great.” -Alma
8. “It’s Not Important who Starts the Game, but Who Finishes it.” -John Wooden, UCLA
9. “If Winning Isn’t Everything, Why Do They Keep Score?” -Vince Lombardi
10. “Success is Where Preparation and Opportunity Meet.” -Bobby Unser
11. “As Your Beliefs About Limits Change, the Limits themselves Change.” -Terry Orlick
12. “You Can Motivate by Fear, and You Can Motivate by Reward. But Both are only Temporary. The Only Lasting thing is Self Motivation.” –Homer Rice
13. “It’s a Very Bad Thing to Become Accustomed to Good Luck.” –Publilius Syrus
14. “The 6 W’s: Work Will Win When Wishing Doesn’t.” –Todd Blackledge
15. “Good Guys are a Dime a Dozen, but an Aggressive leader is Priceless.” –Red Blaik
16. “Success is about Having, Excellence is about Being. Success is about Having Money and Fame, but Excellence is Being the Best you can Be.” –Mike Ditka
17. “It ‘Aint what you Eat but how you Chew it.” –Delbert McClinton
18. “The Difference between Failure and Success is doing a thing Nearly Right and doing it Exactly Right.” –Edward C. Simmons
19. “The Harder you Work, the Harder it is to Surrender.”
20. “You Can’t Make a Great Play unless you do it First in Practice.” –Chuck Noll
21. “Things that Hurt, Instruct.” –Benjamin Franklin
22. “It isn’t Hard to be Good from Time to Time in Sports. What is Tough, is Being Good Every Day.” –Willie Mays
23. “He Who Falls in Love with Himself will have No Rivals.” –Anonymous
24. “When You Get to the End of Your Rope, Tie A Knot and Hold On.” –Franklin D. Roosevelt
25. “Difficulties in Life are Intended to make us Better, Not Bitter.” –Dan Reeves
26. “I Could Have been a Rhodes Scholar, Except for My Grades.” –Duffy Daugherty
27. “Sometimes it is More Important to Discover what one Cannot Do than what one Can.” –Lin Yutang
28. “Courage is Resistance to Fear, Mastery of Fear, Not Absence of Fear.” –Anonymous
29. “I’d Run Over My Mother to Win the Super Bowl.” –Russ Grimm
30. “I Don’t Have Any Tricky Plays, I’d Rather Have Tricky Players.” –Abe Lemons
31. “You are Never Really Playing an Opponent. You are Playing Yourself, Your Own Highest Standards, and When You Reach Your Limits, That is Real Joy.” –Arthur Ashe
32. “Victory Belongs to the Most Persevering.” –Napolean
33. “Every Game is an Opportunity to Measure Yourself against your Own Potential.” –Bud Wilkinson
34. “Everyone I Meet is in Some Way My Superior.” –William Shakespeare
35. “I have seen that in Any Great Undertaking, it is Not Enough for a Man to Depend Simply Upon Himself.” –Lone Man
36. “One Finger Cannot Lift a Pebble.” –Hopi Saying
37. “Team Guts Always Beat Individual Greatness.” –Bob Zuppke
38. “One Man Can be a Crucial Ingredient on a Team, but One Man Cannot Make a Team.” –Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
39. “This is the Second Most Exciting Indoor Sport in the World, and the Other One Shouldn’t Have Spectators.” –Dick Vertleib
40. “Be Strong in Body, Clean in Mind, and Lofty in Ideals.” –James Naismith
41. “Sometimes a Players Greatest Challenge is coming to Grips with His Role on the Team.” –Scottie Pippen
42. “The Pitcher has got only a Ball. I’ve got a Bat. So the Percentage of Weapons is in My Favor and I let the Fellow with the Ball do the Fretting.” –Hank Aaron
43. “Never Quit. It is the Easiest Cop-out in the World. Set a Goal and don’t Quit until you Attain it. When you do Attain it, Set Another Goal, and don’t Quit until you Reach it. Never Quit.” –Bear Bryant
44. “There’s No Substitute for Guts.” –Bear Bryant
45. “Show Class, Have Pride and Display Character. If you do, Winning takes care of Itself.” –Bear Bryant
46. “He Can’t Run, He Can’t Pass, and He Can’t Kick- All He Can Do is Beat You.” –Bear Bryant (Speaking of QB Pat Trammel)
47. “When You make a Mistake, Admit it: Learn from it and Don’t Repeat it.” –Bear Bryant
48. “You Have to be Willing to Out-Condition Your Opponents.” –Bear Bryant
49. “In Life You’ll have our Back Up Against the Wall Many Times. You Might As Well Get Used to It.” –Bear Bryant
50. “You Never Know How a Horse Will Pull Until You Hook Him to a Heavy Load.” –Bear Bryant
51. “The First ime you Quit it’s Hard. The Second Time, it Gets Easier. The Third Time You Don’t Even Have to Think About it.” –Bear Bryant
52. “I don’t care how much Talent a Team has- If the Boys don’t Think Tough, Practice Tough, and Live Tough, How Can They Play Together [In a Game]?” –Bear Bryant
53. “A School Without [Volleyball] is in Danger of Deteriorating into a Medieval Study Hall.” –Bear Bryant
54. “Confidence is Contagious, So is Lack of Confidence.” –Bear Bryant
55. “Individual Commitment to a Group Effort- That is What Makes a Team Work, a Company Work, a Society Work, a Civilization Work.” –Bear Bryant
56. “But I Firmly Believe that Any Man’s Finest Hour, His Greatest Fulfillment of All He Holds Dear, is the Moment when He Has Worked His Heart Out in a Good Cause and Lies Exhausted on Field of Battle- Victorious.” –Bear Bryant
57. “It’s Not Whether You Get Knocked Down, It’s Whether You Get Up.” –Bear Bryant
58. “Life’s Battles Don’t Always Go to the Stronger or Faster Man. But Sooner or Later the Man Who Wins is the Man who Thinks He Can.” –Bear Bryant
59. “Things Turn Out Best for those who Make the Best of the way Things Turn Out.” –John Wooden
60. Don’t Measure Yourself by what you Have Accomplished, but by what you Should Have Accomplished with Your Ability.” –John Wooden
61. “Condition Comes from Hard Work During Practice and Proper Mental and Moral Conduct Between Practices.” –John Wooden
62. “Be more Concerned with your Character than your Reputation, because Your Character is what You Really are, while Your Reputation is merely what Others Think You Are.” –John Wooden
63. “Consider the Rights of Others Before your Own Feelings, and the Feelings of Others Before Your Own Rights.” –John Wooden
64. “It’s what you Learn After You Know it All that Counts.” –John Wooden