It would be unfair to qualify some volleyball positions as being less important than others! However, numbers don’t lie! Indeed …
Statistics have proven that teams with a superior setter are usually the winning teams! All the offensive strategies require going through the setter who usually set the ball for the spiker to score the point. The better the setter, the more scoring opportunities you have, and the better chances you have for winning.
This article breakdown this position as well as other important volleyball positions!
What makes the setter position that important …
Despite his importance, a setter may often go unnoticed, and will not get the praise or the awards reserved for the big hitters. Nevertheless, a hitter is only as good as the setter that feeds him or her with the opportunities to score!
A setter needs to have tactical awareness, and have an instinctive feel for who the set should go to and when. They also need to know where the opposition blockers are likely to be, so that they are able to provide the hitters with one-on-one opportunities.
They also need to know which of their hitters are in form, and who is currently out of touch, so they can divert the ball accordingly.
A setter must be an excellent passer and have great all-round ball control. That means the ability to pass the ball accurately to the hitter at the right height and pace.
And, because not every play will go exactly to plan, they will also have to have excellent digging ability when their team is scrambling to save a point.
Like all leaders on the sports field, a setter needs to have excellent leadership skills, because they are typically the on-court coach.
The rest of the team will be looking to them for instruction and guidance on what plays to execute, so they need to be clear in their messaging, as well as encouraging if somebody has made a mistake.
Other important volleyball positions …
Recommendation: I highly recommend you checking this volleyball book. You will learn more not only about the Setter but also about other important positions and what it takes to perform at a high level in each one of them.
The server is the player that stands at the baseline with the ball and hits the ball over the net to put it into play.
Serving is often taken for granted but it is a very important element of volleyball and represents an opportunity to create an advantage for a team.
Serving the ball to a player on the other side that is known to be a weak passer, for example, means that the server’s side is more likely to win the point.
Serving is the one skill in volleyball over which a player has complete control, because nobody can touch the ball before the server. The choice of angle, speed and power is completely theirs. But, at the same time, it comes with a lot of responsibility.
A service error, or striking the ball into the net, immediately hands the advantage back to the opposing side, and can deflate the momentum of a team.
And that is why not all players enjoy the burden of responsibility that comes with serving.
The libero only plays in the back row, and because they are not allowed to attack the ball, they are typically smaller than front row players. Libero is generally considered an easy volleyball position!
They wear a different colour jersey from their teammates because they are allowed to replace any player in the back row without the need to make a substitute.
This is a very specialised position because they will often be the person designated to receive the service and to begin the counter-attack.
A libero needs to have excellent ball handling skills, and need to be able not only to dig well, but also to set the ball as well during broken plays.
In addition, they need to have very fast reactions and to be athletic, because there may be a lot of scrambling around the court required.
Most important role for each position …
The role of the setter is vital, because they are the people often responsible for initiating the attack. They act as the bridge between the receiver of the ball from the service, whether this be the libero, or any other of the backcourt players, and the spikers whose job is to score the majority of the points for the team.
In order to do this, they need excellent court awareness. They need to know not only where there hitters are placed, but also where the opposition blockers are standing, so they can choose the spiker with the best chance of succeeding.
At the same time, a setter needs to be able to dig balls out as well. That is because not every play will work out perfectly, especially if the service from the other side has been a good one. The ability to recover a situation is as important as delivering a good pass.
A setter will often be the team captain or leader because they see all the action at once, so a vital quality to possess is excellent communication skills and the ability to inspire their teammates.
Servers need to study the opposition and work out who are the weakest receivers, and also where the coverage on the court is the sparsest. And they also need to have good spatial awareness of the dimensions of the court.
At the same time sometimes, the server has to be bold and not always go with the safety first approach. Better to risk the odd serve dropped into the net if aggression wins more points than it loses.
The libero may not be the most glamorous position on the field, because of its defensive responsibilities, but it is one of the most important, and one which requires a variety of skills to executed properly.
It is unique, not only because the libero gets to wear a different coloured jersey to the rest of the team, but because the role demands a fair degree of autonomy in what is otherwise a team sport.
The libero must be able to insert themselves into any position in the back row, and choose when to come on to the court and when to drop out. At the same time, they are often the first receiver of the service, so they need to have excellent digging and passing skills, and they may also need to be athletic.
Most popular volleyball position
The most popular volleyball position from the viewpoint of the spectator is that of the spiker, or the hitter. They are the ones that rise the highest above the net and despatch the ball with power and speed into their opponent’s court, with the ball travelling through the air in the blink of the eye.
The Hitter is also considered by many as the best volleyball position for taller players!
Anybody who gets in the way needs to be aware!
One of the most famous spikers of all-time is the Serbian Ivan Miljković, who earned the nickname “Ivan the Terrible” during his career.
A well-built and exceptionally strong opposite hitter, he acquired a reputation for the variety of his shots, and technique.
He was also renowned for his footwork, and ability to generate good speed on his approach to the ball from almost any angle and distance from the ball. .
Miljković was the first player in the history of the World League to receive the Most Valuable Player Award four times.
Then there is Lorenzi Bernardi from Italy, widely regarded as one of the best all-round volleyball players ever.
The hitter is a double European and World Champion, Olympic silver medallist, and five-times winner of FIVB World League.
Bernardi stood out from many of his peers, because not only was he a multi-talented hitter, but also because he became known for his superior passing ability.
On the female side, one of the best spikers in the world is Sheilla Tavares who plays as an opposite hitter for the Brazil national team.
She was part of the squad that won Olympic gold in Beijing in 2008, and again four years later in London, and has a host of other medals and awards to her name.
Her success has led Tavares, who is over six feet tall, to being one of the highest paid volleyball players in the world.
Final Thoughts …
This article is more adapted for coaches than players. In other words, you as a player should not consider that there are volleyball positions that are more important than others. Each position has its own importance and role.
That is to say, you as a player, should learn all positions and develop your skills of all of them!
However, for a coach being aware of the importance of a position will help him build tactics and strategies based on those positions in order to have the edge during volleyball games.
Last thing I would love you to do, is to check this helpful guide on how to choose the right volleyball position for you! I am sure you will find it useful …