Nolan
Level 3
Directory:
1. Introduction
-What is this?
-Levels
-Further Volleyball Resources
2. New Skills-Serves
-Dumps
-Blocking
-Miscellaneous
-Repositioning
3. Positions-Setter
-Spiker
-Libero
4. Other Formats-1v1
-2v2
5. Additional Information-What school teams are looking for
-What position is best for you
Introduction
What is this?
This is a guide to make information more accessible for volleyball players looking to reach the next level of playing on the SchoolRP volleyball plugin, and to store volleyball information for the future. Before reading this guide I’d advise you first look at the Volleyball Information thread posted by KimiNoUso, linked below, which gives insight into the rules and knowledge you should be familiar with already, which also doubles up as a Beginner’s Guide to Volleyball.
Levels
I have categorized a player’s volleyball skill into 4 Levels to indicate how good they are. The levels are as follows, in ascending level number; Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Expert. The levels would scale to the following:-
Further Volleyball Resources
- LEVEL 1: Beginner’s Guide to Volleyball & Rules
- LEVEL 3: Advanced Guide to Volleyball (TBA)
- LEVEL 4: Expert Guide to Volleyball (TBA)
Skills
These skills will be discussed more in depth later in the guide, such as when they should be used, and different variations of each skill.
2. (i) Basic Net dump [Slow and Fast]
1. [Slow]
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: stand directly under the ball when it's falling and look directly up, when it’s 1.5 blocks above you jump to meet the ball whilst performing first hit, promptly move your head to spike the ball down into their court, perform second hit.
2. [Fast]
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: stand directly under the ball when it's falling and look directly up, when it’s 1.5 blocks above you jump to meet the ball whilst performing first hit, hold in both W and Sprint key, promptly move your head down to spike the ball down into their court, perform second hit.
2. (ii) Setter Line Dump Difficulty: ★★★☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: stand half a block back from the ball whilst it’s falling and follow the ball with your cursor, when it’s 1.5 blocks above you jump whilst moving forward (hold w), perform the first hit, hold in the sprint button, promptly move your head down to spike into their court, perform the second hit.
3. (i) Crouch Blocking
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: jump, hold crouch, hit the ball.
3. (ii) Crouch Blocking a Serve
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: jump, hold crouch, hit the ball.
4. (i) Flick
Difficulty: ★★☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: get inside/behind/under the ball and flick yourself 180° around to hit the ball up to the setter box.
5. (i) High receives to setter box
Difficulty: ★☆☆☆☆
An explanation of how to do it: get under the ball and hit it upwards towards the setter box.
Positions
With each position there are many different aspects and 100 different ways to play them, to make this more digestible I am going to outline a “Formula for Success”. In each section I will give an explanation on how to best play each position to give you the highest chance of winning a game. Refer back to Skills for video footage of each move in this section.Setter
(i) Dumping
A setter should dump when the ball is too close to the net as spikes can be easily blocked at this distance. Furthermore, dumps should be used as a mixup to throw your opponent off. To do this you should use the net dumping technique.
(ii) Spike Serves
This skill is useful to achieve “Service Ace”s which are points gained by a serve.
(iii) Crouch Blocking
This technique is used to stop an attack midair as soon as it crosses the net, allowing for the setter to either set for the spiker or to set the ball.
PRO TIP: To block a dump, jump when the ball is 1.5 blocks above the opponent’s head, and to block a spike, delay your jump until the opponent jumps first.
(iv) Crouch Blocking a serve
This technique is essentially the same as Crouch Blocking but instead of stopping a normal attack, this will stop the opponent’s serve.
Spiker
(i) High receives to the setter box
Spikers are positioned at the back court and handle part of the defense back there, at the intermediate level a spiker should be trying to get as many balls up to the setter line as possible, and with as much height as possible to allow more time for the setter and yourself to coordinate an attack.
(ii) Back court flicks
Linking to the previous point, you should be trying to get as many balls up to the setter as possible, and therefore should attempt to get inside/behind some balls and flick yourself 180° around to hit the ball up to the setter box.
(iii) Spike Serves
This skill is useful to achieve “Service Ace”s which are points gained by a serve.
Libero
(i) High receives to the setter box
Liberos are positioned at the back court and handle the defense back there, at the intermediate level a libero should be trying to get as many balls up to the setter line as possible, and with as much height as possible to allow more time for the setter and spiker to coordinate an attack.
(ii) Back court flicks
Linking to the previous point, you should be trying to get as many balls up to the setter as possible, and therefore should attempt to get inside/behind some balls and flick yourself 180° around to hit the ball up to the setter box.
(iii) Positioning yourself for rebounds
When the setter and spiker are about to spike, you should pay attention to the opposing team’s blocker to see where they are aiming to block the ball back to on your side of the court.
Other Formats
Although 3v3 is the main format to play volleyball in, there are other formats that are also played.1v1
(i) Spike Serves
This skill is useful to achieve “Service Ace”s which are points gained by a serve.
(ii) Dumping
You should attempt to dump the ball when it is close to the net if possible using Basic Net Dumps and Setter Line Dumps.
(iii) High Receives
This allows you more time to position yourself for an attack, and receiving the ball high and forward towards the setter box allows you more offensive options.
(iv) Set-spikes when ball is too low/for a mixup
Sometimes the ball can be too low down to get under it and dump, in these situations it’s best to just set-spike the ball like at the beginner level. As well as that, it can be used as a good mix-up to mess up the timing of the blocker.
2v2
On each team there should be one person playing setter, and one person playing both spiker and libero in one. Both players can be anywhere on the court at any given time and this format tends to lean towards more offense based games rather than defense due to the lack of 1 extra person in the back row at all times. Although players can be anywhere, including taking half the court each to counter side-serves, the two players normally default to this positioning:
Additional Information
What school teams are looking for
1. A position they need filled
When a tryout is announced it is because members have either left or been kicked from the team, leaving a position open. This means their primary objective when looking for a new player to join the team, is that they can fill the newly opened position. Before tryouts ask a member of the team you are trying out for what position they are looking to fill, and if you are familiar with or proficient in the position. Let them know at the beginning of the tryout in introductions.2. Game knowledge
In a tryout there will be a lot of players, some of which are not at team-level and will be hitting the ball any which way. A team is looking for someone with general knowledge of what is expected of the position they are playing and this will become extremely apparent when contrasted with the candidates who do not possess this knowledge.3. Ability to work with teammates
Being able to communicate and work in unison with your teammates shows how adaptable you are. This will show that you will mesh well with any 2 players on a team and can work effectively with existing players on the team you are trying out for.4. Mechanical skills
A team will be looking for someone who is mechanically capable at volleyball also. A setter can show this through dumps and serves, a spiker can show this through serves and spikes, and a libero can show this through consistent receives.5. Don’t be toxic
In a team it is important to keep your cool, if you are seen to be telling off your teammates or ordering them around it can reflect badly on yourself. If you have shown you possess team potential despite having sub-par teammates, teams will often notice and move you around to pair you with more adequate players after taking your team off.What position is best for you
1. Low vs High ping
Low ping (0-70ms) players tend to be more suited for receive based, defensive positions such as libero and spiker due to their small latency on hits. High ping (70+ms) players are best suited to setters where the high latency allows for more consistent dumps.2. Aggressive vs Passive playstyle
Aggressive, offense-based playstyles are best suited for setters. Setters are the control-tower of the team and make most of the calls, being close to the net and nearly always guaranteed possession of the ball on each turn allows for them to make the most offensive plays, especially since they aren’t entirely reliant on other positions to make their plays. Libero is the opposite, being best suited for passive, defense-based playstyles. Liberos are mostly supporting roles to the setter and spiker, allowing them to make the offensive moves for the team. Spiker is a medium between the aggressive and passive playstyle, it is best suited for someone who likes to balance the two. Spikers are a supporting role to the setter, acting as part of the defense and opening more offensive options to the setter with their spikes, but they can also throw in mixups of their own and direct the setter to where they want to attack.3. Enjoyability
Most importantly, you should play the position(s) that you enjoy the most. In volleyball the best way to play is the one that is the most fun for you. May that be dumping as a setter, spiking the ball as a spiker, or receiving the ball as a libero. It is your own decision.
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