READ DEFENSE SYSTEM
There is a lot of information to process as a player waits in the read position, ready to defend against the opponent's attack. To successfully dig the opponent's attack requires mental and physical skills that permit a player to move to intercept the ball's line of flight in the least amount of time with the smallest chance of error. The available reaction time to an opponent's attack is too brief for anything less than a player's complete on-court attention and an all out effort. To do this efficiently, defenders must first accurately track the flight of the ball which can be moving up to 75 miles per hour. Then, after determining whether the ball is in-bounds or out-of-bounds, decide where and how to intercept the ball in its line of flight. Defenders then must move their center of gravity (including the feet, legs, upper body, arms, and hands) toward the ball and do so in a manner that takes the least amount of time. And while all of this is occurring, the defenders must work to position the digging platform (the configuration of the shoulders, arms, and hands) so precisely that the ball will rebound toward a target near the net, where the setter is waiting. The task is made easier when the defender makes a perfect read and is in position to dig the ball without having to move. Usually, however, defenders must move to the ball from their read positions.
The perimeter, rotate and counter-rotate systems strengthen certain areas of the court at the expense of others. The perimeter's strength is in defending against the hard spike, especially those hits directed toward the sidelines and endline. It is vulnerable to tips, off‑speed shots and rebounds off the block or net. The rotate and counter-rotate cover the tip but, in doing so, lose a digger in the deep court. In the read system, the defense starts in a perimeter and then either stays or adjusts according to the opponent's attack. The defense could rotate, counter-rotate or moves into an alignment that is out-of-the-ordinary. This system requires skilled mobile defenders. It requires defenders who can see the opponents' attack taking place and sense the movement and positions of their teammates. The goal of the players in the read system is to disregard certain attacks as they become either impossible or improbable. The players adjust their positions according to a new set of probabilities. A team's line digger may move forward, back, or into the center of the court. The off-blocker adjusts her position in relation to the net and the attack. The deep diggers respond to the movements of their teammates. No team member is locked into a pattern.
Reading Rotation Defensive System
Each of the six
players on the court assumes a starting position within the team's defensive
system whenever the ball passes over the net to the opponent's side.
The starting positions of the front row players are based on the previously
mentioned attack slots.
The starting positions of the three backcourt players are as follows: the RIGHT BACK lines up 3 to 5 feet inside the court from the right sideline on the 10 foot line (front and inside zone 1.) The LEFT BACK lines up 3 to 5 feet inside the court from the left sideline on the 10 foot line (front and inside zone 5.) The MIDDLE BACK lines up on the middle of the endline (back and center of zone 6.)
The starting positions of the three blocking players are determined by the opponent's potential points of attack. Blockers starting positions are designated using the five attack zones previously described and are listed from left to right as three numeric labels. That is, the alignment of the three blockers in their starting positions is listed with the left blocker and ending with the right blocker. If the positions are listed 135, as shown above, then the LEFT BLOCKER is in attack slot 1, the MIDDLE BLOCKER is in attack slot 3 and the RIGHT BLOCKER is in attack slot 5.
For an opponent's
left side attack (our right side), the right front and middle front blockers
will block the ball. The left front blocker steps away from the net
and takes a digging position near the attack line and plays any tips, dinks, or
deflections behind the block directed towards the center of the
court. The #5 digger (left back) moves to the left sideline half the
distance between herself and the middle back and lining up on the middle
blocker's inside shoulder ("see the hitter".) The #6
digger (middle back) rotates towards the right sideline and faces the
hitter. She lines up in the middle of the double block or in any gap
between the middle and the outside blocker. She cuts off any hit
directed towards the endline and the deep line shot. The #1 digger
(right back) positions herself on the attack line and between the
blockers. Her main responsibility is to cover any tips or any balls
deflected off the blockers' hands.
For an opponent's
right side attack (our left side), the left front and middle front blockers will
block the ball. The right front blocker steps away from the net and
takes a digging position near the attack line and plays any tips, dinks or
deflections behind the block directed towards the center of the
court. The #1 digger (right back) moves to the right sideline half
the distance between herself and the middle back and lining up on the middle
blocker's inside shoulder ("see the hitter".) The #6
digger (middle back) rotates towards the left sideline and faces the
hitter. She lines up in the middle of the double block or in any gap
between the middle and the outside blocker. She cuts off any hit
directed towards the endline and the deep line shot. The #5 digger
(right back) positions herself on the attack line and between the
blockers. Her main responsibility is to cover any tips or any balls
deflected off the blockers' hands.
For an opponent's
middle attack (right handed hitter), the middle blocker will single block the
ball. The left front blocker will back pedal to a position near the
intersection of the left sideline and attack line. The left front
blocker is responsible for any tips or deflected balls directed towards her or
behind the middle blocker. The right front blocker will step away
from the net and play any tips or dinks over the block directed toward the
center of the court or towards her. The #5 digger (left back) will
take a position on the left sideline half the distance between
herself and the middle back and lining up on the middle blocker's outside
shoulder ("see the hitter") and is responsible for any hits directed
toward the left back area of the court. The #6 digger (middle back)
is lined up behind the block on the endline and is responsible for anything and
everything in front of her position. The #1 digger (right back) will
take a position on the right sideline half the distance between herself and the
middle back and lined up on the middle blocker's inside shoulder ("see the
hitter") and is responsible for any "cut backs" by the opponent's
middle hitter towards her position or the right corner.
Reading Perimeter Defensive System
Each of the six players on the court assumes a starting position within the
team's defensive system whenever the ball passes over the net to the opponent's
side. The
starting
positions of the front row players are based on the previously mentioned attack
slots.
The starting positions of the three backcourt players are as follows: the
RIGHT BACK lines up 3 to 5 feet inside the court from the right sideline on the
10 foot line (front and outside zone 1.) The
LEFT BACK lines up 3 to 5 feet inside the court from the left sideline on the 10
foot line (front and outside zone 5.) The
MIDDLE BACK lines up on the middle of the endline (back and center of zone 6.)
The starting positions of the three blocking players are determined by the opponent's potential points of attack. Blockers starting positions are designated using the five attack zones previously described and are listed from left to right as three numeric labels. That is, the alignment of the three blockers in their starting positions is listed with the left blocker and ending with the right blocker. If the positions are listed 1-3-5, as shown above, then the LEFT BLOCKER is in attack slot 1, the MIDDLE BLOCKER is in attack slot 3 and the RIGHT BLOCKER is in attack slot 5.
For an opponent's left side attack (our right side), the right front and middle front blockers will block the ball. The left front blocker steps away from the net and takes a digging position near the attack line and plays any tips or dinks behind the block directed towards the center of the court. The #5 digger (left back) positions herself on or near the left sideline and moves parallel with the right sideline, lining up on the middle blockers inside shoulder ("see the hitter") but not going past the attack line. The #6 digger (middle back) moves facing the hitter in a side, shallow arch, to a position on the endline. She lines up in the middle of the double block or in any gap between the middle and the outside blocker. She cuts off any hit directed towards the endline, the short crosscourt corner shot and the deep line shot. The #1 digger (right back) turns towards the block. If she can see the hitter, she backs up to a position half way between the attack line and endline. If the blockers cover the hitter so that the right back digger can not see the hitter, then she should position herself to move forward to cover any tips or any balls deflected off the blockers' hands.
For an opponent's right side attack (our left side), the left front and middle
front blockers will block the ball. The
right front blocker steps away from the net and takes a digging position near
the attack line and plays any tips or dinks behind the block directed towards
the center of the court. The #5
digger (left back) turns towards the block.
If she can see the hitter, she backs up to a position half way between
the attack line and endline. If the
blockers cover the hitter so that the left back digger can not see the hitter,
then she should position herself to move forward to cover any tips or any balls
deflected off the blockers' hands. The
#6 digger (middle back) moves facing the hitter in a side, shallow arch, to a
position on the endline. She lines
up in the middle of the double block or in any gap between the middle and the
outside blocker. She cuts off any
hit directed towards the endline, the short crosscourt corner shot and the deep
line shot. The #1 digger
(right back) positions herself on or near the right sideline and moves parallel
with the left sideline lining up on the middle blocker's inside shoulder
("see the hitter") but not going past the attack line.
For an opponent's middle attack (right handed hitter), the middle blockers will single block the ball. The left front blocker will step away from the net and play any tips or dinks over the block directed toward the center of the court or towards her. The right front blocker will step away from the net and play any tips or dinks over the block directed toward the center of the court or towards her. The #5 digger (left back) will take a position on the left sideline lining up on the middle blocker’s outside shoulder (“see the hitter”) and is responsible for any tips towards her and for any hits directed toward the left back area of the court. The #6 digger (middle back) is lined up behind the block on the endline and is responsible for anything and everything in front of her position. The #1 digger (right back) will take a position on the right sideline lined up on the middle blocker's inside shoulder (“see the hitter”) and is responsible for any "cut backs" by the opponent's middle hitter towards her position or the right corner.
For many players, reading the opponent's offensive attack is the most challenging and fun part of volleyball. The unknown of the hitter's point of attack and tactics offers a continual challenge to the thinking player. The reading defender responds to a probability, a likelihood that something is going to happen. That probability is based on elimination. As each second of the opponent's attack unfolds, the reading defender eliminates certain events and concentrates on other more likely possibilities. Thus improving her opportunity to make a successful play.