Opposition Hit Through 4

1. M M M S S S O O O M M M S S S O O O Swing Defence Cover Positions Opposition Hit Through 4 Defend against an Outside Hit Front Row – Setter and Middle provide double block, giving line hit. Outside player drops back to 3m line and at least 2-3m from side line to cover block and cross court tips Back Row – setter provides short cover for blockers, middle has to defend deep against a line attack and outside has to cover a cross court hit Opposition Hit Through 3 Defend against a Middle Hit Front Row – Single Middle Blocker, wings drop back towards 3m line to cover blocker and protect against short tips Back Row – as flat as possible like service receive defend your channel Opposition Hit Through 2 Defend against a Reverse Hit Front Row – Outside and Middle provide double block, giving line hit. Setter drops back to 3m line and at least 2m from side line to cover block and cross court tips Back Row – outside hitter provides short cover for blockers, middle has to defend deep against a line attack and setter has to cover a cross court hit Note: arrows show direction in which player is facing, not direction in which they play the ball!

2. M M M S S S O O O M M M S S S O O O Swing Defence Attack Positions Attack Hit Through 4 Protect our Outside Attack Front Row – Middle turns to face outside hitter and setter drops slightly both watching for block returns Back Row – outside hitter provides short cover for hitter, middle and setter watch for fast or deep balls coming back. Attack Hit Through 3 Protect our Middle Hitter Front Row – outside hitter steps in from side line to provide block cover. Setter to get into a defensive position as much as possible Back Row – setter to provide slightly shorter cover as front court setter at net, others to be prepared to cover up to 3m line if required. Attack Hit Through 2 Protect our Reverse Hitter Front Row – Middle turns to face (if not started approach then better to defend from closer to 3m line), back court setter turns as fast as possible (from a reverse set) so as to see what is happening from block. Outside hitter steps in from side line. Back Row – back court setter likely to be in front court so middle and outside have to defend the back court, aware of possible short balls dropping around 3m line Note: arrows show direction in which player is facing, not direction in which they play the ball!

3. M S O M S O Swing Defence Notes Team Defending Notes: The swing defence can work very well, but requires all the players to move in harmony with each other. If a player stays back when they should be forward or goes left instead of right etc. then the team ends up with two players getting in each others way and another area which isn’t being covered at all. The key is to get in to position early before the attacker hits the ball, so that the player has a stable base from which to defend. As with all systems 6 players cannot cover every inch of the court and there are holes which players need to be aware of. It is easy to see holes which are in front of you and then tempting to move closer to cover them, but that can leave a bigger hole behind you, which you may not be as aware of. Except for the higher level teams the block does not (and probably never will) provide a solid wall of defence. For this reason the block shadow which is typically shown on such defensive layouts has not been included in these diagrams, so that players are aware that all areas of the court still need to be covered. Free Ball Defence This isn’t shown in the preceding diagrams, but when playing either with a single setter who is currently in back court or with two setters who are providing a penetrating setter, then the following line up should be used. Free Ball Defence Front Row – All players drop off the net to the 3m line in preparation for hitting approach, but initially to defend against a short ball Back Row – setter moves to the front court ready to set and the outside and middle hitters divide the back court between them to return the free ball to the setter. Team Attacking Notes: We should always aim to have at least one person providing short cover behind the hitter, but ALL players should be watching the hitter and the block behind it and in a ready position to defend against the block, or a quick attack back. This applies even for the first attack following service receive, where the players are out of position with respect to the diagrams shown previously, but the players on the two wings especially should protect the hitter immediately in front of them, prior to switching to their main position.