On a volleyball court, there are six key positions that are necessary in order to carry out a correct play and gain a point against the opposing team. The wide belief that the setter is the most important position due to all of their responsibilities is in fact true. Being a setter means that you have to make a decision about what play to go through with in a split second. As another player is passing the ball, you start to set it and that’s when your decision of what play you picked is shown. You can either set front row—which there are around 8 different front row setsor back row.
Either way, you have to flawlessly set the ball in order to make your hitter look good and to get a point against the other team. This is only one of the major responsibilities as a setter. They need to make the decision for the entire team, and based on their knowledge of the other teams defense, run a play that will gain them a point. If the other team has a 6’1″ middle blocker, she has the responsibility of knowing whether or not your middle attacker can hit the ball around her ginormous hands.
Or if your outside hitter is having a great day, and the blockers on your opposing side aren’t, you should know that setting your outside is best for the team. It is also the setter’s responsibility to set every second ball that comes onto their side of the court, no matter what. The setters need to know every play that their team can demonstrate and how well they can be executed, and when they should be executed. Despite the claim that a coach should call every play beforehand, anything could happen between the moment the coach calls a play and the first touch is actually made, which is why the setter should call the play as it goes.
The setter is basically a mother on the court. They have to make sure everyone on the court is in the correct position and is able to play their spot. As a setter, you have to watch over everyone and if someone is demonstrating that they are confused or possibly in the wrong position, it is your responsibility to help them and get them to where they need to be. Setters need to understand every position and how the team flows together during a play. If the flow is off, the entire play could go completely wrong.
By noticing someone is not playing their best and advising them on how to fix their issues, you can save the entire team from losing points and possibly the game. The biggest responsibility as a setter is the role of being everyone’s biggest supporter. If a teammate accidentally misses a pass or gets a service error, it is now your responsibility to tell them “Hey, you’ll get it next time, shake it off”. Although it is important to pick them back up after they’ve fallen, a setter needs to know when to ignore or not set a player.
If the outside hitter hasn’t been able to get a ball over the net throughout the whole game, the setter needs to know that they shouldn’t be set. Maybe it is a bad day for them, so in that case, they would set the other attackers and give the outside hitter a break. On the contrary, if a player is getting too cocky, a setter needs to bring them back down to Earth. By not setting them, and giving opportunities to other players, the cocky player will eventually cool down.
Volleyball is only played correctly when the team works together as one and flows through the game. If one player refuses to work together and only wants to look good for herself, the game will not occur smoothly. Making sure the team feels ready to play and is able to play together is one of the biggest responsibilities as a setter. The idea that players should be able to be their own supporter is true, however, some players need a little more support than others, which is where the setter would come in and help.
Despite the fact that all positions are clearly important, the setter has the most responsibility on the court giving them the title of most important. Every position is important, they all play a part in the game, whether it is giving a great pass, getting a kill, block, or an ace. Libero’s have the responsibility of putting up an amazing pass every time which can be hard when you are diving all over the place. Middle attackers are responsible with getting to every block on time and shutting it down while outside and opposite attackers are responsible for hitting smartly and also blocking.
Back row players need to cover everyone just in case their own team gets blocked, then they can give a perfect pass and the team can start the play over again. By saying a setter is the most important position isn’t belittling the other positions, because without the others the setter can’t play. Without back row players, the setter wouldn’t get a pass in order a set. Without the front row attackers, the setter would have nothing to set for. There is no l in TEAM, which means that not just one player on a team is priority.
Everyone matters and is expected to play their best and give 100%. Teamwork is the most important thing on a volleyball team because of the dynamics of the game. Almost every kind of player, whether it is a back row or front row, touches the ball every play. Every player needs to have their head in the game in order for the game to go smoothly. Setters need to always be on their game because they have the most responsibilities on the volleyball court, making them the most important position.
