Volleyball Basics - Overlap in Rotations

Figure 1 - Overview of overlap

One of the key pieces of information needed to understand rotations and how to alter them is overlap. When the ball is served, at the point of contact each player needs to be in their position as indicated by the serve order. The player serving in this rotation is in zone 1 in the back right. The next server is in 2 in the front right, and so on as can be seen in figure 1. This is just a representation of the zones of the court. The arrows indicate how the players need to be positioned in relation to each other. 1 needs to be behind 2 and to the right of 6. 3 needs to be in front of 6, to the right of 4, and to the left of 2. These restrictions only apply to the players the arrows point to. There is no restrictions on where players are positioned in relation to players diagonal from them.

Figure 2 - Example serve receive rotation

Figure 2 illustrates a legal serve receive formation. 5, 6, and 1 are in the back row and correspond with the positions illustrated in figure 1. The player in zone 1 has just served (service order 1) and the team is now in serve receive. 2, 3, and 4 are in the front row. 2 will be the next server upon side out. In this situation 4, 5, and 1 are primary passers and will receive the majority of serves.

Figure 3 - Overlap arrows for the player 6th in service order

Figure 3 shows the arrows that apply to the player (in black) 6th in service order. The players in red are the ones 6 needs to be concerned with in this situation. 6 needs to be behind 3, to the right of 5, and to the left of 1. The players in grey are diagonal from 6 and have no bearing on 6's position on the court. This is why front row players 2 and 4 can be behind 6 even though they are front row players.

Figure 4 - Overlap arrows for the player 4th in service order

Figure 4 shows the arrows that apply to the player (again in black) 4th in service order. In this case the player only has two players to be concerned with, 3 and 5 in red. Players 1, 2, and 6 in grey are diagonal from 4 and have no bearing on 4's position on the court. 4 only needs to be in front of 5 and to the left of 3. This kind of formation is common in 3 passer systems. 4 doesn't have to be very far in front of 5 to be legal. Sometimes this can be seen with 4's toes only slightly closer than 5's toes, and 5's heels are only slightly closer to the service line.



Keys to remember:
1. Service order with current server when serving and most recent server is number 1 after losing serve.
2. Players' position on the court in relation to each other is governed by service order as illustrated in figure 1.
3. Each player needs to maintain the forward/back and left/right positioning based on their arrows shown in figure 1.
4. The forward/back and left/right positioning can be very small.

Use these key points when using and adjusting serve receive formations.


See also:
Zones of the Court
Introduction to Rotations

Volleyball Basics are intended to present some of the fundamental volleyball knowledge that everyone serious about the sport should know.