Those who play volleyball on a regular basis or just take an interest in this sport know that an indoor volleyball team has 6 players. Each of volleyball team’s players has the certain responsibilities during the game and occupies different positions on the court.

If you take a look at the volleyball court you’ll see that it is divided by lines into several parts. Depending on the part of the court that a player occupies during the game there are 6 different positions in indoor volleyball. These include: number 1 (back-right position), number 2 (front-right position), number 3 (front-center position), number 4 (front-left position), number 5 (back-left position) as well as number 6 (back-center position).

As it was mentioned earlier, a volleyball team consists of 6 players. Thus, 3 volleyball players (known as “front-left”, “front-center” and “front-right” players) occupy positions in the front row of the court and 3 volleyball players (known as “back-left”, “back-center” and “back-right” players) occupy positions in the back row of the court.

It’s worth noting that volleyball players of both teams have to occupy their positions before the start of the game. Moreover, it’s incredibly important for each player of the volleyball team to occupy the right positions on the court.

Actually, a volleyball player can take any position on the court during the game. The positions of volleyball players can be changed after the ball is served. Volleyball players can also change their positions when their team has the right to serve. So, players can rotate clockwise.

However, all of volleyball team’s players have to be always positioned on their court side. Otherwise, a team will get a penalty for committing a positional fault and will lose a point. In addition, when a member of a volleyball team occupies the wrong position on the court his/her team will lose the right to serve the ball. Obviously, volleyball players have to do their best to prevent such situations from happening.

As it has been mentioned earlier, each of volleyball players has the certain roles during the game. For example, some of volleyball players are responsible for attacking, so they are known as “attackers”. Some of volleyball players are responsible for digging, so they are known as “diggers”. Some of volleyball players are responsible for setting, so they are known as “setters”. There are also volleyball players who take responsibility for defense and blocking attacks of the opposite team. Such players are known either as “blockers”, “liberos” or “defensive players”.

Each of these volleyball players occupies the certain positions on the court. For example, such volleyball players as attackers, middle blockers and defensive players usually play in the front row of the court. Such volleyball players as middle blockers, diggers and passers usually position themselves in the back row of the court. Hitters can play both in front row (such hitters are known as “right side hitters”) and in back row (such hitters are known as “outside hitters”). Depending on number of setters in an indoor volleyball team, setters may play both in front and back rows of the court as well. Oftentimes, an indoor volleyball team has two middle blockers, who play on “front-center” and “back-center” positions of the court.

We have just given you short insights into different positions in indoor volleyball. Do you want to know more about indoor volleyball players, their roles and responsibilities? Read on and we’ll be happy to provide you with more detailed information about different positions of indoor volleyball players.

Setters

First of all, we would like to talk about setters and their roles on the court. It’s no surprise that setters are key players of any indoor volleyball team. Actually, setters perform many important tasks during the game of volleyball. One of key responsibilities of a setter is to help a team with organizing its attacks.

What does a setter do? Let’s try to find the answer. A setter has two important tasks during the game. Actually, a setter takes pass from another player and just pushes the ball in the air. Moreover, it’s essential for a setter to push the ball in the air softly. So, another player (hitter) will be able to take advantage of the situation and complete an attack hit easily. It goes without saying that the success of a hitter significantly depends on a setter’s job.

How many setters does a volleyball team have? Actually, it depends on a coach how many setters he wants his/her team to have. So, a coach has to make a decision. In most cases, a volleyball team has 1 setter only. However, sometimes indoor volleyball coaches may also choose to have 2 setters in their teams.

If an indoor volleyball team has 2 setters then one setter usually plays on the position of the right side hitter (“front-right” position). At the same time, the second hitter takes a position of a “back-right” player on volleyball court. The following situation is also possible for two setters in an indoor volleyball team: the 1-st setter plays on “front-left” position and the 2-nd setter plays on “right-back” position of the court.

What qualities should a setter have? There is no doubt that a setter has to move quickly on the court. It’s important to point out that setters must be able to make decisions very quickly during the game as well. It’s worth noting that a lot of effective volleyball training programs are available for setters these days. Such training programs are developed by real professionals. So, they allow setters to master all the necessary skills quickly and effectively. After getting the proper training setters usually demonstrate effective results during the game.

Hitters

You need to know that hitters (right-side hitter, middle hitter as well as outside hitter) can occupy different positions on the indoor volleyball court during the game of indoor volleyball. These players have different responsibilities as well. Let’s talk about the main differences between right-side, middle and outside hitters.

Outside Hitter

The outside hitter takes the “front-left” position on the court and takes responsibility for completing attacks of his/her volleyball team. It’s incredibly important for a hitter to get special training and master hitting skills.

Middle Hitter

Middle hitter plays on “back-center” position of the court. The key responsibility of middle hitter is to complete attacking hits and land the ball on the opposite side of the court successfully. On the other hand, middle hitter is also responsible for blocking attacks of the opposite team. That’s why he/she is also known as middle blocker.

Right-side Hitter

Right-side hitter usually occupies “front-right” position on the court. Among the right-side hitter’s responsibilities are: blocking attacks and completing attacking hits. Clearly, it’s best for a left-handed person to play on the position of a right-side hitter.

Defensive Players

Defensive players are responsible for defense, setting and passing. Sometimes defensive players may also complete attack hits. Defensive players usually position themselves in the back row of the volleyball court. The training program of defensive players has to include exercises on developing blocking, setting, passing and hitting skills.

Liberos

A libero is an indoor volleyball player who occupies the “back-center” position on the court. A libero wears special jersey and differs from other volleyball players. It’s important to know that liberos are not allowed in some leagues. For this reason, coaches always have to study the rules of a league carefully. According to the rules, an indoor volleyball team has the certain number of substitutions. However, when a libero is substituted with another player during the game such substitution is not counted.

Defensive Specialist

An indoor volleyball team can either have only one libero or can play without a libero. It’s also good to know that a team can also have one or even two defense specialists. These players are positioned in the back row of the court and take responsibility for defense during the game of volleyball. Sometimes coaches substitute front row players with defensive specialists as well.
Blocking attacks of the opposite team is a key responsibility of a defensive player. It’s very important for a defensive specialist to move from the back right and back left corners of the court quickly. Of course, any defensive specialist should have strong blocking skills. Oftentimes, a defensive specialist has to jump high during the game of volleyball as well. That means that the training program of a defensive specialist should include exercises which allow volleyball players to improve their jumping skills. Exercises for improving setting and passing skills have to be a part of a training program as well.

It’s important to note that the game of a defensive specialist is not just all about defense. If a player has the perfect opportunity to conduct an attack hit during the game then he/she should definitely take advantage of the situation and land the ball on the opposite side of the court.