Learn How to Set a Volleyball

The set in volleyball is also very important in a rally. The set has to be perfect in order for the hitter to get a  kill. Learning how to set is easy, but mastering it is the hard part. Here are four steps to learn how to set a volleyball:

STEP 1: Extend your arms up over your head. Your thumbs should be about two inches away from your forehead. You want to separate your fingers as if someone was placing a volleyball into your hands. Your elbows, which are very important shouldn't be facing out, but be even with your shoulders.

STEP 2: Spread your feet so they are shoulder width apart. When setting, you also want your right foot slightly in front of your left. Your knees have to be bent, but not as bent as when you pass a volleyball.

STEP 3: When you're ready to set, get under the ball and extend your legs and arms to push the ball away from you. Setting backwards is the same process, except you want to throw your thumbs back and use your wrists.

STEP 4: When you set the ball, get directly under it. Your hands should be in the shape of a triangle. Push as high as you can so your teammate can have as much time as possible to jump and hit the volleyball.

If you like visuals, here is a video that teaches you how to set a volleyball.

         Volleyball: How to Set a Volleyball. Film. 17 Sep 2013. <http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=d6FYi2TVm1I>.

Learn How to Pass a Volleyball

When passing a volleyball, you want it to be perfect so your setter can have a good set and your hitter can have a good hit. It all starts with a pass, but you'll want to remember some things before stepping on the court.

When you're getting ready to pass a ball, you want to be in "ready position" which is just knees bent, arms forward, back straight, and hips back. If you are right handed, your right foot should always be slightly in front of your left. The ball is almost never going to be served straight at you, so when you move,  you want to shuffle your feet (without crossing them) forward, back, right, and left.

Passing Form. 2012. Photograph. Robert Morris Volleyball CampsWeb. 26 Aug 2013. http://www.rmuvolleyballcamps.com/images/091710 RMU Volleyball 0100_200-x.jpg.

You never want to be late to pass the ball. In your head, you want to calculate where the ball is going by looking at whoever is hitting it and get to that spot before the ball does. When hitting the ball, you should hit it with your forearms and not with your hands. You always want your forearms to be straight in front of your chest and pretend you're locking your elbows so they don't bend. To pass the ball where it needs to go, your forearms should face the setter or whoever you're passing the ball to.

Hand placement is important here. You either want to overlap your hands or interlock them (make a thumbs up with your left hand and wrap your right hand around it). You DO NOT want to use interlocking fingers. It takes too long to react and it's way easier to break a finger this way. It's too dangerous.

Hand Placement. 2012. Photograph. Web. 26 Aug 2013. http://www.wikihow.com/Image:Dig-a-Volleyball-Step-1.jpg.

Common errors that players make when passing a volleyball are:
 - there is no movement, no shuffling to the ball, late reaction
 - bent elbows
 - too much arm swing, (it's not baseball)
 - contacting the ball with arms apart (breaking your arms)
 - contacting the ball with hands and not forearms