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Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

The Setter In Volleyball: How and Why You Set The Ball To Your Hitters

Be a setter in volleyball who knows how to run an effective offensive attack with two or three front row hitters to beat the block and opposing defense.

A setter in volleyball uses specific hand and body positioning to deliver a hittable ball to their attackers. (Courtney Thomson Olympian and pro volleyball player)

What does a setter do in volleyball?

When I teach players how to be a setter in volleyball I always like to start with the lower body.

Specifically, I'll start with the feet and then I work my way up the body, basically breaking up the setting skill by body part.

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This way, when you are by yourself and practicing how to set a volleyball and you don’t have a coach, you can check your own form and technique to see if you're performing this skill correctly.

What does a setter do in volleyball? A setter uses their open palmed hands to accompany or lift the ball back into the air towards their intended target. (Ralph Aversen)

When setting a ball alot of people think that the most important thing to focus on is the upper body. I always start coaching the setting skill by focusing on the feet first.

Sure, you set the volleyball with your hands but, if you can’t get to the ball and if you don't have your body correctly positioned underneath the ball first, then it won’t matter what you do with your hands because you won’t be able to set the ball.

The Setter In Volleyball
What Is The Ready Position?

What's the setter ready position? Even if you’re left handed setter then you want to have your right foot slightly in front of the left and you should have both knees bent slightly.

When you’re in the ready position, it means that

your feet should be planted shoulder width apart so you are in a balanced position able to move forwards, backwards or to either side quickly.

I was taught to have my right foot a few inches in front of my left foot. So I teach the same thing because it works.

Even if you’re left handed setter then you want to have your right foot slightly in front of the left and you should have both knees bent slightly.

This lower body position helps you maintain your balance, so that you can run to get to any ball.

Your Midsection And Core Positioning
For The Setter in Volleyball

Big 12 Oklahoma setter (photo by Michael E. Johnston)

This is what I tell my younger girls, for the correct positioning of their midsection, when you want to be a setter in volleyball, you should imagine having a stick that has been inserted in your back where your spine is.

This stick starts from the top of your neck and ends just at your tailbone and it keeps you from being able to bend at the waist.

Your palms of both hands open and facing upwards towards the sky so your hands form the shape of the ball (Gallery Three)

With your hands above your head,

you can only use your legs to get to the ball
you can only use your legs to get balanced under the ball

A Setter In Volleyball
Your Arms: What To Do

Setter in volleyball: Your shoulders should be in front of your ears with arms outstretched over your head and elbows slightly slightly bent. (Joy van Buhler)

The ready position for the setter in volleyball for your arms is similar to when you run.

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Your arms start at your sides slightly bent at your elbows in a 90 degree angle.

When the ball comes within arm's length above your head, let’s say two to three feet above it, you want to quickly bring both arms up in front of you and as your arms come up, bring them closer together.

As a setter in volleyball you want to quickly bring both arms up in front of you and as your arms come up, bring them closer together. (USA Volleyball)

When you first make contact with the ball your shoulders should be in front of your ears with arms outstretched over your head and elbows slightly slightly bent.

As A Setter In Volleyball Your Hands Should...

The hands for the setter in volleyball your palms of both hands open and facing upwards towards the sky so your hands form the shape of the ball

Your goal is to have

both of your index and thumbs on each hand slightly one inch apart without touching each other at the tips with
your palms of both hands open and facing upwards towards the sky so your hands form the shape of the ball

This way your hands create a cradle where the ball will settle into when you contact it above your forehead.

This cradle that you’ve formed is what you use to accompany or lift the ball back into the air towards your intended target.

One key to remember is that as your arms move back up to the sky with the ball cradled in your hands you want to keep your hands in the shape of the ball for as long as you can.

This way you have control of the ball.

Just to double check, the correct hand position when you're a setter in volleyball is for both of your palms to be turned up to the sky, which should form that cradle which fits perfectly around the ball.

Both of your index fingers and thumbs of each hand are not touching each other but are very close as they form the shape of a loose triangle which you should place like a window right at the top of your forehead where your hairline is.

Now in your next volleyball practice, focus on using the correct technique, body positioning and timing while you do your reps so that you become a great volleyball setter.

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Volleyball Positions:
Where Should You Go From Here?

Good times! Where do you need to go now? Here are three options:

Learn more about the setter volleyball player by exploring he Related Links below.
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the Volleyball Positions section in the drop down menu at the top of the page.
Reintroduce yourself to Miss Ricci the Raccoon, #5 , the setter and team captain for the All Beast VolleyBragSwag All Star Team.

Meet Ricci the Raccoon setter for the Volleybragswag All Beast team.

Explore my volleyball player's guide of setter information in the pages below!

Being A Left Handed Volleyball Setter in the Front Row Has Advantages
For a left handed volleyball setter who receives a good pass, the ball will get to your dominant hand first, which means that you can dump the ball faster.
Volleyball Setter Position: What Makes A Good Setter And Team Leader?
Like quarterbacks in football, the volleyball setter position requires the setter to run the offense by deciding the volleyball plays her offense will run.
Volleyball Positions on the Court: Backrow Rotations in Volleyball
Learn the descriptions and the different backrow volleyball positions on the court and how the rotation in volleyball works in the backrow player positions.
Volleyball Positions and Rotations 3 Front Row Positions in Volleyball
Learn the descriptions and what the different volleyball positions and rotations work for each of these front row player positions.
Volleyball Positions: What Are The Six Volleyball Roles On The Court?
Here's an extensive breakdown of the volleyball positions on the court you can pick to specialize in.including setter, hitter, opposite, middle blocker libero.
The Volleyball Outside Hitter: How To Be The Smart Spiker On Your Team
A volleyball outside hitter has options for scoring against opponents to score points including tipping deep or short in the court to mix up your attack hits.
Setters Volleyball Player Roles, Rules and Responsibilities Explained
Setters volleyball player responsibilities are to run her team's offense and they call the plays hitters run against blockers like a quarterback in football.
The Setter Volleyball Position Five Traits Good Setters Always Have
The player in the setter volleyball position gets to every second ball in a rally to set that ball to a hitter who attacks it for a point or sideout.

April Chapple

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From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend

Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

utkaprilcollegepiconneylandstadiumvideoboard

Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
former USA National team member
one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist

April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match

Coach April's 2025 Private and Semi private Volleyball Training

Pre-Registration now open for 2025 Private and Semiprivate Training Sessions with Coach April . Get prepared for club tryouts or train with me during club season!

Email now for information on semiprivate or private indoor skills, individual or small group training volleyball classes and my Breakfast Club for College Players training for 2025.

Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.

Email me right now to register or for more information.

info@improveyourvolley.com

Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.

Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2

There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with

the same toss height and same toss location
the same armswing speed
the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.

kamiminerpac12setteroftheyearformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

Tommi Stockham All Big West Conference sophomore former Coach April Chapple private client 3 years

katepriorallwestcoastconferencebyufreshmanformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

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Dear Vegas Parent

Read my open letter to Las Vegas Jr high/high school volleyball parents about my predictions on individual and small group volleyball training trends for 2019/2021