From: rmp@crashnburn.Eng.Sun.COM (Richard Pottorff)
Newsgroups: rec.sport.volleyball
Subject: Re: Balls and defense
Date: 13 Oct 1992 20:28:03 GMT
Organization: Sun Microsystems, Mt. View, Ca.
NNTP-Posting-Host: crashnburn

In article <1992Oct12.192502.7947@ee.gatech.edu> wung@puttgen.ee.gatech.edu writes:
In article ldjedhINN9n6@exodus.Eng.Sun.COM, rmp@crashnburn.Eng.Sun.COM (Richard Pottorff) writes:
>|In article <Aeq5yLm00YV7A1tKhz@andrew.cmu.edu> jbab+@andrew.cmu.edu (John F. Borger) writes:
>|I have two question that I need answered:
>|    1.  My team is argueing about the defense we should be using this
>|season. We play a 5-1 and have a decent, but short, block.  Should we
>|have middle back and power alley diggers with a person fairly short on
>|the line (setter position) or should we have a line and power alley
>|diggers line up off the block with a short middle for dinks (no middle
>|back)?  Any suggestions would be helpful.
>|                                                        John Borger
>|                                                        Canegie-Mellon Univ.
>|
>|/**/
>|
>|John,
>|
>|
>|I play in classes a lot, and its not rare for me to play left back behind a
>|short person with a 2"-4" vertical leap.  When that happens, I try to play
>|fairly deep (if only to give me a little more reaction time when a massive
>|hit comes my way) and hope the hitter decides to try to dink on me. When

Peter:
Problem is, if they are any good at hitting they can hit down right in front
of you.

Rick:
True, but I value my face, and most of the hitters I play against 
don't/can't hit straight down.

>|there's a tall blocker in front of me, I cheat up pretty close, to cover
>|the dink, and hope middle back will be able to get to the balls the hitter
>|tries to hit over the blocker and me to the back line.
>|

Peter:
The problem is for the rest of your defense to adjust to you.  If you play up,
the MB guy has to cover the corner, and the LF guy has to back up to cover
angle.  If you go back and play defense, the whole defense has to cover
less area, but is susceptable to dinks.

/* ****** */

Rick:
Well, the opposite front is supposed to back off the net to cover the junk
and hard angle shots anyway, and the opposite back is supposed to move over
to take away the shot to opposite corner. And, the middle back really is 
responsible for tips, middle dinks, and corner shots. (At least every 
volleyball instructor I've ever had has coached this defense). 

Also, its a lot easier (and a higher percentage shot) to dink the ball
over a blocker than it is to hit a loop shot that catches the back line; 
I'll take away the easier shot. If they are good enough to consistently
hit the back line, they deserve to win the game.


*Peter Wung			Email:wung@ee.gatech.edu	   * 
*Electric Power Laboratory	Snail mail: 33787 Ga. Tech Station * 
*School of Electrical Engineering	    Atlanta, GA 30332      *
*Georgia Institute of Technology			    	   *
*Atlanta, Georgia						   *
*   	"Pass, Set, CRUSH!"...					   * 
*  	Well, 2 out of 3 ain't bad for a short, fat guy. 	   *
*								   *
********************************************************************


--
Hypocrits are known for their consistency. 

NOT!
Ramblin'
Newsgroups: rec.sport.volleyball