There are six players per team in indoor volleyball. During the match, players rotate over the field so that everyone had to stand on each of the six positions. Players can move during the game itself to go back to their favorite position but to start out they have to stand in the correct position.
If they don’t do this, it is a position fault and the ref will call this out. Players rotate over the field in a clockwise fashion. You start at the back row (from number 1 to number 6 then number 5), take up all the positions (from number 5 to number 4, then number 3 and finally number 2 to start again at number 1) there and then move to the front row to take up all the positions there.
You have to follow this pattern during the whole match. This might seem confusing at first but you will get the hang of it soon. Your team members can always help you out when you are struggling to see what you have to do next.
In playing volleyball when does a team rotate?
Every time your team has scored a point when the other team was serving, your team has to switch positions. This is called a side-out as you score a point when the other team had the initiative with a serve. You don’t have to do this if your team was serving and scored a point.
Switching positions has a big impact on the attack and defense as it is possible that players have to move around quite fast to get in their favorite position. You have to train this as a team to avoid chaos during a match as you have to know what the other players are going to do.
The same order between players is kept during the whole game (except substitutions). This makes sure that it is clear who you have to stand next to, otherwise, it would be too confusing.
This means that volleyball teams don’t rotate that often as this only happens when you score a point after the other team has served. In close matches, you might have to rotate quite a lot but in general, teams can win a game by rotating just a few times per set.
You don’t want to rotate too often as this can lead to confusion in a team. The goal is to score a lot of points when your team is serving so that you don’t have to move over the field all the time. The defense or offense can struggle as players still need to adapt to their new position. This is one of the reasons why volleyball players fight very hard for every point when their team is serving. You want to have continuity and having to move around all the time can break the rhythm of the team.
There are different zones on a volleyball court. There is the front and back row. Each row also has different positions. Players move around and have to stand in each of these positions.
The libero can replace the front blocker at any point in the game (as long as this player is at the last line). This happens often during a match as a libero is great at digging and diving whereas a blocker is often better at defending while they stand in the front row.
Blockers are often taller players while liberos are often more agile players. This is a substitution instead of a rotation though as the front blocker can just go back on the field where they have left off. This can be quite confusing to watch but a libero has a different colored shirt to make it obvious that this player is on the court.
In which way do the teams rotate in volleyball?
Teams rotate in clockwise steps in volleyball. This means that every player has to play at each position in the back row. Once this is done, they move to every position on the front row. There are six players in indoor volleyball so this means that everyone has to take up the three positions in the front row and three positions in the back row. This means that everyone has to be able to attack and defend.
It is important to note that during the game you are restricted by the player next to you and the player behind (or in front of you) as you have to keep this player next to you and behind you (or in front of you) during this specific point. This makes sure that everyone stays in rotation. Let’s look at some examples below of what is allowed. The numbers are based on the positions that can be seen in the first figure on this page. This might seem quite overwhelming at first but you will get the hang of it if you think about it for a few minutes.
Below are some examples of players out of their rotation. The referee will notice this and call a foul for this team as they are not standing in the correct position during the match. The red player is standing in the wrong position.
There are six positions on each team that each have their own specialization (setter, middle blocker, right-side hitter, middle blocker, libero, or setter). Let’s take a look at a 4-2 system. Given that there are two hitters (focusing on offense) and two blockers (focusing on defense) on each team, everything balances out as there is always a hitter on the front row and a hitter on the back row. There is also always a blocker on the front row and one on the back row.
This ensures that the team always has an offensive specialist on the front row and a defensive specialist in the back row. This makes sure that everyone has their chance to take up the specific role on their team. They just have to make sure that they stay in rotation and don’t pass by a player on their team that they should be next to or behind.
To conclude, we can state that players move around the field during a volleyball match. This is only done when they score a point when the other team was serving (also called a slide-out). In general, teams want to avoid having to rotate too often as this can lead to confusion. This rotation is very important as it indicates where on the court a player can stand.
Players can’t just move around randomly on the field. They have to stay in certain positions vis a vis their own teammates. The rotation impacts this and therefore players need to play together often so that they can move in the right pattern. If you have to move around too often, your team can become disorganized quite quickly. This is one of the reasons why volleyball players are very eager to keep scoring points when they are serving.
