Your Guide to the Positions in Volleyball

If your child is interested in playing youth volleyball, that is great news! There are lots of health benefits of playing volleyball, making it a solid choice for a youth sport for your child. However, if you are not very familiar with the sport yourself, you may be looking to find out a bit more so that you can assist your child along the way. That is why we have gone ahead and put together this helpful guide to the positions in volleyball that can help you to better understand the game:

Setter

First up among the positions in volleyball, we have the setter. The setter’s responsibility is to get the ball into position for one of the team’s hitters to attack the opponent and score points. The setter in volleyball is similar to a point guard in basketball in the sense that they work to set up their teammates to have the best chance of scoring. As a result, this position requires quick decision-making and a thorough understanding of the game.

Outside Hitter

Next up in our guide to the positions in volleyball, we have the outside hitter. The primary responsibilities of this player include attacking, as well as passing to teammates. They play on the left side of the court and will end up hitting the ball often throughout a match, accounting for much of a team’s scoring.

Opposite Hitter

Over on the right side of the court, across from the outside hitter, there is the opposite hitter. This player tends to receive fewer passes than the outside hitter, and their primary responsibility is usually blocking. However, they must be ready to hit when opportunities are presented.

Middle Blocker

The center of the court is home to the next of the positions in volleyball in our guide – the middle blocker. This player plays a combination of offense and defense, as they are often called upon to reach over the net to block, and to hit when clear opportunities present themselves. Usually, players in this role are among the fastest on the court.

Libero

The libero is one of the most unique positions in volleyball, and this player is designated with a different color jersey than the rest of the team. They can come into the game to replace several different positions due to their versatility, though they most often play from the back of the court and excel at saving balls that might otherwise go out of bounds.

Defensive Specialist

There are also a couple of positions in volleyball that are labeled as “specialist” positions, due to the focused nature of their responsibilities on the court. A defensive specialist is a player that comes into the game for the sole purpose of playing defense along the back row.

Serving Specialist

Among the positions in volleyball, the other type of specialist is the serving specialist. This player comes into the game only to serve, but they can also play other positions at other times, depending on their abilities.

We hope that this guide to the positions in volleyball has been helpful and informative! If you are looking to learn even more about volleyball, you can also check out some things that you may not know about the history of volleyball right here.