The pass moves away from the net. You run to reach the ball, the hitter is already getting ready and the block on the other side is following the play. At that moment, the quality of the set depends on how you arrive, the control you can achieve and the ball you choose to deliver.
In Ricardinho and Fernanda’s work, preparation starts before the hands: stance, legs, positioning. You need to arrive ready to set both a good pass and a ball away from the net — while still considering who will attack and what the block is showing.
Here, the focus is on overhead setting, from preparing the body to choosing the ball.
Where would you like to start?
How to reach the ball ready to set
Your ball fell short. Before trying to correct only your hands, look at how you arrived: did you have time to organise your body? Was the ball in a position where you could finish the action? The error that shows in the trajectory may have started in your movement.
Start with your arrival: organise your foot support, keep your knees ready to move and prepare your hands above your forehead. Thumbs and index fingers help you recognise the hand shape for the overhead contact. Contact needs to happen in a position where you can control and direct the ball, without letting it drop and then trying to save it with your fingers alone.
Ricardinho uses the image of Chifre de Unicórnio to remind you to make contact high in relation to your head. The metaphor helps you remember a reference point; what you need to check in execution is whether you arrive in time and can deliver the ball with control. First organise that meeting with the ball. Then add movement, direction and jumping.
If you wait for the ball to arrive before preparing your hands, you are already late. Prepare the action as you move towards it.
One drill helps you notice this: let the ball bounce, move underneath it and observe how you arrived. At first, you can catch it to check your stance and hand shape. Then shorten the pause until you can execute the overhead contact.
That pause belongs to the drill. During play, the ball must not be caught and thrown; it must rebound from the contact. Source: FIVB, rule 9.2.2.
If doing everything together is still difficult, slow down. Check one thing at a time: arrival, stance, hands. Increase the difficulty when you can repeat the movement.
Your stance needs to move with you
It is common to execute an overhead contact well from a stationary position and lose control as soon as the ball requires a step backwards. That movement needs training too.
For short movements, Ricardinho uses the comparison with Movimentação Esgrima. Think of the stance of someone who advances and retreats without losing the ability to react. That is the idea to remember: move and stay ready to play the ball. Start slowly. If your stance falls apart, reduce the movement, organise yourself and do it again.
When the pass comes slightly behind you, you need to adjust your body and direct the ball. If the drill always delivers the ball right into your hands, that difficulty never appears in training.
Ask someone to toss balls that require small adjustments forwards and backwards. Watch your stance and the ball’s direction. If you lose your organisation, reduce the movement and check where it starts to break down.
Then work on the left and right sides of the net. Looking from your court towards the net, the left side is on your left and the right side on your right.
Another reference Ricardinho uses is Braço da Mira, associated with the right arm in directing and finishing the action. To observe the result, compare the chosen target with where the ball arrived. If the target changes, check how you organised your body to deliver to that side. The arm is part of the whole action; preparing your stance and reaching the ball are still necessary.
The pass changes the ball you can deliver
Did the pass come closer to the net or fly towards the back court? Did you manage to arrive balanced? The answer changes the ball you can deliver.
Alternate two situations in training: a B pass where some speed is still possible, and a C pass further away. That is what the letters mean in this drill. Agree on the classification with your coach; it does not replace observing the ball.
The B pass and the option to speed up
On the B ball in this drill, a small jump can help you gain speed, if you are in a position to execute it. Adjust the timing with the hitter: there is no point in speeding up a ball they cannot keep up with.
The C pass and attacking conditions
When the pass flies away and you get a C ball, get there first. Organise your stance, finish the movement and give the hitter height and comfort. If they will face a triple block, one option practised in this drill is to place the ball a little further inside the court, in a position they can attack.
| Drill situation | What to observe | Setting adjustment |
|---|---|---|
| B pass with the option to speed up | Setter’s arrival and hitter’s readiness | Small jump and speed suited to that ball |
| C pass further away | Balance for execution and attacking conditions | Organise the stance, finish and give the hitter height |
This comparison describes the drill. There is no obligation to jump on every B ball or handle every C ball in the same way.
The pass gives you a situation; you still need to consider how you arrive and who will receive the set.
Vary the starting point too: ask for tosses from zones 1, 6 and 5 in the back court. Then add the passer. Once the action is more organised, introduce a little difficulty. The idea of training outside perfect conditions appears in Ricardinho’s expression, discomfort will bring you comfort. Here, that means adding controlled variation so you can recognise in training the difficulty that also appears in the game.
How Ricardinho adapted the game to different middle blockers
When explaining P3, the rotation with the setter in position 3, Ricardinho describes how his choice of ball changed according to the middle blocker playing with him.
Rodrigão and André Heller contacted the ball very high. With them, Ricardinho liked to play a wider quick attack to his left. As well as suiting the hitters’ characteristics, that choice allowed him to observe whether the opposing middle blocker followed the play.
Gustavo had different characteristics: he liked closer balls. The alternatives included a quick attack behind the setter or a ball in front, depending on the organisation. The delivery took account of what that hitter liked to play.
These were Ricardinho’s choices with those players, within a specific organisation. The partnership between the player distributing the ball and the hitter also appears in the article on the middle blocker in volleyball.
In your team, start by getting to know who will attack with you.
In training, check whether the hitter arrives in time with the ball and can finish the attack. Talk to them, test the change and observe whether the adjustment still works when the pass changes. Getting the direction right is not enough to know whether the ball suited that player.
The opposing block becomes part of your decision
One concern appears in Ricardinho’s choices: what is the opposing middle blocker doing? Are they following your team’s middle attacker? How do they position themselves against the other attacking options? That reaction helps the setter choose the distribution.
In P6, with the setter in rotation position 6, Ricardinho liked to divide the attacking options into groups, placing players in different areas. Alternatives included quick balls with the middle attacker and the pipe, the attack from the centre of the back court.
This organisation helped him see the opposing middle blocker’s reaction. A more basic combination can work too. To place these rotations within the starting order, see the 5–1 rotation map.
A combination prepared before the serve needs to remain possible after reception.
In the B-pass situation we are working on, look at the block if you can. If the ball has flown away and you are running to reach it, take care of your arrival, stance and height. Your choice needs to fit the ball that came.
What changes in jump setting
In a jump set, you contact the ball while in the air. This lets you meet it higher and can help speed up the game. But the jump needs to be timed to the ball’s arrival and the hitter’s timing.
Coordinate your arrival and meeting with the ball
Start by recognising the moment to move towards the ball. In a drill, let it bounce and move in to meet it high. The aim is to coordinate your approach with the trajectory before requiring the full overhead contact.
Add control until you reach the jump set, maintaining that meeting point as you prepare your hands and direct the set.
Recognise an early jump
If you jump too early, you may end up contacting the ball on the way down. Watch your training from the side: when did you leave the floor, and when did you meet the ball? If contact happened on the descent, check whether you jumped early on that attempt.
Work on coordination before increasing speed. On a ball further away, setting with your feet on the floor and giving the hitter height also needs to be among your options.
A training progression to connect overhead contact to the game
Ricardinho says the wall played an important role in his learning of overhead contact, forearm passing, hitting and ball control. The wall lets you repeat the action and observe what happens to the ball with each attempt.
The sequence below brings these elements together in an editorial proposal by Equipe R17 to carry control into the game. Move on when you can maintain the aim of the stage; if the movement breaks down, go back and adjust.
- Recognise the contact position. With a simple toss, observe your arrival, hand preparation and contact above the forehead. If you are doing a beginner’s drill, use the pause to check the action before progressing to the overhead contact.
- Control the ball against the wall. Choose a directional reference and work at a distance that allows control. If it is difficult, move closer. Vary the height as you become able to maintain control.
- Add movement. Work on small steps forwards and backwards, paying attention to stance and hand preparation. Arrival now becomes part of the drill.
- Set to the left and right sides. With a partner tossing the ball, practise direction and finishing to both sides. Observe where the ball arrives rather than judging only how it left your hands.
- Vary the passing conditions. Alternate the ball’s origin and distance, including B and C situations. Adjust execution and trajectory to preserve an attacking opportunity.
- Bring the choice into the play. Add hitters, a block and continuity. Now you need to recognise the options, distribute and take part in the next action.
Your teacher or coach can adapt this sequence to the group and return to a stage when needed. The volleyball training guide develops the criteria for organising a session and assessing continuity.
What to check when the set does not work
Choose one point to observe with your teacher or coach.
The same trajectory error can have different causes; the table shows what to investigate, not an automatic diagnosis.
| Observed difficulty | What to check | Next step in training |
|---|---|---|
| The ball falls short after movement | Whether you arrive with a stable stance and can finish | Simplify the toss and compare overhead contact from a stationary position with contact after a small adjustment |
| Control disappears when you move backwards | At what point your stance becomes disorganised | Return to short movements forwards and backwards before linking the sequence |
| The hitter cannot find the ball’s timing | The relationship between trajectory, speed and their arrival | Agree on an adjustment with the hitter and observe the next attempt |
| You contact the ball on the way down | The timing of the jump in relation to the trajectory | Return to the drill for meeting the ball and observe execution from the side |
| The pass moves away and attacking conditions deteriorate | Whether you insist on the speed of the previous ball | Work on arrival, finishing and height in situations further from the net |
Note the situation in which the difficulty appears. Then check whether the adjustment works in the game, not just with a ball tossed straight into your hands.
Other players need to set too
The setter made the dig. Who will set now? A hitter or the libero can take the ball, according to the team’s organisation and who is able to reach it.
Practise the sequence: the setter digs, another player takes the second ball and the team continues the attack. Everyone needs to practise this responsibility.
With the libero, there is a rule to consider: if they make an overhand finger pass in the front zone, a teammate cannot complete an attack with the ball entirely above the top of the net. If the libero performs the same action outside that zone, this restriction does not apply. Source: FIVB, rule 19.3.1.4.
The volleyball rules guide explains other conditions for contact, attack and the libero’s actions.
Agree who takes the second ball and how they alert teammates. After setting, stay in the play: there is an attack, coverage and reorganisation.
FAQ — frequently asked questions about setting
What is the difference between overhead contact and setting?
Overhead contact is a technical action. Setting is the action that prepares the ball for the attack and can use overhead contact or a forearm pass, depending on the situation. The setter is the player responsible for organising and distributing the attack; executing a set does not mean you hold that role in the team.
What types of sets are there in volleyball?
The names describe characteristics that can combine: overhead or forearm contact; direction forwards or backwards; execution with feet on the floor or in the air; a high or fast trajectory. A back set can also be a jump set. So identify which characteristic is being described instead of treating all the names as mutually exclusive alternatives. In training, agree on direction, trajectory and the timing of the meeting with the hitter. Terminology alone does not guarantee that both players expect the same delivery.
Sources and references
- FIVB — Official Volleyball Rules 2025–2028: rule 9.2.2 on catching the ball, and rule 19.3.1.4 on the attacking restriction after an overhand finger pass by the libero in the front zone.
