15 club volleyball tryout tips from a Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee and elite club coach who's helped hundreds of athletes navigate tryouts successfully.

2 Offensive Volleyball Drills Are How We Practice Tactics Setters Run

Watch how I run two offensive volleyball drills in practice training sessions to review tactics, plays and hitting strategies setters run in games and matches.

Some teams run a slow attack which means setters set higher, slower sets (like high balls known as "5s" to Zone 2 or "4s" to Zone 4) to their hitters. Photo by Dan Morgan

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I run certain offensive volleyball drills in semiprivate and private training sessions in order to review game tactics, volleyball plays and hitting strategies that setters run during their upcoming matches.

How do team's run their offensive attack?

Some teams run a slow attack which means setters set higher, slower sets (like high balls known as "5s" to Zone 2 or "4s" to Zone 4) to their hitters.

Then other teams, especially collegiate ones, will "speed up" their attack by running quicker sets (like front ones and back "ones" and "threes" to their middle blockers, "31s" and "Go" sets to their left side attackers.. .that get to their hitters with a much faster pace.

Why run certain offensive volleyball drills in practice?

Some teams run a slow attack which means setters set higher, slower sets (like high balls known as "5s" to Zone 2 or "4s" to Zone 4) to their hitters. Photo by Dan Morgan

Higher slower sets give outside hitters time to jump and reach high over the opposing block relying on power to put the ball on the floor to score points.

If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.

Struggling with passing consistency?

Download my eBook for $7.99 and start building the passing confidence that keeps you on the court—and gets you seen by college coaches.

Faster sets mean attackers work on developing and using quick arm swings to beat the block with speed by swinging faster at quicker lower sets that setters deliver to their hitter before the opposing team's block can get fully set up block and penetrate their arms over the net.

2 Types of Offensive Volleyball Drills

Hitting Lines

Running hitting lines is one of the most popular offensive volleyball drills used in pregame warmups.

A coach tosses the ball to their setter so the setter can run their fast and slow sets with their hitters before the game so during the game both setter and hitter have their timing on point.

Watch as Tehani sets Jacob a "3" set also known as a "31" which travels parallel along the net about two or three feet above it ...and starts to drop between the setter and the left outside hitter.

This is a quick and fast set located 4-5 feet in front of the setter to a specific spot on the net....The 3 and/or 31 is a "location" set which means the hitter always goes to a specific location on the net and that's where the setter has to deliver the ball.

For more on different types of sets used in offensive volleyball drills click below on my article:

Volleyball Offensive Plays Set Combinations Setters Use in Offense

Another way of doing hitting lines is for the setter to start with a controlled hit to the outside hitter who digs the ball back to the setter who sets the ball requested by the hitter.

Hitting Lines With A Down Ball

Watch as Alex starts with the ball and hits a controlled down ball right to his hitter who digs the ball back to him, then swings outside about three feet outside of the side line.

For high balls which are "A shaped" sets that're 8-10 feet above the net, the hitter, ...before starting their spike approach...waits for the ball to reach its peak..then as it changes direction and starts to come down..the hitter takes the first step of their four step approach..which launches them in the air on their way to spike it.

This is the timing for a high ball which is also called a "4."

Why do you need to do offensive volleyball drills in your team practices?

Offensive volleyball drills are done in practice so that players work on

their spike approach timing with faster sets,
their reach and hand placement on the ball in order to direct the ball to an open spot on the opposing team's floor
court vision used to help you stay behind the ball and see the block so you can hit around it
learn how to attack against and beat big blockers and good defenders
timing between the hitter and the setter

And as you can guess, the faster sets give shorter smarter outside hitters a chance to "beat the block."

In the above video watch one of our offensive volleyball drills where Tehani the setter is tossed a number of balls by me so she can work on setting back ones to Jacob the hitter.

The back one is a low quick set delivered right behind the setter's head so getting the hitter timing right- with the height, pace and location of the set is super important and is why we do a ton of reps ..to get it right.

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Private or semiprivate volleyball indoor/sand lessons are an excellent way for young Las Vegas high school volleyball players to quickly improve their individual skills through a private or semi-private coaching experience. These lessons are conducted by former pro volleyball player, former USA Volleyball High Performance instructor and Evaluator and Tstreet Vegas 18s head Coach April Chapple on a weekly basis. Sign up now!

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I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list.

Volleyball Drills:
Where Do You Go From Here?

Your three options are:

You can learn more about Drills by visiting the Related Links below.
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started.

Learn more about volleyball drills on these pages!

Best Volleyball Drills For Setters, Hitters, Liberos, Passers Blockers
Best volleyball drills are essential exercises in the learning process for players to improve your serving, hitting, passing, spiking, setting, blocking skills.
Volleyball Digging Drills That Will Help You Keep Balls Off The Floor
We do alot of progressions for volleyball digging drills in our boot camp classes to cover different scenarios from hard hits to balls you need to chase down.
13 Ball Control Drills Volleyball Players Use Pepper To Help Defense
One of the first ball control drills volleyball players learn is the pepper drill a warmup drill used to increase and improve your ability to control the ball.
4 Volleyball Blocking Drills Players Learn To Stop Balls At The Net
These are four volleyball blocking drills players learn at our classes and training so that they learn to move quickly while staying close to the net.
7 Youth Volleyball Drills How To Improve Ball Control Skills At Home
I have a series of youth volleyball drills you can use to improve your basic ball control skills like passing, setting and controlled hitting.
Beginner Volleyball Drills You Can Do At Home To Improve Ball Control
These beginner volleyball drills are a series of setting and passing exercises to do to increase your reading and anticipation and your ball control skills.
7 Fun Volleyball Drills To Do At Home, Camp and In Volleyball Practice
Fun volleyball drills we do in Volleyball Voice Boot Camp class which you can do at home to improve your basic volleyball skills including digging and passing.
Volleyball Defensive Drills You Can Do To Help Your Dig Ball Control
3 hitting and digging volleyball defensive drills that you can do at home to help increase your ball control skills when playing defense in the back court.
Volleyball Skills Drills To Improve Digging and Spiking Ball Control
Here is a collection of volleyball skills drills that you can do in order to work on spiking and digging technique along with improving your ball control.
Volleyball Serving Drills For Beginners Learning To Underhand Serve
Beginner players learn how to improve your serve with these volleyball serving drills for the underhand serve so you consistently get the ball over the net.
Volleyball Drills For Beginners To Improve Volleyball Bumping At Home
For newbies who want to learn about at home volleyball drills for beginners looking to improve their ability to read the ball during their passing drills.
Volleyball Drills For Youth 8 Fun Drills To Improve Your Ball Control
8 volleyball drills for youth you can use to help you get your pass to your setter, your serve over the net, and good hand placement on the ball for your spikes.

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.

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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.

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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

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

From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Produces Powerful Passionate Players...is that you?

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Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

A-1 Vegas Volley VBC

In It To Win It Tournament

May 2 - 4, 2025 Tournament

Gold Medalists

18s Premier Division

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Making A-1 Vegas Volleyball history as the very first TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS! In the In It To Win It Tournament, May 2-4, 2025 Tournament, A-1 Vegas Volleyball Club Gold Medalists, 18s Premier Division