Couple volleyball questions

[Fireball]

Hey all...I'm going to apologize in advance because of these are probably dumb questions, but I want to understand what I'm watching. I'm hoping that one of your who is more well-versed in the sport can explain.

I've started taking my daughters to Xavier volleyball games this season. They now both play volleyball, and although they are beginners, really enjoy the sport. I am by no means an expert, but because there have been a shortage of coaches in the league, I've now coached two sessions of volleyball with my girls. So, I'm trying to learn as well.

So, onto my questions. First, and a think this is going to be the dumbest question - why does one player wear a different color jersey than the rest of the team? Is she the team captain, or is there other significance to that?

Second, there were a couple of occasions where Xavier was playing the ball on their side, the referee stopped play and gave the point to the other team and held up two fingers. I have my guesses as to what that means, but I'm not sure.

Again, my apologies if these are dumb questions. I'm really a beginner to observing volleyball at the collegiate level, and really want to understand all of what I'm watching. Thanks!

[xavierdude]

1. The libero. She's the defensive specialist. You won't see her spiking the ball over the net. Ha. Typically has the most digs on the team

2. That means one person hit it twice, a.k.a. a "double hit". Usually at this level, it's because the ball didn't hit both hands simultaneously or the ball hit more than one body part, like a forearm and bicep. There are a lot of scenarios where this could be called.

[MADXSTER]

2. Many times a "double hit" occurs when setting. An unclean set will be called with two fingers up. To the average eye, you won't notice anything being wrong. Unless the players make a fuss, which rarely happens, just trust the ref.

[paulxu]

Unless the players make a fuss, which rarely happens, just trust the ref.

Unless his name is Cahill.

[X-band '01]

The Libero was a position that was instituted in the early 2000s; that was also the time that volleyball adopted rally scoring in an effort to speed up the matches.

[Fireball]

2. Many times a "double hit" occurs when setting. An unclean set will be called with two fingers up. To the average eye, you won't notice anything being wrong. Unless the players make a fuss, which rarely happens, just trust the ref.

Thanks, Madxster and Xavierdude! That's what I assumed it was, but what Madxster said is exactly true. I didn't see anything when the ref called the double hit.

[Fireball]

The Libero was a position that was instituted in the early 2000s; that was also the time that volleyball adopted rally scoring in an effort to speed up the matches.

So, does the position give her privileges or restrictions? I did notice that she always seems to be in the back to dig, but is she allowed to do things that the other players aren't allowed to do?

[MuskieCinci]

I would recommend joining a volleyball league yourself if your schedule allows for it. Playing it yourself will really up the learning curve and in my opinion is an awful lot of fun. There are plenty of bars in the Cincinnati area that have sand volleyball courts and host leagues of varying skill levels, and they are always a blast. There are also a decent variety of indoor leagues as well. I'm not really sure how Cincinnati came to have such a good volleyball culture, but it is a lot of fun and I made a ton of friends through it when I was still in the area.

[Cheesehead]

The libero remains in the game at all times and is the only player not limited by rules of rotation. He usually replaces the middle blocker position when they rotate to the back row and never rotates to the front row himself.

The libero is responsible for a great deal of the passing in serve receive. Often the libero will be responsible for a much greater part of the court than his teammates. The libero is in the game to add ball control, so his main responsibility is to pass the ball well so the team can run the offense. On defense the libero needs to dig well, getting a hand on every ball he can to keep the play alive. Since the libero has no attack responsibilities, he must chase down every ball he can. He may also be responsible for setting if the ball is dug by the setter or out of the setter's range.

[MADXSTER]

Fireball

One recommendation would be to get a HS player to be an asst coach. Most teams in the Cincy area do this. The HS kid can teach the kids and you a lot of drills and at the same time get service hours required for their HS. Sometimes you can get 2 or 3 players to share to asst spot. The younger kids get to bond with the older kids and sometimes will go to their HS games.

[Fireball]

Fireball

One recommendation would be to get a HS player to be an asst coach. Most teams in the Cincy area do this. The HS kid can teach the kids and you a lot of drills and at the same time get service hours required for their HS. Sometimes you can get 2 or 3 players to share to asst spot. The younger kids get to bond with the older kids and sometimes will go to their HS games.

Good thought. I've read some, and watched plenty of YouTube videos for the basics, but there is a limit to how much I can learn from that.

Thanks for the idea!

[X-band '01]

Volleyball team came within an eyelash of defeating #4 Kansas today at the Purdue tournament - they lost in 5 sets to the Jayhawks.