Preparation is key to putting your team in the best position to succeed before the first whistle blows.

Scouting the Opponent

If you have the luxury of seeing your opponent beforehand, focus on these key areas:

• Rotation Weaknesses: Do they have a rotation where their setter struggles to get to the ball? Do they have only two hitters in certain rotations?
• Serve Receive: Identify their weakest passer. Look for players who struggle with deep serves vs. short serves.
• Attacking Tendencies: Do they have any hitters who only tend to hit in one direction? Do their middle attackers only hit to one zone?

Creating the Lineup

• Matchups: Try to align your best blockers against their best hitters. If they have a dominant outside hitter, ensure your strongest right-side blocker starts matched up against them.
• Serving Runs: Start your best servers in Zone 1-3 if possible. Servers in these positions typically get one more opportunity to serve in each set compared to players to start a set in the other three zones.