What Makes Up a Good Setter in Volleyball?

In last night's fourth episode of Usapang PSL, one of the guests Benny Benitez and the legendary Noel Zarate were able to catch up with is Rhea Dimaculangan who is now playing for the Generika-Ayala Lifesavers after a decorated career with the Petron Lady Spikers that saw her win three Philippine SuperLiga (PSL) championships, a Most Valuable Player award in 2018 and a First Best Setter plum in 2017. One of the talking points that Zarate had with Dimaculangan last night is the extremely difficult job that is being a setter which Zarate even referred to as a pain in the hip.

If being a setter in any volleyball league is indeed a pain, what are the things that will make the job less painful?

To simplify things out, a setter is the volleyball equivalent of a point guard in basketball, and being the point guard means you will have to "set" the offense for your teammates. Being a setter also means it's one of your primary jobs to receive the second touch and then set it up for an attacking spiker. Like an alley-oop play in basketball. Now, every volleyball coach wants to have a good and reliable setter on the court because like the point guard, the setter serves as the coach's extension on the court and this begs the question: what makes a good setter?

For one to be a good setter, that setter has to be quick. Quick, not just in terms of how fast you can move on the court but quick in terms of how fast you can read the opponent's defense and then being able to make and quick but smart decisions necessary for the situation at hand. To do this, a setter needs to be able to get on his/her spot quickly, established a balanced and ready position facing the passer, and most importantly, be prepared to pounce in any direction for any pass. The better a setter can ready the court, the quicker that setter can identify the spot to run the offense.

In volleyball, hands are used more and as a setter, you will need to have a pair of hands that are soft but strong. Soft hands will allow the setter to be able to slightly cushion the ball and "remove" any spin from it upon making contact with the hands. Strong hands will then allow the setter to release the ball quickly, change its direction, and then direct it either high or fast towards the hitters. This complicated combination of having a soft but strong pair of hands also helps setters in being able to receive passes that are sometimes too high or at some point, come at them at a flat and fast rate. 

Being assertive on the court plus having a high volleyball intelligence quotient (IQ) are also good traits for a setter as being assertive in games means that that setter has a take-charge kind of attitude which is great for the position because this will determine how quickly you can transform the second contact or even a pass from a teammate into a hittable ball to set up for the hitters. Having a high IQ is important for setters because as the point guard of volleyball, setters need to guide their teammates depending on the team's performance in games. 

Being a setter means being a leader on the court and there's nothing better to show leadership other than by leading by example and that's where a setter will need to have a great work ethic and most importantly, a teachable attitude. Even the already established setters in the world are constantly in learning mode and they are needed to train more due to their position. They also need to be open to criticisms especially from their coaches and then receive those criticisms with a positive attitude. 

While Noel Zarate is right in saying that being a setter is indeed a pain in the hip and practically, anywhere on one's body, that's just a part of the job of a setter. And if you can show the things mentioned above, you might be on your way towards becoming someone like Rhea Dimaculangan- a good setter. 

Photo is from spin.ph