Backrow Attack

[reiker21]

Why is it that so many teams do not seem to run backrow attack. This season I have watched so many games when the passing is not great. The only option they seem to use is setting the OH when the passing is off. The backrow attack seems to be so effective. Why is it not used more??

[roofed!]

I guess it depends on whether the teams have players capable of hitting the pipes. Also, many teams are substituting their OHs on backrow rotations with DS.

[Pirate VB Fan]

You have to have someone who can basically fly (take off behind the 10 foot line, hit the ball around 3-6 feet from the net and stop in time) or it is fairly easy to block. Also it puts a larger strain on your body than a conventional hit. Of course the hitter also has to be able to play good defense.

It is much more likely for a team running a 5-1 to make a lot of use of backrow attackers than for a team running a 6-2, since it helps to make up for the half of the time where your lose a main attacker for the setter in the front row.

[Deleted]

You also have to decide if it's worth it: does the occasional kill make up for the multitude of errors. For a lot of (most) teams, it's a low percentage play. It'd be one thing if they were just keeping the ball in play, but there's a lot of coaches not willing to live with the potential errors.

[BearClause]

Once I was having a group conversation that included a ref who called many Cal matches. When I brought up the subject of Mia Jerkov's backrow attacking, he noted that he thought she actually hit better from the back row than the front. She wouldn't simply hit it, but would use her court vision to size up where the defenders were and aim accordingly. I don't think there's been a backrow attacker in the Pac-10 since Mia who could make midair adjustments quite as well.

[roy]

I agree with what has been said. Let me add and perhaps summaries what other posters have written. Basically, a back row attack is not seen very often because you need an athlete who has a great deal of power to effectively hit that shot. Most players cannot generate enough power on a consistent basis to effectively hit from the back row without being dug. Likewise, court vision and “volleyball IQ” is important as the back row attack is generally a slower attack. It tends to be easier to get a triple block formed against a back row attack and all 3 back court defenders get ready for it. Players that can generate some real heat from the pipe tend to have defenders pushed back ready for that shot. Coming in with a rollshot throws them off for a kill. But those players who cannot generate a lot of power tend to have defenders a bit closer and that doesn’t make the rollshot as effective. A player who hits from the pipe also has to be careful because it is much easier to hit the ball long or into the net than hitting from the left. A player tends to jump further and take a longer stride when hitting from the pipe. If the player is uncomfortable or the play is out of sync, it is easy to hit a wild shot.

An off pass does allow the setter to set the pipe. But unless you have a very good player, most coaches would prefer that the left side be set as a player tends to get a higher kill percentage from that position. Best examples of those who can hit the pipe set tend to be from highly ranked schools. You are not going to see a lot of players from unranked teams hit the pipe too often. Think of any top player who can hit the pipe set (Willoughby, Cruz, Pavan, Jerkov, etc). If you look at any match against a top team, they tend not to hit as well from the pipe as they do hitting in the front row. There efficiency from the back row is worse than their efficiency hitting in the front row.

[Deleted]

And SoBB has an opinion on this subject, too...

[Deleted]

In general, I concur with (R)uffda and Roy. Some teams hit the pipe to open up the offense using an attacker who has very good field vision but not necessarily a lot of heat. I am not a big fan of that approach, especially if the front row is accomplished. In addition, what has not been mentioned here is the cost to the defensive game. The pipe hitter usually hits from the back row center, where she is also stationed on defense. If she is not (or should not be) one of the teams primary passers, there will be fewer digs by that team as a result than there otherwise would be. So, IMHO, frequently the marginal attack potential is outweighed by the decreased digging and passing capability. I'm sure the top teams keep and study the statistics very closely and are aware of the trade-offs.

[BigTen4]

roy said:

I agree with what has been said. Let me add and perhaps summaries what other posters have written. Basically, a back row attack is not seen very often because you need an athlete who has a great deal of power to effectively hit that shot. Most players cannot generate enough power on a consistent basis to effectively hit from the back row without being dug. Likewise, court vision and “volleyball IQ” is important as the back row attack is generally a slower attack. It tends to be easier to get a triple block formed against a back row attack and all 3 back court defenders get ready for it. Players that can generate some real heat from the pipe tend to have defenders pushed back ready for that shot. Coming in with a rollshot throws them off for a kill. But those players who cannot generate a lot of power tend to have defenders a bit closer and that doesn’t make the rollshot as effective. A player who hits from the pipe also has to be careful because it is much easier to hit the ball long or into the net than hitting from the left. A player tends to jump further and take a longer stride when hitting from the pipe. If the player is uncomfortable or the play is out of sync, it is easy to hit a wild shot.

An off pass does allow the setter to set the pipe. But unless you have a very good player, most coaches would prefer that the left side be set as a player tends to get a higher kill percentage from that position. Best examples of those who can hit the pipe set tend to be from highly ranked schools. You are not going to see a lot of players from unranked teams hit the pipe too often. Think of any top player who can hit the pipe set (Willoughby, Cruz, Pavan, Jerkov, etc). If you look at any match against a top team, they tend not to hit as well from the pipe as they do hitting in the front row. There efficiency from the back row is worse than their efficiency hitting in the front row.

Ask Paula Gentil if Stacey Gordon can hit with power and accuracy from the back row.

[Murina]

I think there are two major factors that contribute to the scarcity of back row hitting in the USA. The first is the effeciency angle that has been touched on already in this thread. To become effecient out of the back row takes a lot of effort. I know NCAA coaches who believe their chances are better just throwing the ball up near the net, than setting a back row player who is in good position to attack.

Another contributing factor is that the athletes that might be good back row hitters are not playing in the back row. Using a libero and 2 defensive specialists really cuts into back row attack opertunities. This also goes back to high school and club where they're not playing back row either...

Hum. Now that I mention it, a substantial number of players mentioned in this thread as being good back row hitters are not from the USA: Gordon, Paven, Jerkov, and Cruz are all learned their craft in a 6 sub environment. I wonder if that is co-incidence?

[BearClause]

murina said:

Hum. Now that I mention it, a substantial number of players mentioned in this thread as being good back row hitters are not from the USA: Gordon, Paven, Jerkov, and Cruz are all learned their craft in a 6 sub environment. I wonder if that is co-incidence?

While I did see Kerri Walsh play, I don't recall the fine points of her game. I didn't concentrate much on opposing players when I first started watching VB. However - I'm told she was quite the phenominal back-row attacker.

[cbrown1709]

Kerri was simply amazing in the back row for her size. And hit backrow from the back right. She was amazing. You guys are forgetting Ogonna! She was almost unstoppable from the backrow.

[bucky415]

Purdue has Brittany Dildine, a defensive specialist, hit from the back row, which was effective against Wisconsin, unfortunately. She was able to use power and a tip effectively. Are there any other defense specialists who routinely hit back row attacks?

[The Bofa on the Sofa]

Purdue also uses Miller in that way, and before Leah went down, Miller was solely back row.

Miller is actually better from the back row than Dildine is. You just didn't see it because Dargan usually only goes there when she is out of position for something else. If the passing was better with Miller in back, she wouldn't get any back row sets.

However, that is one real strength for Purdue this year. They have those weapons that the didn't have in the past. Note that Dildine and Miller are staggered, so there is always a good back row hitter in the pipe.

I should note that Dildine did play OH some her freshman year when the ranks were very thin.

[VBbeast]

I won't beat the dead horse of reason for or against using a backrow attack as the above posts have covered most of them.

The problem to my way of thinking is that as a whole most collegiate women's programs don't make it a point of emphasis to develop the concept. Sure some athletes are better at it than others, but why wait till you think you have one of those types to work on the skill? Backrow attacking is a viable offensive option that should be a part of any offensive system. If you don't have the players to effectively run it then maybe you don't use it as often, but have it in the system. In any game of volleyball at some point your only good attack option will be a backrow attack. If you don't spend time working on it you will either just hand the opponent a free ball or be putting your players in a position to fail at what could be a critical time in the game.