Covering volleyball

[Bucknutty]

Just got to the venue and I have an hour until I cover a high school state tournament volleyball match. I know the basics, but any specific tips on covering the sport?

 

[Captain Obvious]

Just got to the venue and I have an hour until I cover a high school state tournament volleyball match. I know the basics, but any specific tips on covering the sport?

Don't get caught staring at the players.

 

[SoCalDude]

The player who receives the serve is trying to pass it to the setter. How successful they are at that is critical. If the passes go right to the setter, she can set up the offense better. If the setter is running all over the court chasing down errant passes, that's a bad thing.
The big girls in the middle usually determine the match. The setter will usually try to set the middle hitter ... until the defense shows it can block those, then its a mix between setting the middles, the outside hitters and the opposite.
Also, Lesson 1 from VB 101. If you don't make your serves, you can't win the game.

 

[boundforboston]

There's a lot of emotion involved with volleyball -- big runs, spikes, great blocks/digs. Capture some of it.

 

[Bucknutty]

Thanks all -- even Captain Obvious.

 

[bydesign77]

Believe me, the dear ole captain's advice is sound... there are some tight shorts and long legs out there. It's why a lot of us officiate the sport in the first place.

And that player with the different colored jersey? she's the libero. she's a designated back row player that can sub in and out freely.

 

[1HPGrad]

In Miami, I routinely chose not to run volleyball photos because the girls were way too young to look like that. Just felt wrong on a lot of levels. I'm sure their dads were quite happy with the decision.

 

[HandsomeHarley]

Covered a team a few years back and it was quite obvious that one of the players was, well, pierced.

No, not up there.

There.

 

[HandsomeHarley]

Oh, and regardless of what small-school coaches try to tell you,

* A kill is not a kill unless it ends the volley. If it is dug up, it's not a kill.

* A block is not a block unless it ends the volley. Just because a player gets a hand in front of a kill isn't enough.

* Yes, you can have half a block.

* Don't even try stating digs by yourself.

* Not all kills have an assist.

* A "dink" is still a kill.

* What SoCal was referring to is called serve-receive. It's the ability of the team to return the serve accurately to the setter.

 

[Tarheel316]

Just got to the venue and I have an hour until I cover a high school state tournament volleyball match. I know the basics, but any specific tips on covering the sport?

Don't get caught staring at the players.

Hilarious!

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Post cellphone pics here.

 

[joe_schmoe]

HAHA. Captain's advice is sound. I covered a college volleyball team for many years. One year the team's outside hitter was perhaps the best looking player I had seen in years and as most outside hitters had a nice well-formed body. It was extremely hard to keep paying attention to the match because the way this court was set up and the way they like to run the offense, she basically used my seat as a marker to line herself up and in doing so her butt was often in my direct line of vision about a foot away (she liked a more sideways, long-jump angle approach to her attacks). It was hard to look elsewhere. And, it's hard to write a good game story.
Hopefully someone else is keeping stats, and keeping good ones. If you do pay attention to Harley's list and also note, an ace in volleyball doesn't have to be untouched. It's also an ace if the serve is handled or touched by one girl, but they can't keep it in play (unless this rule has changed recently).

 

[geddymurphy]

Aside from the basics, which others have covered well, consider this: Momentum. When a team gets a bit of confidence, you'll be able to see it, even if you can't tell a libero from a middle blocker.

If you're lucky, you'll also have a crowd that picks up on it as well.

 

[TGO157]

One high school coach tried to tell me a player could get an assist on any kill attempt, even one that isn't successful in ending the point. He tried calling in stats once reporting that his setter had 113 assists in the match, when his team only scored 75 actual points.

 

[joe_schmoe]

Ah forget all the suggestions so far. Focus on the celebrations and team huddles between every freakin point.

 

[SoCalDude]

Seriously, ask one of the girls how long they practiced their "ace" cheer.

 

[HanSenSE]

I don't even attempt to keep my own stats for volleyball, just some general notes on how the point was made. I leave those to thos who know better, even if it is a manager or kid off the JV. Joe is correct on aces, fwiw.

 

[fossywriter8]

One high school coach tried to tell me a player could get an assist on any kill attempt, even one that isn't successful in ending the point. He tried calling in stats once reporting that his setter had 113 assists in the match, when his team only scored 75 actual points.

These kind of "stats" are usually tabulated by the player's father who chants "DE-FENSE" when the opposing team's server tosses the ball in the air.

 

[TheWritingWaffle]

boundforboston and geddymurphy are spot-on: Even if your technicals aren't perfect with the game of volleyball, experience covering other sports can help you pick up how the game is flowing and how players are reacting to it. That alone can fill a few inches.

SoCal's first answer is an undervalued one but great as well. That first pass makes LOADS of difference in a point, especially in a high school game. A lot of these setters need a near-perfect body foundation — legs feeding into the set — to be successful. If they're near the outside lines trying to launch-set one across the court to another hitter, it becomes harder for that hitter to do anything.

I like to keep a running score and how the point was scored. For example, if Bumble**** HS is playing Who? HS, and Bumble****'s #9 gets a kill, I do it like this

B-W
1-0 (B9K)

Also, a good idea for notes is during timeouts. What trends are you noticing? What's the latest run on points? Is the food at the gym awful? Make a note, because I highly doubt you'll be able to hear what coaches are saying so screw it.

Also, if the team loses, try to wait till they're done crying. Hard to transcribe players who can't breathe and are bawling.

 

[young-gun11]

I covered the crap out of volleyball this year, but when your 4 schools combine for 15 wins in football and you have two state tournament volleyball teams... well, there's no real comparison.

Basically, I noted the moods and the emotion and big runs... did Team A get down 16-9 and make a long run to tie it up? Things like that. Mostly, though, you find the player who takes over the game when needed (If you're at state, your team has at least one girl) and watch her. See how she leads and directs and how hard she hits. Then after the game, get the manager to tell you what stats everyone had and talk to that girl and the coach.