A team rotates one place clockwise when it wins a rally the other side served.

Six positions.
Six rotations.
One rule nobody
remembers.

Look at the six rotations

Click through to explore each system of rotation in detail.

S Setter S, position 1. At the serve, right, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2. At the serve, right, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3. At the serve, middle, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

OPP Opposite OPP, position 4. At the serve, left, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5. At the serve, left, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6. At the serve, right, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

S Setter S, position 1: right, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: right, at the net, waiting for the serve.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OPP Opposite OPP, position 4: left, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, platform up to take the serve.

L Libero L, position 6: right, deep, platform up to take the serve.

S Setter S, position 1: right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

OPP Opposite OPP, position 4: right, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6: middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

One setter for all six rotations. Three attackers while the setter is in the back row, two while they are in the front row. See all six the 6-2

S1 Setter S1, position 1. At the serve, right, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2. At the serve, right, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3. At the serve, middle, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

S2 Setter S2, position 4. At the serve, left, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5. At the serve, left, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6. At the serve, right, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

S1 Setter S1, position 1: right, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: right, at the net, waiting for the serve.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, waiting for the serve.

S2 Setter S2, position 4: left, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, platform up to take the serve.

L Libero L, position 6: right, deep, platform up to take the serve.

S1 Setter S1, position 1: right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

S2 Setter S2, position 4: right, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6: middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

Two setters, always setting from the back row, so all three front-row players can attack in every rotation. Needs two players who can both set and hit. See all six the 4-2

S1 Setter S1, position 1. At the serve, right, deep, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, deep, low and wide, digging.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2. At the serve, right, mid-court, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3. At the serve, middle, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

S2 Setter S2, position 4. At the serve, middle, at the net, waiting for the serve. In play, moves to right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5. At the serve, left, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6. At the serve, middle, deep, platform up to take the serve. In play, moves to middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

S1 Setter S1, position 1: right, deep, waiting for the serve.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: right, mid-court, platform up to take the serve.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, waiting for the serve.

S2 Setter S2, position 4: middle, at the net, waiting for the serve.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, platform up to take the serve.

L Libero L, position 6: middle, deep, platform up to take the serve.

S1 Setter S1, position 1: right, deep, low and wide, digging.

OH1 Outside hitter OH1, position 2: left, mid-court, at the net, hands up to block.

MB1 Middle blocker MB1, position 3: middle, at the net, at the net, hands up to block.

S2 Setter S2, position 4: right, at the net, hands up at the target, ready to set.

OH2 Outside hitter OH2, position 5: left, deep, low and wide, digging.

L Libero L, position 6: middle, deep, low and wide, digging.

Two setters, each setting from the front row. Simple to learn and easy to serve-receive, but only ever two front-row attackers. See all six

Or keep score through a match

Create a new game URL to walk through the positions point by point.

Two moments, a tenth of a second apart

At the serve

Every player but the server has to be on the correct side of their neighbours: each front-row player nearer the net than the one behind them, each row in left-to-right order. That is the whole overlap rule, and it is why a receiving formation looks nothing like a formation.

In play

The instant the ball is struck the rule stops applying and everyone runs to where they actually play from. The setter goes to the net. The outside hitter goes wide left whichever position they rotated into. None of that is visible in the position numbers, which is why the numbers alone never explain a rotation.