What do you think are some of the most interesting differences between men's and women's volleyball?

Question

I have found that there are a lot of interesting differences between men's and women's volleyball.

I think that you can become a better player if you have a firm understanding of the game, so it's good to contrast the men's and women's games.

So... What do you think are some of the more interesting differences in serving, defensive play, offensive play ect...

Answer 1

OFFENSIVELY

As a university setter i notice teams offenses first of all so i will start with that.

With Guys volleyball, guys like to run more different types of offenses. instead of running just high balls power and right side and 51's, guys are more likely to get fancy with hitting. Running plays like X Plays, 60 sets, 30 sets, shoot sets, back row attacks etc. While girls tend to stick with normal sets for the most part. Also (with the exception of girls at a high level who have the ability) but guys are way more likely to hit the ball down the line and not just cross court as well as guys are also more likely to tip for a point then girls. Most girls don't really have the ability to hit line and they don't often tip a set if they don't have to.

DEFENSE

I find girls are usually much better underhand passers then guys, guys like to pass the ball above their head setting it. Although guys are more likely to recover from a scramble play better then girls...but that is because girls usually don't have that many broken plays becuase their underhadn passing is usually very good. Also girls are usually all pretty good passers no matter the positions where as guys who play middle usually aren't the greatest of passers (some are good), therefore the libero is much more valuable in guys volleyball then in girls volleyball. Also there is much more blocking in guys volleyball then there is in girls volleyball

Those are some of the differences in playing style between guys and girls vball

Answer 2

One big difference is the speed of the game

for mens there are mainly all serves are jumpers there is also much more smashes and blocks.

Womens its still fast but not that many jumpers and smashes.

Also for the men the possitioning is much different if you play v-ball the womens setter is at the middle of the net and for the men the server is in the from the left to right he is about 3/4 ways so he can do back sets.

Men there are some 3 meter smashes where people from the back smash.

Answer 3

The answers that are already out there are really perceptive.  I'd like to add a couple of things:

Slides are extremely common in the women's game even at the very top levels.  This is used to spread the block, especially when the setter is in the front row.  The slide is rarely run in the men's game.  Instead, when the setter is front row, the third attacker comes from the back row, frequently on the right side.  The 10' line is not much of a problem for men's players at higher levels.

Answer 4

I think a big difference is that men jump so much higher and have a ton of hang time and run sweeter offensive plays

Answer 5

Court is identical, I believe the rules are identical, net height for men 8', women 7'4" ... coed is generally man's height but I've played on 7'8" nets as well.

In terms of play ... men is faster, harder, and higher.  Generally in mens' the play at the net is far more critical ... blocks for D and coordinated 'plays' on attack (fakes, back row, etc) ... because when a guy crushes the ball it is either going down or bounced off a player off of the court.  Also, with men ... the attack can come from anywhere, anytime ... setters have the strength to get the ball just about anywhere and are able to use all 5 players.

With women, the game tends to have longer volleys and more defensive plays, especially away from the net.  You will see more 'second chances' ... deflections, digs, etc. that can actually be played.  You will also see 'defensive' type substitutions into the back row ... since there is generally less of an ability for players to attack from behind the line.

Answer 6

I'm no expert but I would assume that the rules of the game are the same for both men and women?  So, for me, the interesting differences would be purely aesthetic.

Answer 7

Between the two, mens is clearly the more offensive game and womens is more defensive. Mostly because guys want to crush balls and have more ability to do so.

Answer 8

i think the most interesting difference is the hitting and defense. in men's volleyball, i watch for better offense since they hit more powerfully. serves are also more powerful when it comes to men's volleyball.

in women's volleyball, i think the defense is much easier to watch because they don't usually hit as hard as the men do. granted men have amazing defense but women's is just easier to follow.

all in all though, if i want to watch a great game either men's or women's volleyball will do. however, depending on the skill i want to learn, i would specifically watch women's or men's. (meaning like for hitting i'd watch women's vball since i'm a female)

Answer 9

I'm afraid that I'm like the first person... I don't think the play area is any different, and I would imagine everything else would be the same as well..

so, of course, my main interesting difference would be the players, and I, of course, prefer the women.

Answer 10

I think you are absaloutely correct in the fact that the men's and women's games are quite different. From personal experience and watching both games mens volleyball seems to rely much more on power than women's volleyball does. Men rarely hit the ball out or make a lot of errors while this is more common in the womens game. Both games are strategic and both games are focused on putting the ball in play but out of reach of the other team. rallies in the womens game often tend to be longer than in the mens game

Answer 11

I'll go with the high school/club level because that is what I know:

Hitting is a priority for men's teams and fundamentals are second. In many cases, Hitting should be first on the season practice plan, otherwise boys will lose interest in the game. Hitting first keeps their attention, then you can explain that in order for a good hit to happen, a pass and set must occur. That way, to them, the end justifies the means. On Women's teams, all fundamentals are drilled more from the beginning and hitting is almost more of an afterthought.

Quicks are more common in men's games as well. On women's teams, blocks aren't as high as the men, so the need for quicks and stacks are less of a need, until you get to higher levels of course.

Serving is also a big difference. The serves on the men's side are faster and higher and often are jump serves. Most girls tend to serve overhand floaters or topspin.

Serve receive is also different. Many mens teams use more overhand passing on anything but a jump serve.

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From a psychological standpoint, the biggest difference is the old coaching adage:

"Girls must bond to battle, boys must battle to bond."

What this means is on girls teams, bonding should occur in the beginning of the season to build a bond of "team" BEFORE playing games. For boys, bonding can occur at the end of the season as a reward because the boys already bond WHILE playing together.

Also, boys teams tend to have very little drama if at all because boys tend to be more adapt to dealing with conflict, resolving it, and forgetting about it. Girls tend to let little things fester and the holding of grudges is much more common. Girl's coaches must juggle team issues much more.

On the flip side of this, Boys seem to be a lot more critical of their teammates and there is a lot of posturing on their teams and even within the volleyball community. Many boys reject newcomers to the sport and players on other teams. Girls tend to enjoy the "game" more and are intense in games, but are best friends with their opponents after the game.

This is a big reason why girls club volleyball is more successful than boys club. Girls aren't against playing with another player who is on a heated rival roster during the high school season and that bond doesn't break once the high school season starts again. I've often seen girls on a rival HS team talking to each other like they are best of friends but when the whistle blows to start serve, forget it. :)

I'm not trying to relay gender stereotypes here either, this is all common gender psychology.

With all of that said, the higher the level, the smaller the differences between the genders in the game.

Answer 12

guys can jump like a million feet higher. haha.

Answer 13

Women are much hotter in those uniforms. Especially on the beach courts.

Answer 14

Well, Mens game always is just all about hitting it and slamming it down every single play.  But the thing is Womens are too its just that men almost always slam it on the floor and it goes slam point, slam point....and repeats over and over.

Answer 15

College level: Not as much digs, because the men crush them so hard.

The scary thing? Some girls (look at Stanford, Penn State, Texas) are starting to crush them like the men!