What is the recommended positioning of a left back player to return a hit?

Question

What is the recommended positioning of a left back player to return a hit?

Answer 1

your base position should be about 2 feet in on the ten foot line. stay down and ready to pass because the other setter may dump when front row. for a middle hit, stay where you are, you won't have time to move anyway. for a back set (5) drop back two or three steps with your left foot on the side line. this way, if the ball goes to your left, it is out. on an outside set (4) depending on which defense you run, you may move so that you are lined up with the hitter's shoulder, but also so you can see the hitter without being behind the block, here anything to your left is probably out. the other kind of defense just requires you to open up to face the hitter, in this defense, anything above your waist is out. talk to your coach, he may want to run a different kind of defense. what ever the circumstances are, be ready to pass, because sometimes after a hard hit by your team, the other team may over pass the ball and you may not be ready.

Answer 2

I will have to admit it is a great question.

When you start a rally you have a general lineup either "center short" or "center deep", which is how you want to position your back-row players for a serve receive, and in general defense.

To return an OH-hit, your OH should come back to (or behind) 10-ft line, taking sharp angle and tip-to-the-middle, and your left-back should be about 20 ft or 25 ft away from the net.

To return an RS-hit, your OH should be up for blocking, and left back should be about 10 ft to 15 ft from the net for tip over, and your middle back should move leftward to cover your back and all deep hit.

To return middle-hit, we tend to keep both left-back and right-back stay 10-15 ft away from the net and let the middle back cover everything else, as middle-hit tend to be straight down or tip over. Middle could hit corners, but not a lot. If your middle back (or the libero) is quick enough s/he should be able to cover those corners, but her/his main focus should be middle.

To go back to your question, the left back and right back should be moving "back and forth" based on where the ball is being hit.

Answer 3

It depends on where the hitter is hitting from and at.

Strong side hitting cross court, you want to be kind of facing them (diagnal on the court) and you want to be near the three point line for basketball, and make sure you are in the proper passing position.

Weak side hitting down the line, you want to be very close to the line so you can be there if it is in.

Answer 4

there are many ways to play left back defense, but your positioning really depends on 2 main things.

1- where the hit is coming from (Strong side, middle or weak side

2- what the hitter on the other side has been doing (ie. hitting cross court or down the line

the fundamentals are the same though.  Assuming you play a 2 back position, your starting defensive position should be about 20-22 feet from the net and 2-3 feet from the side lines.  You should be facing the hitter.  You should position yourself to be right off the hands / shoulders of your blockers.

If the hit is from the left side and your blockers are blocking cross court, plant yourself a little closer to the side lines.  anything down the line is yours.

If the hit is from the middle or right side hitter, line yourself to the left of your middle blocker's left shoulder.  anything cross court is yours.  

As the hitter is swinging away, you should be getting low w/ your hands apart and slightly in front of you.  this gives you the proper position to play a hard driven ball.(just close your hands and pass it), a dink (raise your hands and set it if you can or close your hands and pass it) or push forward and slide for a dink that's just behind the blockers.

the left back and right back defensive players are responsible for all short balls (respectively to on their side)  the middle back has to get all the deep balls.

good luck and remember to stay back and then move forward when the hitter is swinging.  most people tend to stand too close to play real defense when the ball is hit really hard.