How is the strategy of volleyball different between indoor and outdoor competition?

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How is the strategy of volleyball different between indoor and outdoor competition? image

How are the strategies different for indoor and outdoor volleyball? Originally answered on May 22nd, 2012

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Answer by Scott MetcalfHigh School CoEd Montgomery County MD champs 1987, 4 years D1 at George Mason University, trained 2 years with the USA team and played pro in Belgium.

If you look at what are mostly constants between the two there is a lot that is the same. For example the court, net and ball are similar in size and the scoring and general rules are also similar(yes there are differences but lets simplify).  The techniques for dig, pass, set, block and hit are also very similar(differences, yes but simplifying).  For both Indoor and Outdoor the objective is to outscore your opponent by either putting the ball on your opponents court or preventing them from returning the ball to your count. 

Now consider what is really different and you have environment, surface, and number of players.

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Environment

Believe it or not I once played several matches in a USA vs. Canada National Team tour indoor style matches outdoors on converted tennis stadiums with temporary sport courts but really most of the environmental factors are specific strategies for Beach/Grass volleyball.  I think the strategy for dealing with and taking advantage of environment are common sense rules, things like being more conservative(or making your opponent less so) about passing, setting and serving in windy conditions, serving top spin into the wind will drop the ball aggressively, rain will make everything slow, heavy and effect viability, Sunny conditions may create potential blind spots for players one team might exploit. etc.

Surface

Sand (compared to any of the hard indoor surfaces) is essentially a neutralizer for players to run and jump.  Consider a roll shot high over a block to a deep corner, on a hard surface a defender(1 of 6) will have a high probability of running this shot down and keeping the ball in play but on a sand surface a defender will have a low probability of chasing this shot down unless they had committed to defending this part of the court before the ball was hit(more on this below).  There is an opportunity for many more finesse shots on a sand surface than in the indoor game.  Where it is more an exception in the indoor game it is commonplace in the outdoor game and an important strategy to master to be successful.  

Number of Players

Lets assume most possessions/plays will involve 3 contacts.  If you have 2 players like most outdoor volleyball you have only 2 possible combinations for both the offensive and defensive team to consider and develop a strategy for.  In the indoor arena you have 6 players and 36 possible combinations of player contacts for the offense and defense to consider(many happening as parallel options impossible for the defense to predict).  The indoor game is an awesome display of precise ball control, speed and power with 6 players all moving in what may appear to be a chaotic scramble to the novice but in actuality is a very deliberate and well balanced routine of ideal court and body positioning for countless game situations.

Bonus Strategy — Physicality and Conditioning

The indoor game is such a powerful game it demands its athletes jump higher and swing harder than their opponent but rarely will a rally last longer than a minute if not only a few seconds and the most a player will typically run is 30 feet in any one direction to make play on a ball.  These traits of Indoor volleyball make superior physicality an important trait for it's athletes.  With beach volleyball you have a sand surface that makes 30 ft seem like a 100 ft, only 2 players and countless more individual contacts vs. indoor players, hot sun conditions and sometimes long rallies that make strong conditioning a requirement for success and can humble some of the best indoor players.

One of the more interesting strategies of beach volleyball as  there is a lot that goes into predicting(sometimes just guessing) your  opponents tendencies so you can anticipate the part of the court you  will attack/defend.  Typically a blocker and back court defender will  communicate even before the ball is put in play to establish who will  block, which part of the court they will take away(block) and which half  of the back court they will commit to on defense.  On the offensive  side while the attacking player is in the air focused on the ball, the  non-attacking player will typically watch the defense and call out which  area of the opponents court the attacker should play the ball to.  There is a split second when all 4 players make a 100% commitment to one decision and it happens on almost every play.

I enjoy playing both but personally favor indoor volleyball because of the speed and power of the game as well as the whole team feeling of the game that goes even beyond the 6 players on the court. It is harder on the body though. 

 

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