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 | Style of play/tactics a la United/MSWL/etc? Posted by |
Looking in the face of playing Al's powerhouse team in my Cup match next week (we are the DEFENDING WGM CHAMPIONS, after all), I got to thinking about what I would do in United (or in the past, MSWL) if I was up against such a seemingly superior opponent. In those games, I might pull out a tactic like OST or PFD or play aggressive, or play a weird lineup combination (too many FWs or too many DFs), or apply some hardness or GPP to try a and steal one. As TMVL evolves, I wonder if there is room for similar (or wholly different, spefic to volleyball) tactics. I know there is the give and take of lineup mix across 3-4 matches per sessions, so there's that. But in a match like this, I am expecting a T7 for Quincy, and I probably don't have any other option myself, so the cards are pretty much on the table. In the real vball world, I know coaches must be constantly strategizing and scheming and scouting to find the best way to take on a particular opponent. Just some thoughts from a newbie. Thanks, Mike
Readers Comments
Pretty sure playing your Freshman and Sophomores will get the job done in the T-Town-Quincy matchup Mr. Cabral! :-)
Those are great questions. The people that have played this game competitively the most: Max, Josh, Dan, and Mr. Halpin may have some ideas.
But also if others have thoughts please share them.
There are some tweaks you can consider that Max has added to the rules (and I forgot but will be sure to use them when we host the Twisters this week):
6. Strategy Skill Strategic Tips for starting lineup
Serve - Best Servers possible in the lower number zones.
Receive - Best receiving OH starts at zone I or II
Block - Best MB starting at zone IV or V.
Attack - Best pin hitter (OH or RS) starts at zone IV or V. Separate good pin hitters from good MB hitters.
Defense - Have Liberos serve for a middle for more digging opportunities. Best digging OH starts at zone I or II.
Setting - Start in Zone I for less chance of setter dumps
I don't know how it would work on the back-end computational side, but theoretically, if you have an idea of what the matchup might be, a coach could instruct their particular OH and RS to either favor "line" or "cross" attacks. It's pretty self explanatory, but "hitting line" is an attempt to hit the ball towards the sideline, while "hitting cross" is an attempt to send it toward the middle of the court. If a coach knows that a certain weaker defensive player is expected to start in the Blue "5" position in the picture at the top of this post, the RS (or "opposite") can be instructed to hit line, rather than send it towards the "1" or "6" position. This could carry a higher chance of error, as the hitter is more likely to hit it out of bounds, but it may balance out if the skill of the hitter is high.
Similarly, a coach can instruct a Setter to favor a particular hitter, tipping the scales as to who gets the set, again with a potential higher error rate because the Setter may be "forcing it" too much.
On the defensive side, a coach could instruct blocker to "block line" or "block cross," to counter what they expect the attcking team to do. I'm sure there are others, I'll think on it some more.