Reader M.C. notes that opposing servers also target Shaffmaster when she is in the back row rotation, which takes the Gophers out of sync.
In a 5-1 system, the setter is in the back-row half the time, and serving at this back-row setter is a common tactic. But according to the stats on the Gopher website, Shaffmater hasn’t touched a single receive all year. There are a variety of counter tactics a receiving team can employ to prevent their setter from receiving.
- You can let your setter participate in the receive, and have the opposite/right-side hitter take the first set (and then switch while the ball is on the other side of the net). Samedy, the Gophers’ opposite is a very skilled passer and could easily handle this responsibility. The down side is that Samedy can’t set herself, so the Gophers wouldn’t have a right-side hitter on this initial return. Or
- Your setter can “hide” close to the net, as long as they are positioned behind the front-row player in front of them. This the tactic I used most frequently when I was coaching, but I think the Gophers employ this tactic only when their setter is back-left, behind Landfair, resulting in a formation with 3 players “stacked” in the left front corner, with the setter moving toward the setting position as soon as the serve is struck. . Or
- Your setter can “hide” behind one of your primary receivers, again moving toward the setting position as soon as the serve is struck (but choosing a path which does not interfere with the receive). I’ve also used this tactic This works well when your setter is back-right (following the loss of serve), and the Gophers use it in that rotation. But it is more difficult coming from other positions, especially if your setter chooses the wrong path. Or
- Your setter can “hide” in plain sight, in the center of the court. I never had the nerve to try this when I was coaching (at a much lower skill-level), because it requires your receivers to pretend that their setter isn’t there, even though she is. (She’s not there in the sense that she will not handle the receive, even when they serve right at her — which they love to do.) The Gophers use this when Shaffmaster is back-middle, and she does quickly duck out of the way, but it requires extreme concentration by our liberos and D.S,’s to not be distracted.