Dear Setter, You Will Marry a Middle Blocker

Indoor volleyball drill with players in colorful jerseys; Manji, a middle blocker, is facing Nina. They seem to have a disagreement.

Every volleyball player knows that some of the loudest arguments on the court happen between setters and outside hitters. They shout, point fingers, and blame each other for every blocked ball. But there is another kind of drama that does not always make noise. It is the quiet gbege between the setter and the middle blocker, and if you watch closely, you will see it.

It starts when a middle runs a hard transition, jumps until their knees are begging for mercy, and the setter ignores them to push the ball outside. The middle lands, adjusts their kneepad, looks across at the setter and says nothing.

After two months, the setter remembers he has a middle and gives a tight "hospital set" straight into a monster block. The middle gets blocked and, turns around and looks at the setter again.

But honestly speaking, the middle has a right to be annoyed. Middle blockers do some of the most difficult jobs on the court. They are always constantly moving, closing blocks, running quick attacks, going back into position and then doing it all over again. The middle blocker jumps more times than anyone in the game. It's just natural that they'd expect that when the pass is good and everything is in place, they expect the setter to remember them. But it never the case.

So when the setter ignores a perfectly positioned middle and sends the ball outside again, especially when the outside hitter is already struggling, the middle starts wondering what exactly they are doing all that running for.

But setters have their own complaints. A setter needs the middle to keep the opposing blockers guessing. Even when the middle is not going to get the ball, that approach matters. If the middle makes the run, the opposing blocker has to think twice about leaving them. That little hesitation can create the space the setter needs to find an outside or opposite hitter.

So when a middle gets tired, stops making the run or decides the play is already dead, the setter has a problem. The same thing happens when the pass is slightly off the net. A good middle still has to adjust and make the effort to pull the blocker away. But some middles will look at the bad pass and mentally cancel the play before the setter has even made a decision.

And setters notice it as well. They also notice when the middle jumps too early, jumps too late, drifts into their space, or complains about not getting the ball when their timing was completely off.

That is what makes this relationship so interesting. The setter needs the middle to open up the court, and the middle needs the setter to give them a ball they can actually attack. Neither position can get the best out of the other without trust, and this is what makes the whole thing funny.

They can spend an entire match frustrating each other, exchanging looks after bad plays and quietly keeping score of who made the bigger mistake. But when the timing finally clicks, the same two people who were giving each other bombastic side eyes earlier suddenly become one of the most dangerous combinations on the court.

So, my dear Setter, stop ignoring your middle, manage and give them the ball sometimes. I know you have trust issues but learn to trust their timing, and maybe, just maybe, you'll become the deadliest combo that you're meant to be.

I know every middle blocker reading this will be like; "tell them". But before you show this to your setter, you sef, learn to pass well. Yes, attack is the best form of defense, but attack begins with a good pass. I wish you both the best of the other. You deserve each other. 😂