Sideout Journal
Feature · Training

Reading the setter: three cues top hitters use before the ball leaves the hands.

Elite hitters don't guess. They read the setter's hips, hands, and eyes in a specific order — and the order matters more than most club coaches teach.

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A libero digs a hard-driven ball in a pro match

Latest in Training

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Beach volleyball player serving into the sun
Training

The quiet revolution of the beach-to-indoor transition.

Indoor programs used to treat beach as an off-season toy. Then the passing numbers came in.

By James Onyekwere · 8 min read
Club players running a warm-up drill
Training

Why club-level pass-set-hit reps hit a wall — and what pros do instead.

The most common drill in American club volleyball is the least like actual volleyball. Here is what the national team does.

By Priya Nair · 10 min read
Setter's hands mid-set, low angle
Training

Reading the setter: three cues top hitters use.

Hips, hands, eyes — in that order. Featured story above.

By Elena Marconi · 12 min read

From the Pro Circuit

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Overhead view of a VNL match
Match Report

VNL Week 2 recap: Italy's block system finally cracks Poland.

Two years of read-block work paid off in a single 25-23 fifth set. The tape tells you what shifted at rotation four.

By Marco De Luca · 7 min read
Fans in an Istanbul volleyball arena
League

Inside the Turkish Sultanlar Ligi: how the world's richest women's league is signing everyone.

Fenerbahçe, Vakıfbank, and Eczacıbaşı are outspending every European league combined. The salary cap debate is a decade overdue.

By Ceyda Aksu · 14 min read
Olympic volleyball court with USA and Brazil banners
Long Read

Paris 2024 revisited: what the men's bronze match told us about USA's rotation puzzle.

John Speraw's team leaves the cycle with more open questions at OH than at any point since 2016.

By Sam Whitaker · 18 min read

Culture & Notebook

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