Players line up in backcourt area.
The feeder throws the ball to either Zone 1, 6 or 5. Players' must dig the ball back to the feeder.
However, the player standing in Zone 6 must move to receive the balls sent to Zone 1 and 5. The player standing in zone 5 must move to receive the ball thrown into 1 or 6 and so on.
The two players not in the zonal area the ball has been thrown to must communicate with each other to see who will return the ball to the feeder.
This drill will build the communication between players and improve how the players support the zones they are not standing in.
Start throwing the ball into the zones using an easy, looped pass and progress to throwing it faster and lower.
When your hitter gets stuffed, five teammates standing and watching is how you lose the point. Good attack coverage turns a blocked ball into a second swing.
Coaches spend hours correcting arms in serve receive when the real fault is almost always the feet. Fix the movement and the platform fixes itself.
Most teams win the dig and then hand the point straight back with a slow, predictable transition swing. The best 2026 sides treat the moment after the dig as their sharpest scoring chance, feeding the middle in transition and running first-tempo attacks off a defensive ball.