22 all

Both teams start at 22 and simply play it out to 25 with a two-point margin. So every rally is an endgame rally, and in half an hour you play more of them than in a whole month of league matches. What you train is not the technique but the choices a team makes when one mistake costs the set.

9 players 8 phases ± 20 min 6 balls, full court, a scoreboard From U19 upwards or seniors

Phase 1 of 8Both teams are at 22; B serves from the right back

Your own team (S = setter) Opponents Equipment Ball

This animation comes straight out of the Koach app. In the app you play it at your own pace and the positions carry your players' real names.

Open in the app

How the drill runs

What you are training

End-of-set simulation: both teams at 22; a first-ball kill counts and the rally is played out until the point falls.

Decisions in the endgame: at 23-24, do you still dare to swing full?
The first-ball kill: taking the point on the first attack instead of stretching the rally out.
Playing every rally all the way out, even when it goes long — there is no whistle for a fresh start.

Coaching points

Scoring: always start at 22-22, play out to 25 with a two-point margin.

A three-point set is done in two minutes. That way everyone gets ten to fifteen set points instead of one per match.

On set point the serve does not go into the net.

Giving away a set point with a service error is the most expensive mistake there is. Agree on this: a little less pace, but the same zone — that way the pressure stays on.

The first attack is the cheapest one.

In the endgame a team that puts off the attack almost always gets the block set against it. Pass up the first-ball kill and you play the rest of the rally on the back foot.

Change who serves first each set.

Otherwise your best server is on the decisive ball every single time and the rest of the group never practices that moment.

Variations

Easier: Start at 20-20 and begin every rally with a free ball from the coach, so more gets played before set point arrives.
Harder: Start at 24-24 — every rally is set point straight away. Or deliberately put one team behind at 22-24 and make them come back.
With ten players: Five against five without a middle. Same scoring, and the substitutes keep score and coach from the side.
As a game: Best of three of these short sets. The team that takes two picks the next drill of the session.

Volleyball drills

4 players · 6 phases SafeVolley base round Warm-up 3 players · 5 phases Shoulder activation with band Warm-up 2 players · 6 phases Dynamic movement patterns Warm-up 5 players · 5 phases Core plank with rotation Warm-up

Read on in the knowledge base: handling pressure in the endgame · taking a time-out at the right moment · exactly how a set is played out