Volleyball drills · Match play · Defense · Attack

Complete rally 3v3 with libero coverage

Three against three with a libero on each side covering the back court. Because there are only three players up front, almost every defended ball ends up with the libero, and it is literally their job to keep the rally alive. It is the smallest drill in which you see the complete cycle: serve receive, build-up, attack, block and counter-attack.

9 players 12 phases ± 25 min 6 balls, full court, pinnies for the liberos From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 12Three on three plus libero coverage; B serves from the right back

Your own team (P = passer, M = middle, S = setter, L = libero) Opposition 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

Extended 3v3 rally drill plus liberos: serve, serve receive, build-up, attack, block and counterattack.

Letting the libero do what they are there for: first ball, coverage and the ball nobody else gets to.
Building a full attack with three court players plus a libero.
Playing on after the block, because the ball nearly always comes back.

Coaching points

Use the real libero rules, even in a small drill like this.

An overhead set from inside the front zone may not lead to an attack above net height. Let that slide in training and you will see the same mistake come back in a match at the worst possible moment.

On the opponent's attack the libero stands behind their own hitter, not next to them.

Next to the blocker they catch nothing. Behind the hitter they are standing exactly where the block touch drops, and those are the free balls in this drill.

Everybody calls the ball, the libero included.

In a group of three everyone assumes the libero will sort it out. Without calling you get two kinds of mistakes at once: the ball nobody takes and the ball two players take.

The set goes up high, even off a good pass.

With three court players the hitter needs more time to get into the approach than in six against six. A fast ball in this drill almost always ends up in the blocker's hands.

Variations

Easier: The libero may catch the first ball and toss it in. Rallies start with a free ball instead of a serve.
Harder: The libero may not play the second ball: the trio has to get the build-up done on their own. Or play without a block, so every attack has to be defended.
With ten players: Three plus a libero per side and two players who serve in turn; after ten balls they swap with the middles.
As a game: Play to 15. Every rally the libero digs and the team then wins counts double.

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: the rules and the role of the libero · what the libero may and may not do at the net · drills for your libero