Rigorous training of the hands, displaying identical hand placement from catching to releasing the volleyball, and precise contact to make it land in the perfect spot, giving the opportunity for a hitter to make the kill. Essentially, that was the role of the setter: hours of training to reach their max potential for themselves, and their team. In football terms, they were the quarterback of the team. 

It was only up until recently that the NCAA announced their updated double contact rule nationwide, addressing the removal of the double hit from the rulebook. With the setter being known as the “2nd touch,” they were the ones spectated the most for the double contact regulation. For these players once the news was out, controversial opinions quickly arose on social media and between thousands of teams as majority felt that this rule was unfair to the setter position and it takes away the beauty of who a setter really is.

MARLEE JAWORSKI- STAFF WRITER

From starting volleyball at a very young age, I was given the role of setting, and I instantly started to train with different techniques. I began my setting career with using weighted basketballs and small tennis balls; these techniques have helped me maintain doing the right motions for setting. Now though, a play can still go on regardless of how the ball moves and I feel that refs would be more lenient when making calls now because now the excuse would be that touches like a double contact are all “part of the rules.”

Although this rule would be applied eventually, I think that this rule can really mess up a coaches rotations and ways of both defense and offense. In tournaments, there have been teams who have struggled with their systems as it is and with this new rule it will make it a lot harder for players to know where to go. With being a setter comes a lot of communication and this new rule may cause players to not be consistent with their sets. This can really mess the hitters up as they are used to the type of sets their setter normally gives them and it can cause the team to now only get a 50% chance of getting the point.   

Along with college quickly approaching, this new rule may cause me to want to change my position later on in my career as I have also dedicated many hours of my time on setting. Many setters including myself have made a warm up routine before any game, which could be pointless now as coaches can easily put in a libero for a setter. As the rules in volleyball keep on changing, that may cause players to lose interest in the sport or their motivation may change as they feel that the sport is not how they used to play. 

The countless times of rules being changed in volleyball have given me no doubt that the setter position will be changed again and that eventually a lift will be allowed. Volleyball has always been something that has allowed me to escape from reality and the fact that people are changing the one sport I care most about really upsets me and has me concerned for the future.

JOCELYN ROLDAN – BUSINESS MANAGER

Through the anxious hours of a tournament, I have already witnessed the changes within the ref’s visual. Setters getting away with their doubling contacts, and my angered coaches on the sideline watching as the scene in front of them crumbles: refs turning a blind eye as the ball spins improperly. From my perspective, it was simply a rule waiting to make its mark in women’s college volleyball history.

This is my 5th year setting, and I spent years dedicating hours outside—scrupulous training to not double—to perform my duties like college players: perform the perfect set, without a spin. I spent hours that, with this new rule, others won’t need to commit. Either way, I have witnessed this rule taking its invisible turn in the past few years and, still, I can’t help but feel slight anger from it.

Many setters have spent years training, getting rid of our bad habits to not only help out hitters, but the team in its entirety. My coach described my position as the engine of the team: without a good setter, it’s difficult to have a good team. Now, it’s likely the setting position will change again, more simplified even, where a double is visible yet still permits the hitter to make an adequate swing. The sport is going to change, perhaps not now, but soon, and drastically.

The position has already changed drastically through the years, from when to reach the ball’s location to how many fingers should direct it. But this change in particular ruins the name of ‘the setter is the engine of the team,’ because now the position is easier, allowing other players to assume the responsibilities of a setter. Setting was a form of art, and now, the art has been covered with a black tarp.

This rule is currently only for college players, it’s not applied to AAU or USAV where high schoolers play. As of now, doubles still exist for minors; however, it will likely be only a matter of time until the rules of college seeps into the youth’s rulebooks, making history by removing doubles from the game and changing how coaches will decipher playing tactics. We know, it was a rule waiting to make its permanent markings in the rulebook for years, but no setter truly believed it would become a reality, nor was ready to see that article.