The Sports Page

The Virginia Tech Hokies are heading to New Orleans for a shot at Sugar Bowl glory! Campus Emporium is already prepared to send our Hokie fans into the stands in some awesome Sugar Bowl gear, inluding short and long sleeve tees, hoodies and crew sweatshirts.
The Sugar Bowl apparel is arriving today or tomorrow, and you can place a preorder right now on CampusEmporium.com. Unless you tell us otherwise in the Comments section (in checkout), we’ll just hold your order and ship it all together when the shirts arrive. As always, if you have any questions give us a buzz at 866-488-9327.

Shop our entire collection of 2012 Virginia Tech Sugar Bowl Shirts and Sweatshirts and let’s paint the Big Easy maroon and orange!

In continuing with our Virginia Tech athletics position series, we’ll cover the volleyball position called the setter. The setter is like the quarterback of the volleyball team and is absolutely intrinsic to the game – after all, he or she is “setting” up the ball for the rest of the players!

The natural progression of play in volleyball is that the ball is passed, the ball is set, and then the ball is attacked with a hit. The setter’s job is to place the ball in the right position for the intended hitter to make a decent attack. The setter must know which hitters are in the front row with them, and which blockers are on the other side of the net. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of the hitters on the court is important so that a play has the best chance of success.

There are three basic setting strategies that most teams use:

4-2: This setting strategy has two setters on the court at a time; one in the front row and one in the back row. The rules state that only the three players in the front row can jump and attack a ball that is right at the net. In this strategy the setter that is in the front row is the one who sets the ball. This means that at all times you only have two front row hitters instead of three, but the setter is able to also sneak the ball over on the second hit, trying to catch the other team off guard.

Here at CampusEmporium.com, we know you love all the traditional sports, such as football. But one sport that we know our Lady Hokies would love for us to mention is the Women’s Volleyball team. Last year, the Virginia Tech Women’s Volleyball program made it to the second round of the NCAA playoffs, losing to Penn State. Penn State, by the way, went on to win their 4th consecutive national title.

That being said, we wanted to take the chance to give you some basic information about the sport of volleyball so that if you are flipping through the channels, or wandering by the gym, you’ll know exactly what’s going on.

The game of volleyball consists of two teams with six people on the court at once. The main objective is to attack the ball in such a manner that the other team can not return it over the net. There are a variety of ways to achieve this goal, with a number of different rules and limitations that affect how the teams are allowed to play the ball.

The rules state that a team may only contact the ball three times before they send it back over the net. The normal progression of play is as follows: The ball is passed on the first contact toward the team’s setter. The second contact is usually the team’s setter, putting the ball in prime position to be attacked. The third contact is traditionally an attack that is aimed at terminating the rally. A rally continues until the ball hits the ground, or a rule has been violated. After each rally, one team is awarded a point. Each set is to 25 points, and each match is the best two out of three. If the match goes to the 5th set, the game is only to 15. This is the basic progression of play and you will see each team adopt a style of defense and attack patterns.

Here is a list of basic rule violations that may be called during a game. They may be confusing to someone unfamiliar with the sport:

-Four Contacts. This is called if a team touches the ball four times before returning the ball over the net. Note: If a player attempts to block the ball, but the ball still comes down on their side of the net, the block does not count as a contact.

-Double Contact: If one player contacts the ball two times in succession. This again does not apply for a blocked ball. This is often called when a setter miss-handles a ball and it hits both of his or her hands as they attempt to set.

-Lift/Carry: This is called if the ball at any point in time comes to a slight rest or does not move freely from a point of contact. This can also be called if a player attempts to throw the ball on an attack as an attacking motion must be made with an open palm.

-Back Row Attack: This is called if a back row player attacks a ball over the net ahead of the ten foot line. The ten foot line or “attack line” divides a team’s court into two zones. If a player from the back row wants to attack the ball they must leave their feet from behind this line. This is often called on a setter who is attempting to set out of the back row.

-In the Net: This is called if a player touches the net during play. This is not allowed unless an attacked ball hits the net into a blocker’s hands.

These are some of the basic rules. As we move forward we will share more posts about the various positions in volleyball to help you get a better understand of the game. Make sure to get out and support the Women’s Volleyball team this coming fall. And when you play at home, stay cool and comfy in our Virginia Tech Women’s Under Armour Shirt.