What is the Hybrid 6 system that Japanese Women’s National team coach, Masayoshi Manabe introduced prior to the World Grand Prix finals?
It is trying to find a better way to do the following with the Japanese team:
1. Block the locations where the ball is set most frequently (the pins)
2. Place the setter in the center of the court to enable setting to both sides of the court
3. Take height out of the game (Japan is often lacking with their setters height/blocking height)
With bronze medals for Japan’s team in the 2010 World Championships and the 2012 Olympics, the Japanese federation has given Manabe the ability to try something to maintain Japan’s position in world volleyball. With the Hybrid 6, it is a very free system with the number of middle blockers and outside hitters. He said in his press conference, that I can use 2 middle blockers, 1 or even 0 middle blockers. But the middle blocker is shifted to an outside hitter. So even with the loss of the middle blocker, spiking is not lost.
I will now try to answer the points mentioned above:
1. How does this help with blocking where the ball is set most frequently?
Normally in the 6-1 offense/defense the middle blocker is shifted to the middle of the court in the rotation. The middle will cover the middle and then slide to the left or right side to create a double block. On excellent passes to the setter, the middle attacker becomes an option and can freeze the middle blocker from getting to the outside hitters as a deception play.
However, as plays break down, the middle attacker may not be an option in a spike attempt, forcing the ball to the outside hitter on the left or right (even to the back row).
In the Hybrid 6, the setter is moved to block the middle attacker, and the normal middle blocker is shifted to the right (left-side attacking across the net) or the left (right-side attacking across the net). This puts a bigger block against a better hitter down the line and the first one blocking angle. Now the setter in the middle will be a smaller inside block, so the other front row player and left back row player need to ready to dig at a possibly shallower position in the court. The middle moved to the right as a digger may not work well, but if it is an outside hitter playing the position, they are probably a better passer, so it may enable Japan to block better and possibly dig better (if only using 1 or 0 MBs).
Japan blocking with Miyashita in Zone 3 (Starts in Zone 2):