Coaches who use the same lineup every game will cost your team some wins. In a 25 point game, most teams (Note: this varies slightly at each age group, so you must track it for your team) will go through two and a half full rotations (rotating for serve about 15 times). In a deciding match, where the game goes to 15, your team will go through one and a half rotations (rotating for serve about 9 times).
For the sake of illustration, let's assume you have 6 players and you have one strong, dominant middle hitter (most coaches put the tall girls in the middle, which is a bad move, but that can be explained another day). In a typical lineup, most coaches will start that MB in the middle front. Now, based on the number of rotations, let's calculate where the player will finish the game: Game to 25 = Finish in the back row Game to 15 = Finish in the back row Do you really want to have your dominant player to finish the game in the back row? Maybe there is a reason you do. But, when you think about how many close sets you play, can you afford to have your best hitter in the back row at the end of the game? This year, I observed a 7th grade team that had one tall, dominant hitter (which they played in the middle) and the other middle was a great defensive player in the back row. The coach started the big MB in the right front rotation on every match. This ensured that the girl would finish in the back row in every set they played. In the deciding sets, their best hitter had one pass through the front row, while the weaker middle had two passes through the front row. I won't get into it here, but altering your lineup to get better matchups will pay off with a few extra wins. That article is for another day. Cheers!
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