There are a number of ways to create a "team" defense. The three basic designs are the red (middle up), white (middle back) often referred to as a rotation defense and blue. These were created so that a person was assigned the responsibility of picking up the "tip."
   In the red, a person is stationed in the middle of the court and slides back and forth behind wherever the block is established and picks up the tip. The two other back row players stand three feet in from the sidelines and back line and move three feet either way towards the direction in which the set is sent to the opposing hitter. It is excellent for lower level teams or teams whose opponents send over a large number of free balls as a person is stationed in the middle of the court and passes all the free balls. Assuming the opponent is hitting a left side (power hit), the crucial element in the red defense is the left front player must drop very deep (15') and pick up the opposition's outside hitter's cross court shot while the left back player slides to her right and picks up the shot between the blockers hands. The right back picks up the line shot.
   The white (rotation) has the middle person stationed on the back line with the two other back row players standing seven feet in from the sidelines and twelve feet off the net. All three of these players "rotate" towards the ball when it is set and therefore, the one behind the block picks up the tips! The left back moves deep into the court and picks up the cross court shot while the middle back slides to her right and picks up the line shot when the opponent is hitting from the power side. This defense is used against teams that have the opponent's setter dumping the ball and are usually hitting the ball very hard. It was the most common defense for the last several years but has lost favor in the last few years....read on and find out why.
   In the blue defense the left front player covers the tip by the opponent's power hitter. This leaves three deep players to dig the ball but it means the left front must be able to run all the way back to her sideline in order to get a power hit in the counter attack. This will be the most popular defense in the future because it is excellent against a quick attack as the three back row players will be in a position to dig a quick and not have to worry about picking up tip.
   Unfortunately, the description of these defenses is rather static. That is, a truly great defensive team will adjust to the play. The players are not stationed in a spot and told to move to another spot but rather are given "concepts" to follow. For example; Do you want your players to play in close and attack the hitter or do you want your players to stay deep and "read" the hitter.
   In an attacking defense the concept is to stop the ball as close to the net as possible. Picture a cone from the point of attack spreading out deeper and deeper as the ball travels to the end line. Therefore, the block can stop the ball at the point of the cone; but if it gets