Two-Player Seam Reads

Steps

1. 01Stand in serve receive with a partner, splitting the court left and right.
2. 02Before each serve, call out loud who takes the middle third on this ball.
3. 03Have a third player serve, aiming at the seam roughly half the time.
4. 04Whoever called the middle takes anything in it; the other player releases and moves to set.
5. 05Run 20 serves, then swap sides. Score only whether the call was made before contact and honoured after it.

Common mistakes

• Calling the ball after it crosses the net, by which point both players have already moved.
• Both players playing it safe and leaving the seam, which is exactly where a good server aims.
• The releasing player watching the pass instead of moving to the setting position.