Rotation & Lineup Builder

Pick a system (6-6, 4-2, 6-2 or 5-1), type in your players and see where everyone stands in all six rotations, both when your team serves and when it receives. Drag players to try your own spots: the builder checks the overlap rule after every move, under FIVB or US rules. Then copy a link or print all six receive rotations on one page.

Systems

6-6, 4-2, 6-2, 5-1 (+ 2 variants)

Views

6 rotations × serve and receive

Overlap check

FIVB or US rules

Your names

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Build your lineup

Names never leave your browser: there is no account, nothing is stored on our server and nothing you type is tracked.

1. System

Formation system 6-6 basic rotation 4-2 4-2 with middle blockers 6-2 5-1 5-1, right-side hitter receives

Every starting spot and receive formation comes from the animated court on that system's formation page.

2. Players

Up to 20 characters each. Leave a box empty to show the role instead.

Use a libero

3. Overlap rules

FIVB (international)

US rule sets (USA Volleyball, NFHS, NCAA)

Receive views are checked the same way under both. In serve views FIVB (since 2025) doesn't check the serving team, while US rules check everyone except the server.

The builder also remembers your last lineup in this browser. "Clear lineup" deletes it.

Rotation 1 Rotation 2 Rotation 3 Rotation 4 Rotation 5 Rotation 6

View

Serve Receive

Rotation 1: Receive

Drag a player to move them. With a keyboard, press Tab to reach a player, then use the arrow keys to move them 0.25 m (Shift + arrow: 1 m).

Reset this view Reset all positions Copy link Print receive rotations Clear lineup

S

Setter

OH

Outside hitter

MB

Middle blocker

OP

Opposite

L

Libero

P

Player (6-6 and 4-2)

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Red dashed line: overlap between two players (also listed in words)

The small number on each player is their rotational position (1–6), which the overlap rule uses. An orange ring marks a player you have moved.

The builder treats each player as a single point, so standing exactly level counts as an overlap here. Referees judge the feet, and being level is legal, so leave a small gap.

How rotation works

Six players start in the six court zones: 4, 3 and 2 along the net (left to right) and 5, 6 and 1 in the back row. Each time your team wins the serve back from the other team (a side-out), everyone moves one spot clockwise: 2 to 1, 1 to 6, 6 to 5, 5 to 4, 4 to 3 and 3 to 2. The player who moves into zone 1 serves. After six rotations the team is back where it started.

Serve and receive: two views of every rotation

• Serve: your team serves. The server stands behind the end line, and the other five get ready to defend.
• Receive: the other team serves. Players line up to pass, often stacked so the best passers take the ball and the setter can reach the net quickly.

Every position in the builder comes from the animated court on that system's formation page, so the builder and the formation pages always agree. Drag players to try your own variations.

Pick your system

• 6-6 basic rotation: everyone takes a turn at every job, and whoever is in zone 3 sets.
• 4-2: two setters, and whichever is in the front row sets.
• 4-2 with middle blockers: the front-row setter sets from zone 2, and middle blockers and outside hitters move to their own spots after the serve.
• 6-2: two setters; the back-row setter sets and the front-row setter hits, so three attackers are always at the net.
• 5-1: one setter all match and five hitters; the opposite doesn't pass serve.
• 5-1, right-side hitter receives: the opposite also passes serve, an easier way into the 5-1.

How the overlap check works

When the ball is served, each player must be in the right order compared with their neighbours: in front of or behind the player in the same column (4 in front of 5, 3 in front of 6, 2 in front of 1), and left or right of the players beside them in the same row (4, 3, 2 and 5, 6, 1 from left to right). Diagonal players aren't compared. If a player you drag breaks the order, the builder draws a red dashed line between the two players and writes the fault out, for example “6 must be behind 3”. The overlap rules page explains it in full.

• Receive views: the same check under FIVB and US rules.
• Serve views: FIVB (since 2025) doesn't check the serving team; US rule sets (USA Volleyball, NFHS, NCAA) check every player except the server.

Deep dive: the libero, US rules and what the builder simplifies

Libero substitutions

In the 6-2 and 5-1 the libero replaces the middle blockers in the back row, exactly as on those formation pages. Turn the libero off and the middle blockers stay on court in every rotation, on the same spots. The 6-6, 4-2 and 4-2 with middle blockers pages don't use a libero, so the builder doesn't either.

Can the libero serve?

Under FIVB rules the libero may not serve, so in the rotation where a middle blocker is in zone 1, the middle blocker serves. That is what the builder shows by default. In the US (USA Volleyball, NFHS high school and NCAA women's), the libero may serve in one rotation position per set: choose the US rule sets and pick the rotation. See the libero page for more.

One point per player

Referees judge the position of the players' feet, and standing level with a neighbour is legal. The builder uses one point per player, so it counts exactly level as an overlap to keep you on the safe side.

Your data, links and printing

Names stay in your browser. “Copy link” puts the system, names and moved positions in the part of the link after the # sign, which browsers never send to a server; anyone you share the link with sees the names. The builder keeps your last lineup in this browser's storage until you press “Clear lineup”. “Print receive rotations” prints all six receive rotations on one A4 or Letter page.

Frequently asked questions