Coaches corner: New setters abound in Class AA; how 2 teams navigated that scenario

BILLINGS — Senior-level players were a dominant force across Class AA volleyball last season, and that was no more evident than at the setter position, the most important spot on the floor.

In the final statistical report of the 2024 regular season, the top seven players and nine of the top 10 in terms of assists per set were seniors.

The only other comparable statistical category was among the defensive specialist/libero group, which, like setters, requires a skill set that is aided by experience as much as talent. Though then-sophomore Cadence Graham of Butte led AA with 5.87 digs per set, seven of the top-10 players were seniors.

Jonny Walker / MTN Sports

A look at this year’s setters stats (as of Oct. 15) shows Sofia Cuaresma of Missoula Big Sky and Belgrade’s Nora Elliot as the lone seniors in the top-10 overall for assists per set.

Incorporating a new setter into a team’s offense — particularly if that position has been anchored by the same player for several years — is always a nerve-wracking proposition for coach and player.

Helena coach Lindsey Day has turned to a new setter in junior Avery Peterson, who co-leads AA along with Billings West’s Nora Allen, by averaging 10.0 assists per set. Erika Gustavsen, coach of defending champion Gallatin, has incorporated senior Ava Flohr into the Raptors’ two-setter system, joining junior incumbent Markie Wiseman. Together, the Raptors' duo averages 9.83 assists per set.

Gustavsen’s Raptors finished the week 22-0 and leading the Eastern AA with a 11-0 record, while Day’s Bengals, 10-11 overall, lead the Western AA with a 9-1 mark.

In separate interviews with MTN Sports, Day and Gustavsen talked about the setter position and how important it is to a program. Questions and answers have been edited from brevity and clarity.

Q: I’m curious if the AA coaches talked about how many teams were senior led, particularly at the setter position last year?

Day: This is my 20th year coaching high school volleyball, and when you have those years where you have strong leadership on the court and then you’re rebuilding, I think everybody feels that sense of panic of like, ‘Oh, what’s it going to look like next year trying to develop a setter and get them varsity ready?’

Gustavsen: I think across the board, we knew last year's class was a pretty strong senior class. I feel like it's a couple-year cycle, you know, because I'm kind of looking forward to next year, and I'm going to potentially have like, eight or nine seniors, and maybe one underclassmen. So, I think that's just kind of par for the course in some ways.

Q: Since it is cyclical, is there anything you can do as a coach to alleviate that?

Day: Oh, for sure. I think most head coaches try to develop a setter that can be there for a couple years and then you have to re-develop another setter. I have had a few years where they are just a varsity setter as seniors, JV as a junior, but the majority of the time I like to have them for a couple of years, just because so much work goes into getting them where they need to be.

Gustavsen: Speaking from my perspective, our coaching staff, it’s not a year-by-year thing. It's a multi-year plan for us within our program, ‘Hey, you know, who do we have in the setters in this class and below them and above them?’ Because the reality is not everybody's going to be able to continue to play. I think you have to kind of look at your team and figure out what's best.

Q: Is there any question about the importance of the position to a program?

Day: They have to have the leadership, get the buy-in from the whole team, have the court smarts of recognizing what’s happening on the other side of the net, and then they have to be athletic enough to make the big plays. It’s like the quarterback of a football team.

Gustavsen: We put a lot on them. They constantly have to be thinking. I mean, you're running the offense, and you have to know what's going on on the other side and what your players need to be doing. And a lot of that in volleyball is in (real) time, I mean, in the way of in-play moments. Reading, like, is the blocker cheating? Are we recognizing that and going against the flow of traffic? I mean, there's a lot that goes into it. So, yeah, super important.

2025 Class AA assists leaders

Q: Much like quarterbacks in a football program, how do you balance getting your main setter her reps in practice with her hitters while at the same time giving another setter reps who might have to step in at any given moment with those same hitters?

Day: That’s a risk that I take more than I probably should, but I usually only let my varsity setters get reps with varsity hitters so that they’re getting that connection. Because it takes time, it takes figuring out your hitters. There’s just a lot that goes into it. I usually keep my JV setters with the JV hitters, but that is definitely a risk.

Gustavsen: In general, you just have to be really, I think, conscious every day. When I'm planning practices it is a very conscious thing of, are we getting these individual reps? Are we getting those relationship reps, as far as, like, you know, passers with the setters and setters with the hitters, and then, you know, collectively as a team, enough of those drills.

Q: It’s been said a setter is supposed to be an extension of the coach on the court. How can you ensure that happens, and how do setters and coaches build that mutual trust?

Day: It takes time, and it takes a lot of conversations and a lot of film watching. It's not something that happens overnight. I think it's definitely a process that you have to kind of work through with young, new, developing setters.

Gustavsen: Ultimately, it's just a trust thing, you know. I have to believe that they have done everything in their power to prepare to go into these matches and, you know, that part’s on me. And then once we're there, I have to also trust their gut. It's a trusting thing of you're in the moment, you're out on the floor, if that's what you felt like you wanted to do, then I get that, because there has to be some instinct in it as well.

Q: A month into the season, how have you seen teams, including your own, adjust to this level of turnover in the setter position?

Day: Well, I can just speak on Avery, just from what I’ve seen out of her. I met with her at the end of last season, kind of knowing what her role might need to look like. And, boy, I could not ask for more from that young lady. Like, she lived in the gym. I think she missed one open gym all summer and missed zero setting sessions. Her commitment level is incredible, which is what it takes to get her where she needed to be to fill a varsity role.

Gustavsen: Markie made that jump from sophomore (last year), and so it's a really nice feeling with her this year as a junior, that she has that experience. And then we added in Ava Flohr, who had set and played middle in her previous three (sub-varsity) years in our program. And so we are running a 5-2 (offense) this year where Markie sets in the back and then Ava sets in the front row. So, we're kind of trying to play into their greatest strengths, and who they kind of connect with because they are different setters.

Specifically talking about the Eastern AA, I really believe that there's some pretty solid kids that will return next year, and I think in general, that will continue to make teams better.

Q: Besides the talent side, what makes a setter complete?

Day: I just think setters are such silent, unselfish athletes. People that don’t understand the game don’t realize the value and the importance of what they do on the court. Everybody sees the big kill and the big point that the big hitters come up with, but setters are just those unselfish athletes that make that happen.

Gustavsen: Thick skin. I think of Markie last year at the state tournament as a sophomore on a very, very successful team with very high-level athletes. We go into the first match of the state tournament, and she got called for eight (double hits), and she hadn't been called for eight doubles the entire season total.

To be honest with you, most teenage girls would get real emotional, that would be a hard thing, you know? And she didn't break down, like she kept playing. She played really well. She didn't let it affect her. So, I think there's something different in setters as far as they have to have that kind of move on mentality, they can't ride the highs and the lows. I think other players can. They can’t, they have to be the most consistent.