Here’s some more form the word doc I found, authored by Kai. Whoever you are dude, I owe you a beer. You’ve saved me at least a year of keyboard related arthritis.
Again, some good thoughts here. Great for any player who wants to improve.
Facing a conventional position server, (each server serves from his corner consistently) the cross court receiver always takes the middle because he is at a better angle. The ball is moving toward him and he can pass straight back along the path of the serve (the easiest pass) if the serve is tough. The line receiver has to move to a serve that is moving away from him and then pass the ball from his side-not the optimal passing position.
Facing a server that moves around, always communicate to your partner who will take middle, especially if the serve comes from dead center. Take care however, not to let the serving team know this, in case they’ve read this book (see tip 1 )
Cross court receiver be aware of the deep diagonal serve. It can be hit the hardest because that is longest line on the court.
Passing straight to the net is the best tactic since this is the simplest, shortest route to the net. Simple because there is always only one spot that fits this description no matter where you are passing from. A short, direct approach also allows the maximum number of angles of attack, saves energy and is the fastest developing.
The single most important factor in the success of an attack given technical execution, is vision. Straight ahead attacks allow you to keep the defense, your pass, the setter and the set all in front of you and in plain easy view.
A lower pass allows better vision since you can better keep all important information in view without moving your head up. It also allows the setter to do the same without the pressure of handling a high pass.
On skyballs; this serve is traveling very fast, so take extra care to absorb the speed. If not, then the pass is higher and if the setter doesn’t correct, the whole attack rhythm is off and the serve has achieved its purpose.
Always stay deep (last 5 feet) for serve receive. Good drop serves are rarer than good deep serves and are in any case easier to pass coming from a deep position than a deep serve is backing up from a shallow position. Besides after passing a drop serve perfectly you are at the net, and after passing a deep serve well you are still 30 feet from the net.
Against strong driving jump serves, stay way deep: they have little tendency to drop short because of their pace. Force him to hit in front of you and you’ll draw net errors or at the very least a reduction in pace.
Receive floaters below your waist and between your knees. The break, if it occurs will occur in the last 3 feet of flight.
If you like to attack from the outside, favor the middle and let the server serve to your outside. Vice versa if you like to attack from the middle.