offensive tactics

Question
I am beginning my first year as a high school volleyball head coach. The strengths that I bring as far as knowledge is definitely in the area of fundamentals. My weakness is in knowing the different sets my hitters will need to hit. I know that once my very young and inexperienced team gets past the first month or so of the season, they will be ready for more strategy and we will need to run other plays besides a 4 or 5 on the outside, a 1 or 2 in the middle, and an 8 or 10 on the right. I have some books and I am studying like crazy, but it seems there are as many different offenses as there are coaches! I am just feeling kind of overwhelmed. I played for one of the best high schools in Alabama from 86-90, but we seemed to just be getting into more than high outsides and quick middles maybe my junior year. Any help is appreciated!

Answer
Cecilia-
 The good news is you realize that the players you've got under your wing ARE inexperienced and young.  Heres the thing, you don't need to run dozens of offenses at that age to be successful.  In fact, your primary concern aught to be that your kids are the most fundamental of any team they face on the court.  Sounds boring, but execution at that age will win 10 of 10 times.  Not to mention the varsity coach is going to thank you ten times over for developing them the way you have.
Now, with that said, if you want to mix up the speed of your offense, that's another thing.  Let your outsides and rightsides work with the middles with faster sets and shoots.  Take a look at your assets, who you think your opponents will focus on, and incorporate plays that will pull defenses in their direction while routing your sets to another.  At the end of the day, just remember that less is more, when it comes to quantity of plays.  Quality is where you want to be.  Hope this helps.  Let me know if you have specific questions that you want answered, and I'll see what I can do.  The more specific you are with what you have player-wise, the better I'll be able to assess what you have.  Thanks, and good luck!

Matt