The purpose of this study was the comparison of the setting zone choices by male and female elite setters, as well as their resulting impact on the organization of the opponent block. A three-member group of experienced coaches assessed the actions of male (M) and female (F) setters and the blocking organization from 20 volleyball games (M = 10, F = 10) of National Teams competing in the final phase of World League 2017. The evaluated actions were 3904 (M = 1811, F = 2093). Intra-rater and inter-rater reliability coefficients were found to be r=1.0 and r=1.0, respectively, indicating very high consistency in the assessment procedure. The test of independence for the categorical variables (gender-setting zones, setting zones-block formation) was carried out using the Fishers exact test. Following the overall independence test we tested the difference in proportions between genders for each level of the "setting zone" and "block formation" variables using the statistical package Statgraphics Plus v. 5.1. Results showed that zone 4 was the first setting choice for both genders while men preferred the setting to zone 1 compared to women who preferred zone 2.Men with their tactics mainly released attackers from zones 6 and 3 while women released attackers from zone 2. Also, men confronted organized block when attacking from zones 1 and 4 while women when attacking from zones 2, 3, 4 and 6. Therefore, coaches must consider the differences of the setting distribution strategy between genders since they affect the organization of the opponent block.