If one was training (not competitively) for the purpose of getting big and strong in general, the training stress must be appropriate to create an adaptation. As this process continues, a greater degree of stress must be continuously applied if one wants to keep progressing. This can be done through increasing volume over time. So if one does X amount of volume at a relatively appropriate intensity, and increases the subsequent workouts by extra set(s) or rep(s) or increased frequency, the lifter should be making gains. But because one of the goal is general strength at any appropriate rep range, which is displayed through the weight on the bar, how will this increase as the lifter continuously increases volume? Will the lifter be able to add weight and cut down the volume back to X amount? Or will the lifter be continuously adding weight when necessary at an appropriate RPE while maintaining the increased volume overtime? I’m not too sure how the process will occur.
Have you listened to our programming podcasts and/or read our materials on programming? Start there 
Jordan is becoming the new rip—refer everybody to the book or in this case podcast. Does the podcast really address this specific question or does it only address it in a roundabout way?
In terms of the original posters questions, top powerlifters train in say 6 month periodized blocks. Some we are not talking about how much they tweak their workout volume week to week as much as how much they tweak it 6 month block to 6 month block. And my impression is they don’t need to make huge changes block to block. At the end of a block they probably look back at what they think worked and what they think didn’t work and make some tweaks. Usually elites cannot handle as much volume as intermediates so the tweaks may not be adding more volume. You can imagine a young elite maybe adding a little bit of volume block to block, but by the time hey have been there for a while, adding volume is probably not going to be the tweak that gets them a 10 pound PR.
What you are talking about is a lot more relevant to an intermediate lifter in my opinion. According to a YouTube video I saw from Juggernaut Training Systems, all things being equal, the intermediate lifter is going to have the higher maximum recoverable volume compared to a novice and a master/elite lifter. By the time you are intermediate you should be using the type of programming this site offers–periodized training. As an early intermediate you can probably benefit from adding volume cycle to cycle but at some point it will become unlikely that you will benefit by simply adding volume. Lets say a hypo lifter finds that 22 sets of bench, 18 sets of squat, and 12 sets of deadlift are their maximum recoverable weekly volume and they have reached a point in their fitness that they cannot improve their ability to recover enough to benefit by adding more volumes. So to get to your point: My instinct is that point they shouldn’t decrease the training for the next cycle unless they overtrained. Theoretically if they ability to recover stayed the exact same they should reduce volume slightly because they are using the same volume but heavier weights creating more stress, but I’d assume their ability to recover is still increasing, just very incremently and not enough to justify more volume. Rather they should try to repeat the cycle (lets say its a 13 week cycle) with more weight and whatever other tweaks they deem adviseable. At some point as they get stronger and older they their maximum recoverable volume may decrease (as the weights got heavier but their ability to recover stayed the same or as they get older their ability to recover decreases) and at that point they would benefit from a reduction in volume.
If you think that strength drives hypertrophy, you could make gains, but you’d be thinking about it wrong.
Not really, but I do think there is utility in referring people to existing materials to get a baseline on this.
And yes, our podcast does address this directly a number of times and in different ways, along with practical examples.
No they don’t, in practice or even hypothetically. Either you just made this up or you have read a blog post somewhere that made it up. Actually knowing the training of MANY top level powerlifters, this is untrue.
This does not occur over 6 months and I think there’s some confusion on your end about conjugate and concurrent training, in addition to terminology like macrocycels, mesocycles, and microcycles. While it’s not necessary to know that stuff to understand the premise for progressive overload, I’m just fascinated that you wrote all of this in response.
In some cases, it probably is the main driver of the progressive overload principle and in those cases- it probably drives hypertrophy.
Extra reps, sure. Extra sets probably don’t represent an increase in performance from a strength development standpoint, but this does increase stress in most cases.
Adding weight to the bar is another way for progressive overload to occur. Demonstrating increased strength (more weight on the bar) can be done over time if the stimulus is appropriate. If you’re increasing volume all the time, this may limit intensity increases- though that may be preferred in certain phases of training.
That is one possibility, depending how the programming is setup.
That doesn’t really make sense to me. What do you mean “maintaining the increased volume over time”?
When volume is ever-increasing within a training phase, I don’t expect much weight to be added to the bar during that phase, if that’s what you’re asking.