Volleyball Skills and Drills: Blocking

“As the level of play rises, volleyball becomes more of a power game, and the block becomes a critical factor for success” (AVCA 70).

Blocking is the most challenging skill to learn and teach.

The blocker should be busy identifying the attacker on the other side of the net as the team lines of to serve at an opponent. If the opponent is running a low quick set, then the base position of the blocker should move to be in front of the quick attacker before the ball is even set.

As the ball is being set the blocker should move from base position to jump position. Blockers move to set position by fronting the attacker, preparing to block the incoming attack.

Peripheral vision is a key skill in blocking. With this vision, you are able to look up at the ball but still see your opponent’s moving into their approach patterns. Blockers should also be able to watch their setters and attackers from their side peripherally.

The positioning of the arm and hands are also one of the key events to making a successful block. On the way up and during contact with the ball, the thumbs should be pointing up and the fingers should be spread (This protects the fingers from injuries). The hand closer to the center of the court should be extended over the net and the other hand should reach back towards the back to cut off the angle shot of the blocker. When jumping the blockers should move their arms from and inside to outside position.

Lenberg, Kinda. Volleyball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics, 2006.

Volleyball Skills and Drills: Attacking

“Undeniably, attacking is the most explosive part of the game and garners the most attention” (AVCA 54)

Elite attackers have the best eye work and timing. They have the ability see a play develop, whether the situation is a sideout or transition. They also have the ability to answer questions such as if the pass is slow or fast, if the pass is away, and if they have to accelerate. They can also analyze visual information and make a quick movement pattern. They use a four-step approach, jump high, hit hard, and hit with range.

There are six basic movements when executing are the approach, the jump, the armswing, ball contact, the follow through, and the landing.

If the hitter is right-handed then their step approach will be right- left- right- left. For a left handed

player, the approach would be left- right- left- right. The first step should be the slowest and the last few steps should be the fastest (there is only four step). The last two steps are the most explosive step; it is important that when taking the last two steps the feet are pointing in the direction the player is traveling. This helps the player jump up and establish a good relationship with the ball.

The ball, of course, must be hit over the net over a weak spot, nonexistent block, or an unoccupied area of the opponent’s court. The hands should be faced down and on the second step is where the swing beings. The arms should be facing forward, no higher than the waist. On the third step, the arms goes up and swings back as far as possible. On the fourth step, the feet should be parallel to the net and the hands and arms go up.

When contacting the ball, the hand should be open and firm with the fingers apart. This helps result in a better ball control. The combination of shoulder rotation with slight hip rotation helps produce power.

Landing incorrectly can result to injuries to the ankle and knees. The most important thing to remember when landing is to bend the knees slightly and absorb the shock of hitting the hard floor.

The different types of shots are Tip/Dump/ Dink, Roll, High-and-flat shot, Deep-corner hit, Sharp- angle hit, Wipe- off, Seam, and Rebound.

Lenberg, Kinda. Volleyball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics, 2006

Volleyball Skills and Drills:Setting

"The skill of setting is crucial to every team's success. Your team's setter and all other players who deliver a controlled ball to be attacked by a teammate must be able to set effectively" (AVCA 36).

Body positioning of the setter should be an upright stance, having the feet shoulder-width apart. The feet should be shoulder-width apart having a heel-toe relationship. The shoulders should be over the toes still leaving a slight flex at the waistline and your head is up.  The shoulders should also be relaxed, loose, and forward rather than upright.

There are four different phases for the footwork in setting. The first is simply getting to your target. The ball traveling from the server to the passer and the passer to the target should give the setter enough time to get to the target. The second phase is to be ready to move from the target. The setter should move from the target towards the passer. The third phase is beating the ball to the spot. The goal is to try and see where the ball will land and get there before it does. The fourth and final phase is to stop and set. Stopping and setting can help eliminate the term called floating, which is when the setter jumps from one spot then sets the ball and lands in another place.

The setters wrist should be “cocked” and the fingers should be open to receive the ball. One good technique for the setter is to have their hand in the shape of the ball. Another is to pretend they’re dumping a cooler of water on their own forehead. The entire finger pads should encounter the ball and not just the finger tips. The elbow should be at chin level to allow higher contact.

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Lenberg, Kinda. Volleyball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics, 2006.

Volleyball Skills and Drills: Receiving Serves

“If a team cannot receive the opposing team’s serve and transition into an effective attack, the coach and team members might as well pack it up and go home” (AVCA 20).

The serve receiver and the passer are the same thing and volleyball coaches consider the two terms synonymous.

An effective server must have good visual skills, from tracking the ball the exact moment it leaves the opposing servers hand to being able to judge what direction the ball will go in. They must also have the ability of concentration, focusing only on the ball will help the serve receiver reach the ball in time and accurately. Lastly, they must have the physical ability to get the job done. The player needs to be able to move efficiently to the ball and move to the point where they can intercept the ball before it gets there.

The passing process starts off with your feet spread wider than your shoulder width, still having the ability to push off from side to side, with one foot slightly ahead of the other one. The knees should be bent so that they are forward past the toes. The body weight should be on the balls of your feet, your shoulder and back should form a 45-degree angle, and the arms should be extended in front of the body (parallel to the upper leg).

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Your starting stance should be a medium position. You should also be reading the serve while taking one step towards the ball. When hitting the ball both hands should be locked together while the heels of the hands are together. For me, I prefer linking my fingers together while having the heels of my hands together. The arms and hands should be in the vision range of the receiver. Even though the legs and body moves the platform stays the same.

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Lenberg, Kinda. Volleyball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics, 2006.

Volleyball Skills and Drills: Serving

"Volleyball coaches and players have long recognized that serving and passing are the two most important skills in volleyball"

There are many different ways to serve a volleyball, but only three are mentioned in this section.

The Float Serve:
This serve is best used when the opponent is becoming lazy. The ball changes directions, which effective because most of the time the receiver does not pay attention to the ball the entire time. When using this serve you stand facing the direction you are serving the ball, positioning your feet so that your upper body is able to rotate easily. You begin to draw the hitting arm back before you toss the ball because it takes longer to draw your hand back vs. tossing the ball. The center of the ball is hit with the palm of the hand, causing the ball to not have a spin.



The Jump Serve:
The Jump Serve helps decrease the receivers reaction time because the ball is hit hard and uses speed from the server. For a successful Jump Serve there needs to be accuracy and speed. The jump serve has a spin to it unlike the Float Serve. To begin serving you take a small step with your right foot (for those who are right-handed, and left foot for those who left-handed). The medium height toss is best tossed with the hitting hand. The ball is thrown up at a medium height before spiking the ball so that this leaves you three steps for a four-step spike approach. The ball is also hit with the palm of the hand.

The Jump Float Serve:
 The ball is tossed lower than the jump serve and is hit with the palm of the hand in the center of the ball. This causes the ball to not have a spin on it unlike the jump serve. It combines the upper body movement of the float serve with the lower body movement of a jump serve. The jump float serve is hit at a harder point than a standing float.

The book also goes over different drills such as: Partners, Groups of three, Three is a row, Butterfly, Stat-ing Servers, Server versus passer, etc. These drills help the player/ team to work on serving and also passing.
Lenberg, Kinda. Volleyball Skills & Drills. Human Kinetics, 2006.