Volleyball: Defense and Blocking
By: HHA
To play good team defense you have to be able to read the attacking strategy of your opponents and the reaction in the formation of your team block. You have to develop the skills to move to the right spot at the right time and go for a good defensive positioning. Great part of this strategy depends on the ball itself during setting.
Keep an eye on the placement where the ball is being set. If the ball moves to tight to the net, the defender needs to be ready to block any attempt to hit the ball in a downward angle to the court, and you have to keep an eye for any ball throw over the net, too, so the ball never falls in a place where nobody is defending. Always have the hitter cover and take a look at his shoulders’ direction and arm swing, to try to determine the ball's direction. Shoulder positioning is the best way to notice how the ball is going to be hit: if the hitter is forced to speed up his approach or takes side steps it is because of a poor set. All these observations give you an edge against him.
The hitter arm swing could be a tricky one to pay attention to; be ready for any kind of hit: a hard hit, a cut shot, a roll shot or a off-speed hit. The type of set attack makes the hitter adjust his shot. In case of a high setting, the ball tends to go behind the head; you could expect a deep hit or a short shot. And in case of a low setting, the approach has to be fast and the hit almost always comes from the body itself, hitting the ball in a downward angle into the court. When the ball is set off the net, expect a tip or a speed-off shot.
The team should have to develop a blocking strategy, since every area not covered by a blocking player must be guarded by a defending player. The blocking players should guard the angle of the shot angle on the front line and the defending players move to the middle baseline area position on the court. Another option is having the defensive baseline player rotate to cover any hit that goes deep into the baseline, but this is only useful in a case where the opponents can easily overcome the blocking defenders.
Getting used to “read” the offensive players is very important when you face a volleyball tip. Usually a tip comes after a badly set ball. Take a look at the hitter and if the approach to the ball is not strong, it could indicate that a tip is coming.
