Volleyball Defense Strategies

Now that volleyball scoring is the rally point system, great volleyball defense results in a point. This places added emphasis on not letting that ball hit the ground. Here are some strategies and ideas on how to improve your defense.

If you were to analyze where a hitter would hit the ball, it would look something like this:

For the most part, the hitter would either hit down the line, hit to the middle of the court, or hit cross court. So ideally, your defense on the back row would be positioned as shown above.

There are some specific things you can do to improve your volleyball defense. Let’s start with the player at the net that is NOT blocking.

Very few hitters are going to be able to hit at such a sharp angle to get the ball where they are standing. As a result, their responsibility is to cover the middle of the court if the hitter tips over the block. If there is not a tip, they need to get off of the volleyball net so that the setter has room to move to the front and get in hitting position.

For the players that are on the back row, usually they have a tendency to keep moving forward in anticipation for the ball. They need to stay in their spots to be prepared to dig the ball. When digging, remember that the ball is going to have enough momentum that they are not going to need to swing their arms to pass it. Let the momentum of the volleyball do the work for you and just guide the ball to the setter when digging.

Also, those players need to stay on their toes instead of standing on their heels. If you are up on your toes, movement is easier and you improve your reaction time.

The players on the back row MUST be able to see the hitter. If you cannot see the hitter, that means that the blockers have taken away the line from the ball to you. You need to adjust where you are standing so that there is a path between the hitter and you. Otherwise, you will not be in position to dig anything.

Watch the arm swing of the hitter. If they jump and have their arm fully extended while jumping, be prepared for the tip. This is the other reason that you want to be on your toes so that you can move to the ball.

Lastly, I like to see my players dive for a ball even if it is unplayable. The reason for this is that it sends a message to the rest of the team. If you are willing to hustle to get the ball, the rest of your teammates should be prepared to do the same thing. It also sends a message to the other team to let them know that you are going to do anything you can to keep the ball in the air.

I hope these volleyball defense strategies will help you prepare your team for killer defense that wins more points.