Aggressive blocking makes it hard to put down kills. In blog five of our six-part series, we focus on turning the opponent’s defense into an offensive scoring tool.
Are your players making your opponent’s blockers look really good? Are their hitting options limited with two sets of hands in front of them? In blog five, we’ll show you how your players can expand their shot repertoire and score more points by hitting off the block and around it.
The Problem
Your opponent’s number of blocks is way too high. And your team’s hitting percentage is way too low. Dig into what’s going on using your attack tendencies report.
The Diagnosis
The team you played last week had ten blocks against you, so you start there. A ton of red lines end at the net, and most of them are happening on the outside.
Your outside is your strongest hitter, so why’d she get blocked so many times? You click on her attempts in the player stats table to see the video. You notice that in two of her three front-row rotations, she was hitting against a 6-foot, 3-inch right side. Great planning on your opponent’s part, but bad news for your outside’s hitting percentage.
Next, you filter by your right side to see how things were going on that side of the court. She’s a lefty so she loves to hit line. But your opponent clearly did some scouting—their block was taking away that shot every time, and she also got blocked a lot.
The Solution
Instead of directing your right side to attack cross-court, teach her to use the block. This drill from the University of Michigan and The Art of Coaching Volleyball will reinforce tooling the block as the best way to earn points.
And your outside? Her best bet is to hit high hands or over the block. This drill uses an elastic band to teach your players to reach high when they’re attacking. (Bonus: It’ll force them to use proper jumping and landing techniques to maximize their reach.)
Want to see more drills and coaching tips? Head over to The Art of Coaching Volleyball to start learning. And stay tuned for the final blog of our six-part series on blocking strategies.
