Blocking in volleyball is the first opportunity the players on your team
have to stop the opposing team from spiking, bumping or tipping the
ball successfully into your court.
Okay, so why Is the block in volleyball important?
Here's why!
Once your team serves the ball over the net, you guys are now "on
defense" while the other team is "on offense."
Now that you're one of the six players on the defensive team the
purpose of blocking in volleyball is to stop the other team's
spikers from hitting the ball over the net into your court.
If your three front row hitters, who are now called "blockers" in
volleyball since your team is on defense, can't stop the opposing
team's hitters then it's up to your three back row players to dig the hard hit
or the tip up so that your team can replay it and send it back over the net
in an attempt to earn a point and to win the right to serve the ball.
The terms for blocking in volleyball discussed below provide an
explanation for the more advanced skills and technique used
by players to position themselves in the front court in order to
Some additional terms deal with how players can take away a
significant amount of area along the net with their hands without
blocking the hitter, so that they force the hitter to direct their spike right to
their teammates waiting to dig the hard hit in defense behind them.
Simply put, one blocker goes up against one hitter in an attempt
The one-on-one volleyball block occurs when one hitter from the
team on offense has to hit a ball against one blocker on defense
from an opposing team.
Usually in this situation the advantage goes to the hitter because
one blocker can only take away so much of the net to keep her
It's much easier for a hitter to hit around, by or past one blocker than it
is to get the ball by two blockers.
When Does The One-On-One Block Occur?
The most common situation where one-on-one volleyball blocking
occurs the most is in the middle where one middle blocker tries to
block the quick sets attacked by the opposing middle hitter.
Since the sets for the middle hitter in volleyball are low and fast, many
times only the opposing team's middle blocker has time to block
them because the outside blockers have too many steps to take
Now in a different scenario if its a two against one situation where there
are two blockers trying to stop one hitter, then the advantage to
the hitter is greatly reduced because two blockers in volleyball
take away much more space at the net.
A double block is another name for this type of situation when
two players are blocking in volleyball against one hitter.
This is the most common scenario for blocking in volleyball because
in a match many more balls are set to the outside hitters who
usually find themselves being blocked by the opposing team's middle
blocker and on of their outside blockers.
The traditional ready position for players to block a volleyball is to start
in front of their hitter with their entire body facing the net.
Their hands and open palms are at shoulder level facing the
hitter, ready to move laterally with a side step or a cross over
step that they use to travel along their side of the volleyball net.
With the swing block, in order to move laterally along the net to get
positioned in front of the hitter, the blocker turns their body
perpendicular to the net, facing the direction they intend to
travel with their hands positioned below the net down by their
As they move to the outside to block, they will square their shoulders
and upper torso to the net, "swinging" their arms and hands up
which helps them gain momentum to reach up and over to penetrate
the plane of the net to block the hitter.
Read more about swing blocking in high school.
A triple block in volleyball refers to a three player block formed when
both of the outside blockers join the middle blocker to jump
simultaneously with the intention of preventing one of the opposing
team's spikers from hitting the ball into their court.
It's formed when both outside blockers come to the middle to
block a ball in unison with the middle blocker or when the middle
blocker and one of the two outside blockers travel along the net to join
the remaining outside blocker in order to create a triple block against a
hitter during a rally.
Volleyball Blocking Terms
The Block In Volleyball
Inspiring Female Volleyball Players in Pictures
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