Six Steps To Dominate In Volleyball With Incredible Blocking

One of the core skills in volleyball is blocking. As you progress through the levels of volleyball, blocking will become more important, more refined, and more challenging. The following article will share all kinds of blocking tips, blocking strategies, and a few blocking drills.

Your ability to frustrate, derail, and sometimes completely shut down the other team’s offense can be a huge force. Although wins and losses don’t usually come down to which team blocked the best, you can sway both team’s momentum in a split second with a solid block, and that wins games.

How do I dominate in volleyball with incredible blocking?

Be ready to defend.
Watch the play develop.
Move to intercept.
Time your jump.
Use your hands properly.
Control the seam.

Be Ready To Defend

As the play is developing you should be in a ready stance. You should be facing the net, within an arm-length from it. Your feet should be a little further than shoulder-width apart and knees bent, ready to move.

**Be prepared as your opponent is developing their play.**

Your arms should be bent out to the side at about eye-level, ready to react. You don’t want them all the way up because that hinders your ability to move quickly side-to-side.

Watching The Play Develop

If you wait until the ball is being hit to react, you will be way too late. A blocker should be watching the pass to see where the setter will be playing from. Depending on where the setter is getting the ball and how much time she has, the blockers can narrow down the options the setter has available.

Where is she likely to send the ball? As the setter makes their play, watch how the ball leaves her hands. You should instantly be able to tell which hitter is being given the ball.

The more you watch a setter, you can often pick up on visual cues that give away where they’re planning to send the ball even sooner.

If you notice they take the ball a little differently every time they backset, then watch for that. If you notice they take the ball from more in front of them when they’re going outside so that they get a better push, then watch for that signal.

Very few setters can consistently approach each set the same, so look for the clues.

As soon as you’ve determined which hitter is getting the ball, stop watching the setter and begin moving to make your block. Your attention needs to instantly switch to watching the hitter’s body for their approach.

Watching each of these parts is feeding you valuable information that will help you be in the right place when the time is right.

Moving To Intercept

You should be ready, with your knees bent, about to move when you determine which way the setter is sending the ball. Watch the hitter’s approach to judge which way she will be striking the ball.

Is it going to be a quickset? Will it be a full-speed topspin hit? Is she likely to go for a last-second tip? Is she hitting line or angle?

In just a couple seconds you need to be considering all of these options and be moving to shut down the most likely play she’s going for. While this sounds very complicated, with experience, a blocker will naturally rule several options out completely and be able to narrow down the last few to a most likely answer.

There are 2 main things to use to judge where your block needs to go: the hitter’s attacking shoulder and where they’re going to place the ball.

If you think about it, the attacker’s hitting shoulder is going to dictate where she’s hitting the ball from, which limits where it can go. Watch her shoulder and you’ll be lining up for a solid block.

The other thing to keep in mind is that you’re not blocking the hitter, you’re blocking the ball. You don’t want to simply get in the hitter’s path, you want to get in the ball’s path.

**Remember you’re blocking the ball, not the hitter.**

While this may seem obvious or simple, blockers are often beat because they are blocking the hitter’s body more than their target for the path of the ball.

When you actually move there are 2 good choices for moving your feet: the shuffle and “turn and run”. If the distance is close, like just a few steps, the best practice is to shuffle your feet side-to-side to quickly close the distance.

If you are having to go further, the “3-step turn and run” is the better choice. Some players want to use cross-over steps, but this is a bad practice. The “turn and run” is quicker when it has been a practiced skill and crossing over can lead to getting caught halfway through a step and not being able to adjust. Coaches should correct cross-over steps immediately to keep from supporting bad habits.

Timing Your Jump

This is one of the most difficult parts of mastering lock-down blocks. The natural tendency is for us blockers to want to leave the floor at the same time as the hitter.

The problem with doing this is if you jump at the same time as the hitter, you’ll be falling before the ball arrives.

Think about the physics of the situation:

1. The hitter is usually taking a multi-step approach to build up a higher leap, while you’re jumping straight up from a standing position. So her hang time should be longer and the apex of her jump should be higher.

2. The hitter is trying to strike the ball at the apex of her jump, but that has the ball probably 3 feet away from the net. You, as the blocker, need to be reaching the climax of your jump when the ball arrives above the net, not when the hitter is hitting it (an exception here would be if this is a quickset where the hitter is connecting with the ball immediately above the tape of the net).

So the blocker needs to leave a split-second after the hitter. How do you decide when?

A good visual cue is to time your jump to match when the hitter’s hand passes in front of her face on the way up. If you are jumping at this point, you’re much closer to the right timing.

The further the attacker is behind the net, the longer your delay needs to be. Obviously, if she’s closer, you’ll need to be sooner.

How To Use Your Hands For A Good Block

Blocking is more than just jumping and sticking your hands and arms straight up into the air and hoping the ball ricochets off onto their side of the net. When you bring your hands up, they need to be strong hands.

That hitter is winding up to bring all the power they can summon, your hands are trying to defend that impact! It’s very common for hitters and blockers to tape their fingers because the impact they’re taking can be brutal.

**Blocking is more than just sticking your hands up and hoping for the best.**

As you reach up, spread your fingers to increase the area you’re defending. You should reach up as high above the net as possible, and over toward the opponent’s side when possible. Blocking across onto their side is called penetrating the net.

This greatly increases the chance that the ball is going to fall on their side instead of getting trapped between your hands and the net and falling to your side. It’s actually more important to be over the net onto their side than to be higher.

Remember the attacker is trying to bring the ball down, so it’s usually going to be very close to the top of the net, so height is good, but not always needed. Penetration is the better way to dominate the control of where the ball ends up.

As you reach, your hands should be close enough that the ball will not be able to get through. They also need to be close enough to the net that the ball won’t fall between you and the net. You want to be as close to the net as possible without touching it.

How do you angle your hands? This is critical! In general the more you can angle your hands down on the other side if you are penetrating the net, you’re just going to deflect the ball more aggressively downard. This shortens the time your opponents have to try and save the ball.

The other thing to keep in mind is if you are blocking on the outside, you need to angle your outside hand toward the middle of the court. Keep your inside hand flat, but whichever hand is outside, you want it to create an angle so that when the ball hits it, it won’t bounce out.

When the attacker can hit it off your block and out-of-bounds, they win the point. You want to shove it back into their court. To accentuate this practice, blockers often turn that whole side of their body. So don’t just turn your palm, turn your shoulder and even your toe of that foot toward the inside of the court.

What Is A Seam and How Do I Control It?

The seam is the space that is not being blocked by your hands. So the seam is really the “hole” in your blocking. When your defense is watching the attacker, they can count on the space your hands are blocking to NOT be the way the ball gets through. The seam is what they have to defend.

Did you think that liberos and defensive specialists were just amazing guessers? They watch the hitter’s momentum, watch their striking arm’s motion and then defend the seam. This makes it much more likely that they can pick up that dig.

So how do I control the seam? When performing a solo block, you’re just concerned to not leave a seam between your two hands.

**Controlling the seam is about building a blocking wall.**

When performing a double block, whichever blocker is further away from the attacker should try to close the gap between her and her partner. You want your hands to be close enough to your partner that the ball won’t be able to get through. This is also called sealing the block.

For a triple block, each outside has to close the seam toward the middle to form the wall. So obviously you are getting as close as possible to your partner, but then you are reaching over toward them instead of simply going straight up.

What Is Giving And Taking Away A Shot?

Along the lines of controlling the seam, a blocker has the ability to choose which shot they are “giving” the attacker and which they’re “taking away”. This kind of strategy happens in all sports at the higher levels.

Football defenses will load up the line of scrimmage to stuff the running play and dare the quarterback to throw. The defender in basketball will guard the ball with an angle that invites the player to dribble to their weak side, tempting them to go that direction, giving them extra room if they will.

As a blocker, you can pick your poison. You will intentionally focus on one part of the block and let the attacker have an advantage with the other option.

So for instance, if you think this attacker has a great line attack, you can take that away by blocking further outside. That way your defense counts on having to defend the middle of the court.

If you believe they’re much better at hitting angles, take that away by blocking more inside and challenge them to go line.

With effective scouting, your team may go into a match already knowing what they’re willing to give and what they need to take away. Otherwise, your coach should be giving you feedback to help you adjust.

Whatever your strategy is, don’t give it away ahead of time! Don’t let the hitter see that you’re going to block line until you arrive at the right place at the last second. If possible you want them to even think you did it by accident so that they won’t be expecting it the next time.

Volleyball Blocking Rules

Players are not allowed to touch the net with any part of their body, whether on the way up or on the way down. The last thing you want to do is perform a great block but brush the net and give the point away.

Only front row players are allowed to block. If you began the rally in a back row position of the rotation, it’s illegal for you to block. This is a violation, even if you don’t touch the ball!
This is the rule that prohibits the libero from ever blocking since she is always a back-row player.

While blocking the player may step on the centerline, but it is illegal to step over the line in a way that inhibits the other players from being able to play the ball safely.

The block does not count as a hit. When the ball crosses the net, your team has 3 hits to return it to the other side. The block does not count as 1 of these 3 hits.
It also doesn’t count as a hit toward creating a double contact. Meaning the same player who made the block is allowed to make the next hit.

It’s illegal to block the serve. The ball has to be allowed to enter into your side of the court before you can make a play on it.

It’s illegal to block the ball before the attacker is able to play the ball. If you do, the attackers will be awarded the point.

If you block the ball and it goes out of bounds or hits the antennae, your team will lose the point. Because you are the last person to touch the ball, the ball is considered “out” on you.

If you have questions about rules around the net, check out our article called 23 Net Violations In Volleyball And The Rules Behind Them.

How Can I Block If I’m Short?

When you’re short you may feel helpless when it comes to blocking. If you can get your hands over the net, you can be a factor in blocking.

Remember that the attacker is trying to hit the ball downward, so the ball will often be just a few inches above the net, putting it within your reach. The challenge is that your window of time is extremely small because you’re only above the net for a really tiny moment.

If you can’t get your hands above the net, you really have two options: going for a “soft block” or playing the tip. Your coach should direct you as to which is the better option for you.

A soft block is when a player can’t get above the net, they block slightly off the net with their hands angled upward. The idea here is that if you make contact, the ball is likely deflected upward for your defense to have a much easier play, or there’s a chance the ball actually bounces back onto the other side of the net.

What Is Drifting And What Can I Do To Stop It?

Drifting is a common problem for blockers to avoid. When you leave the ground for the block, do you come down in the same spot? You should land in the same spot as you left, otherwise you are drifting in the air.

The reason this creates a problem is your defense is then a moving wall. The attacker can use this against you, aiming her strike behind your movement.

**Your defense needs to know what they can count on you to block.**

The other consequence is that your defense has to compensate for a window that’s changing. The seam that you’re creating isn’t static, it’s changing, so your defense doesn’t know what to count on you blocking.

To eliminate this drifting habit, you have to arrive early enough to match the attacker so that you’re able to gather yourself for a straight up and down jump. Drifting usually happens when you’re late and make a desperate attempt to catch up.

If you continue to struggle with drifting, focus on using your inside leg to stop your momentum as you arrive. So if you’re traveling left, use your right leg to stop your movement before jumping.

What Is A Stuff Block?

A stuff block in volleyball is when the blocker completely stops the ball from crossing the net and instead deflects the ball down onto the attacker’s side of the court.

The stuff block is a powerful momentum force because of the emotion it causes on both sides. Your team will be elated and encouraged, while your opponents will be embarrassed that they just got shut down.

Is Blocking Different For Middle Blockers?

An extra focus for middle blockers is that they should be aware of where the middle hitter is before the setter is receiving the ball. By watching the middle hitter, the middle blocker can often tell what they’re running and be ready for a quickset. If you aren’t aware, you’ll find out far too late when the middle is looking down on you with a grin.

What Is A Double Or Triple Block?

A double block is simply when 2 defenders go up to block the same attack. A triple block is when 3 defenders go up to block the same attack. In both these cases, the defenders are working together to form a wall.

**A triple block is very intimidating for hitters.**

Your team should be trying to perform double blocks as often as possible to increase the chance of defending their spikes. Triple blocks are pretty rare because it’s difficult for all 3 players to get in position quickly enough. Usually whoever is the furthest from the attacker will end up peeling off to defend a tip.

What Is “Tooling” A Blocker?

“Tooling” a blocker is when an attacker is able to hit off of your block and send the ball out of bounds so that it’s not playable. This earns them the point and is very frustrating for you.

Be sure to work on penetrating the net and angling your hands properly as described above in the section called “How To Use Your Hands For A Good Block”. Getting tooled happens to every blocker from time to time, but you can work to prevent it with good technique.

When you watch high level play, like the Olympics, the game becomes less about hitting the ball to the floor and more about using your opponent’s block against them and sending the ball off of their hands to the floor.

Blocking Drills

Penetrating Toss

This drill just requires the net, the player and one tosser. The coach (or tosser) stands on the opposite side of the net from the player. They toss the ball straight up and the blocker jumps and has to reach over the net and get their hands on the ball.

This exercise is to practice the motion and technique of reaching to penetrate across the plane of the net to intercept the ball on the opposing side without touching the net.

Blind Blocking

A tosser and 2 players are needed for this drill. The blocker and hitter stand on opposite sides of the net. The tosser stands behind blocker. The tosser sends the ball over the net and the hitter must mount an attack. The blocker defends and blocks.

The idea behind this drill is the blocker is only able to watch the hitter. By focusing on their body and their arm motion, the blocker learns to block without keying off the setter when necessary.

Coach On The Box With 2 Balls

The coach stands on the box at the net. The blocker approaches from the other side. The coach holds both balls out and the blocker must touch both balls at the same time.

Level 2 – One coach or partner holds a ball above the net, while the second hits a ball. The blocker must use one hand to block the hit ball, while using the other hand to touch the stationary ball.

This drill teaches coordination and independence of hands during blocking.

Kill The Hole

In this drill 2 blockers stand on one side of the court and a setter and all the hitters play the other side. The setter stays in their setting position while the other players line up in an outside hitter hitting line.

The 2 blockers must start on opposite sides of the court. A coach tosses the ball to the setter, who sets a hitter. The blockers must mount a defense and try to block side-by-side.

The hitter’s job is to try to put the kill through the hole in their block. Play until the pair of blockers has stuffed 5 attacks, then rotate to a different combination of blockers.

This drill helps blockers learn to coordinate and play as a team. It also has the benefit of teaching the hitters to be able to kill the hole when they see it.