You may be wondering what a volleyball serving machine is, or you may be looking for the best volleyball serving machine. In volleyball, as in many sports, there are machines designed to help in training.
A volleyball serving machine is a machine that’s specifically designed to replicate the serving action so that players and coaches can train and practice receiving the serve. While some of the machines will have other features and uses, the core function is to simulate a volleyball serve.
Most people know about pitching machines and many are familiar with the football version, but for some reason, volleyball training machines aren’t as well known. Perhaps that’s because they haven’t been around as long or maybe it’s because there are so many more baseball and football movies, and very few volleyball movies.
How Volleyball Serving Machines Work
The machine will have 2 or even 3 spinning wheels. The user (usually a coach) is able to adjust the speed that the wheels spin at, which affects how quickly the ball is “served.” The higher the speed, the flatter the serve will fly.
If the user would like to add spin to the serve, simply adjust the speed of one of the wheels and the ball will react accordingly. Coaches can vary the speed of the serve as well as the amount of spin by just flicking a dial.
Most of the machines also have an adjustment that allows you to choose the angle or trajectory of the serve. This allows for simulating everything from a beginner underhand serve all the way to a powerful jump serve.
If you would like to see our attack machine recommendation, this page tells you all about it.
Volleyball Hitting Machine
While you may expect a volleyball hitting machine to be completely different than a volleyball serving machine, the best options in today’s market incorporate both into one. The attack machine will not only serve the ball, but can be used to lop the ball like a perfect volley so that hitters can practice attacking.
You may think you would like to invest in a stationary hitting machine, that holds the ball in place like this. But using a live action machine that sends the ball into the air is much better for training athletes to strike the ball in a game-like way.
That’s why many of the volleyball training machines will be called something like an “attack” machine because they really do it all.
To set up your hitter, simply dial down the speed, position the machine where your setter would normally be setting from, and angle the ball towards your hitter’s target location. What’s great about using a machine is you can be very consistent and work on technique even if your setter is not very skilled, or not available at all.
Volleyball Setting Machine
The machines that simulate setting are also called volleyball attack machines. Setting the ball is part of the attack, and when you think about a hitting machine, what is it doing? It’s setting the ball up for the hitters!
So if you’re looking for a setting machine, look no further than our recommended volleyball attack machine.
Japanese Volleyball Blocking Machine
Although this sounds like a crazy made-up name, there really is such thing as a Japanese volleyball blocking machine!
A few years ago, in an effort to become more competitive at the Olympic level, the Japanese national team actually invented a robotic machine that will simulate blocking. The machine is able to simulate 3 blockers moving all the way across the entire length of the net in a very lifelike motion.
Aircat Volleyball Machine
The Aircat volleyball machine is significantly different than most volleyball attack machines. It is designed to use a unique air pressured system to launch the volleyballs. Another feature is that it runs up to 8 hours on a rechargeable battery.
Attack II Volleyball Machine
The attack 2 volleyball machine is a higher tier of quality that comes at a higher price tag. While our recommended machine the Skill Attack can serve the ball at 40 MPH, the Attack 2 can serve balls up to 60 MPH.
The other major feature that sets this machine above its predecessor is the release point. While the original only serves from 5’3″, the Attack 2 can be adjusted to release from 8’6″ which simulates a much higher level of competition.
If you’re interested in taking your training to the next level, you can shop for the Attack 2 now on Amazon.
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