Scoring in volleyball is the best feeling in the world. There are several ways to do this. It is essential to switch things up so that your offense isn’t too predictable. Let’s go over some ways in which you can score in volleyball and find out what works for you.
What is spiking in volleyball?
In volleyball, you are only allowed to use a maximum of 3 passes per rally. The last pass should be to an attacker that pushes the ball over the net. Given that there are defensive specialists in the other team, it is essential that you do this with a lot of power and aim. The ball has to go over the net so in most instances it will be pushed further down the court of the other team.
Let’s take a look at how Olympic medal winner for Team USA Jordan Larson explains this:
There are players that are specialized in attacking. These are called hitters. Typically, a team will have 2 hitters, one in the front row and one in the last row. It has to be noted that other players can attack as well but in general, hitters are going to spike given that they are specialized in this. These players receive an assist and have to find the weak spots in the defense of the other team. Sometimes the assist that they receive is quite bad and they have to find a way to get the ball over the net anyway. It is an unforced error if the spiker drops the ball so they should avoid this at all costs, even when the pass that they receive is terrible. It is better to send a weak ball over the net than to drop it on your own court. This can be frustrating for hitters as they had a specific attack in mind but you have to deal with the pass that you receive and go from there.
Spiking is a type of way to push the ball over the net. In most instances, the hitter jumps to do this. The ball is then pushed over the net by hitting the middle of the ball and touching it with the palm of the hand. Players aim at the ground to make it harder for the defenders to keep the ball in the air. This is done with a lot of power to make it even harder to do this. Hitters want to jump as high as possible. We have discussed how this can be done here.
In some instances, a spike is faked to confuse the defenders. This is done by jumping and moving the arm towards the ball. You have to be careful that you don’t confuse the players on your own them when you do this. It can be a great way to make the attack of your team more dynamic.
Attacks should be unpredictable and therefore you shouldn’t use the same attack over and over. The setter is giving an assist and he or she has to switch it up and pass to both hitters so that the attack can come from the front and back of the court. Hitters have to find the weak spots in the defense of the other team and try to send the ball in that direction.
Timing is essential when you want to spike as you jump when you do this and you have to hit the ball when you are at your highest point if you want to add the maximum power. There are machines that can help players train for this. The advantage of these machines is that they give the ball at the same height every time, making it easier to experiment with different approaches. If someone passes the ball to you in training, they might send it in different directions and this might make it harder to focus on your technique.
The hitter has to communicate with the setter. In most instances, this is done through nonverbal communication (such as eye contact or body language). In other instances, the setter will use hand signals to indicate to which setter that they are going to pass. Volleyball is very dynamic and it is possible that the hitter is struggling with ball control and that the attack works out in another way.
Coaches use statistics to determine how effective the attack of a team is. It is possible to have individual statistics and team statistics. This makes sure that coaches can see who is performing well and who isn’t.
Players rotate over the court so they have to stand in multiple places on the court. Therefore hitters have to be able to spike in different directions and attack from the back and front row. It is much easier to spike from just behind the net than further down the court. In the latter case, you have to get the ball over the net but still inside the court of the other team. This can make it challenging as you need to use the right amount of force.
In beach volleyball spiking is used as well. The court is smaller so players have to make sure that they don’t push the ball too hard as it will go outside of the court otherwise. Beach volleyball is only played with two players so both of them have to be able to spike and find a way to attack.
Hitters often have to avoid a block when they attack. This can be quite challenging as multiple players can work together when they block. Let’s take a look at a possible solution below.
What is a dink in volleyball?
A dink (or tip) is quite similar to spiking but instead of a lot of power, you are just going to give the ball a small nudge. This drops the ball just behind the net. It can be very surprising to the defenders as they are used to seeing a spike. Especially if the other team is blocking, it can be difficult for them to deal with a dink as they are jumping and often don’t have time to make it back to the floor quick enough.
It is not allowed to hold your hands over the net when you attack in volleyball. This makes sure that players don’t dunk. This would be dropping the ball while their hands are over the net. It would make it too hard to defend against this so this is why it is forbidden. So when you dink you have to be careful that you don’t hold your hands over the net.
The attack of a lot of volleyball teams is too predictable and the libero and defensive specialists of the other team are able to intercept the ball without too much issue. A dink can switch things up and make it more unpredictable. The players that are standing in the front row are often weaker defenders so they might be unable to control the ball when you dink the ball. The main drawback of this type of attack is that you are adding less power to the ball so if the defender is attentive, he or she might be able to retrieve the ball. Therefore a dink should only be used when the players on the front row are not paying attention.
To conclude, we can state that there are several ways of attacking in volleyball. From a powerful spike to a softer dink. This allows teams to score points and win the game. Some players even specialize in this and spend a lot of time perfecting their spike and dink. Attacks can be very spectacular in volleyball and are often a lot of fun to see unfold.
