Tag Archives: Kill

Jun 17

How important is a vertical in volleyball?

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So I’m in my body design class at the YMCA and I’m feelin’ the burn. Squats, lunges, plies, box jumps, leap frogs, quick feet, jumping-jacks-turned-squats (how many leg exercises does this instructor know??). I. am. burnin’. But then I thought, “My vertical will thank me later for this.” And that’s all the motivation I needed to keep going.

We talk a lot about skills and tips and technique, but we’ve never really mentioned the importance of strength and conditioning. Back-to-back games all day long (typical in club volleyball tournaments) can be exhausting. There are tons of exercises you can do to stay in peak volleyball condition but, let’s talk about improving/maintaining your vertical.

A big vertical leap is not absolutely necessary in volleyball (like if you’re 6’9″ and you can reach right over the net). But for the rest of us, we gotta be able to jump! And don’t think that because you’re a back row player, you don’t need to vertical work. What about back row attacks? Jump serves? Plus, the leg workouts you do to increase your vertical can also contribute to diving, lunging and sprawling actions that rule the back row.

So… how important is a vertical in volleyball? It’s crucial.

How high can you jump? Or… more importantly, how high can you reach?

Click here for tips on how to increase your vertical.

Nov 08

How to do a Setter Dump Shot

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Why do the attackers get to have all the glory? Here’s a Setter Dump Shot to put your setter’s kill percentage on the map.

The key to a setter dump is to be sneaky. The sneakier, the better.

You may be wondering, “How can a setter be sneaky?”
Here’s how:
1. She’ll keep both hands up like she would for a typical set. (it helps if she’s a jump-setter)
2. Next, she’ll drive her arm down by exchanging her wrist and elbow. (Wait, that sounds confusing. In a typical set, the setter’s wrist is the high point, right. Here she will drive her left wrist down below her elbow and finish with her elbow high. This helps her to get on top of the volleyball to get the kill).
3. Here, she demos Zone 2 and “donut” (which is that hole in the middle of the opponent’s defense. hint: it’s always open.) Another effective tip is Zone 4, over her right shoulder (not shown).

This move is especially terminal when the setter is front row (say, in a 5-1). She’ll be able to jump and really put some stank on the ball.

The setter shown in the video is number 2 in the state in assists. After all that hard work, I think she deserves some glory of her own.