The other night on my women’s team I was asked to play middle (I’m usually an outside). I like playing middle because it’s better workout and a big challenge and because I love both of those things, I accepted.

As a middle blocker, you have to be quick and attentive. MBs are not only responsible for blocking in the middle, they have to quickly run back and forth on the net to assist blocks on the pins. A good skill for a middle blocker is the ability to “read” the setter. Reading the setter gives the MB a head start to make it out to the block. Watch the setter’s legs, her back, her arms, the overall angle of her body… is she “pointing” where she’s going to set? I could go on for a while but basically reading takes practice just like any other skill in volleyball.

In the video below, you see one young MB trying to read the setter and keep up with the hitters. Which is why it’s called 1 vs. 3. One blocker vs. three hitters.