Volleyball Attacking Skills

June 2, 2022

A volleyball team has to carry out an attack to earn points during the game. Volleyball attacking is one of basic volleyball skills. Attacking skills are as important as blocking, digging, passing, setting and serving. It’s one of skills that volleyball players have to master.

A need to hit the ball may arise anytime during the game of volleyball. That’s why every volleyball player has to learn how to attack in volleyball.

A hitter is a key volleyball player on the court. The main job of an attacker in volleyball is to hit the ball. An attacker should aim to hit the ball forcefully and, most importantly, precisely. By doing so, a volleyball hitter will make it difficult to resist an attack hit.

A volleyball player should do his/her best to land the ball on the opposite side of the court. It goes without saying that good hitter can contribute greatly to the success of their volleyball teams. If a hitter does his/her job successfully, he/she will help a volleyball team earn more points and win the game.

A hitter should develop the right type of volleyball skills to be able to do a great job on the court. Today, we’ll try to explain how to attack in volleyball correctly and what it takes to be a good volleyball hitter.

So, let’s get started.

An Attack Approach

It’s fair to say that the success of a volleyball hitter depends a lot on his/her footwork. A hitter should use the right step approach to get to the ball and then carry out an attack hit.

First and foremost, a volleyball player should approach to the ball as soon as possible. A volleyball hitter should start moving towards the ball once he/she sees that the moment to carry out an attack hit will come soon. That’s why it’s so important for a volleyball hitter to move fast on the court. In other words, a hitter has to work on an attack approach.

Initially, a volleyball player should take the proper body position. Take a small step forward, put your weight down and then make an explosive movement to take off the ground. Finally, you have to take a quick right left step simultaneously and land on the court. The angle between a volleyball player and the net has to be 45 degrees.

At the next step, a volleyball hitter has to relax and put his/her body down. Volleyball player’s arms should be back. From this position, volleyball players find it easy to go up and carry out an attack hit. That means that a hitter will be able to get to the ball quickly if he/she masters such an approach.

A Vertical Jump

There has been a lot of talk about the importance of a high vertical jump in the sport of volleyball. It’s worth noting that hitter’s success depends a lot on his/her vertical jump.

It’s crucial for volleyball attackers to jump high in the air to hit the ball when it’s at the highest point. When the ball is hit at its peak point, it’s much easier to land it on the opposite side of the court successfully.

A volleyball hitter has to make an explosive movement and jump high in order to carry out an attack hit. That’s why it’s so important for a hitter to strengthen his/her legs and improve a vertical jump.

Jumping exercises with boxes, ladders and others have to be a part of volleyball player’s training program. Doing these types of exercises help volleyball players strengthen their legs and increase a vertical jump.

An Arm Swing

An arm swing is a key element of an attack in the game of volleyball. A volleyball player should aim to make a fast arm swing to carry out a powerful attach hit and land the ball on the opposite side of the court successfully.

That’s why it’s so important for volleyball players to develop the proper arm swing technique. Moreover, volleyball players should also constantly do the exercises that allow them to improve an arm swing.

Without a doubt, a volleyball hitter should have strong arms. It’s important to know that athletes will manage to make a faster arm swing and hit the ball with more power if they manage to make their arms stronger for volleyball.

Volleyball hitters should do the exercises that allow them to strengthen arms as well as shoulders. Exercises that strengthen the triceps muscles, muscles of back as well as shoulder muscles have to be included in a hitter’s training program. A volleyball hitter will manage to improve his/her arm speed as well as hitting power if he/she does the exercises of this type regularly.

Contact of the Ball in Volleyball

The way you contact the ball matters a lot for a hitter in volleyball. It’s necessary to contact the ball in the right way. It would be better for a volleyball hitter to contact the ball when it’s at the peak point.

A hitter should position his/her arm in the right way to contact the ball successfully. Hitter’s hands have to be straight. So, the palm is down during the contact with a ball. A volleyball hitter should aim to contact the ball with his/her fingertips.

Contact the ball in front of your hitting shoulder. In this case, a hitter will have a better chance to land the ball on the opposite side of the court successfully. Keep in mind that resisting a hard-driven ball can be hard.

Watching the Game

Watching the game is a very important skill for volleyball attackers. A volleyball hitter should know where his/her teammates as well as opponents are located on the court.

When watching the game of volleyball, hitters should pay a close attention to a setter and a passer. A hitter and setter work closely together on the court. If you watch a setter carefully during a game of volleyball, you’ll be able to get to the ball quickly when such a need arises.

First of all, a passer sends a ball to a setter. It’s a beginning of a volleyball attack. Now, it’s time for a volleyball hitter to get ready for carrying out an attack hit. A hitter should start getting closer to the ball when the ball is approaching to a setter. Finally, a hitter has to do his/her work.

The reality is, a hitter should aim to find the holes in the opposing team’s defense line. That’s why it’s incredibly important for a hitter to watch the blockers of the opposing team carefully during the game of volleyball. By doing so, hitters will be able to carry out attacks and send the ball to the opposite side of the court in the best possible way.

Final Thoughts

A hitter has to put special focus on developing volleyball attacking skills. It’s also important to note that an attacker should aim to master different types of hits in volleyball. Every situation requires the certain type of an attack hit. So, it would be better for a hitter to be a versatile volleyball player.

Working on volleyball attacking skills helps hitters develop an effective hitting technique that works well for any situation. Volleyball hitters should do the drills that allow them to develop their attacking skills in an efficient way.

In fact, there are many great volleyball attacking drills. These include: high contact drill, team approach jump drill, game simulated hitting drill, pass set hit drill, ball control with back row attack drill, spike approach drill as well as wall spike drill. There is no doubt that doing the drills of this type will help volleyball players develop their attacking drills successfully. Train hard, train smart and train regularly to become a better volleyball hitter for your team. Your success is inevitable!

Best of luck!