A Tip for Blocking, Defense - ANTICIPATE

Tracking your hitter is very important - to determine where they are going to hit, and to time your block jump. This way you can see and ANTICIPATE where the hitter is going to hit.

As soon as the ball is set and you realize that the ball is coming to an attacker that you are responsible for, your first step should be to the area that you are responsible for covering - in order to move to the correct area to block, take your eyes completely off of the ball (this is very difficult to get yourself to do) and watch the attacker's approach. This will help you to line up perfectly with the attacker.

If you see that your hitter's spike approach is coming toward you at an angle - then more than likely they are going to hit cross court, so you should line up in front of them to block their cross court. Line up to block the extension of their arm.
If your hitter's approach is in a straight line then they will likely hit down the line and you need to make sure that your body is squared up in front of them ready to block the extension of their arm.

For setters and off-sides, setting a good block communicates to the middle blocker where he/she has to close to. If you are going to move at the last second to your area the middle blocker will either crash into you or leave a huge seam in the block (more likely) and your block will be very unstable, leaving your defense for target practice.

Setting the block also communicates to your back row where they need to move to as the play develops. They need to cover the portion of the court that is outside the shadow of the block.

What's the shadow of the block, you say? The shadow of the block is the area behind the "perfect block" which doesn't/shouldn't need to be covered by defensive players. It's the spot where the opponent hitter can't hit because of the block. That's why, your defense should cover portion of the court that is outside the shadow.

What do YOU think about this?