by Volleyball Voices

Created on: January 04, 2007   Last Updated: April 27, 2007

Let's face it Spiking is pretty much what everybody lives for when playing or watching Volleyball. Spiking it hard, spiking it high and spiking it on or inside the ten foot line so the volleyball bounces back up high enough to hit the rafters on the ceiling is the dream, right? Heck, that's what I always tried to do! Well the reality is that successful spikers or "celebrity" spikers which is what I like to call them are not always the heavy hitters with the golden armsI call "celebrity spikers" the players who are smart enough to make points in VARIOUS ways when they attack the ball. I've listed here five ways You can become a celebrity spiker and the good news is you don't have to be six feet tall!

Exploit the holes in the block.

To become a celebrity spiker you have to become fearless when it comes to hitting against a double block. As a hitter you have to believe that you have the advantage and you have to adopt the mindset that " no one, I mean no one is going to block my ball" and if they do it was due MORE to something that I can correct with my hitting technique than what they DID with their block.

Female players get blocked a lot and they tend to "glorify" the block thinking "Oh this is an amazingly BIG an effective block" not realizing that 6-7 times out of ten it was something that they could change or correct with their hitting technique. Whether it was the spike approach timing or not seeing the court as a hitter you have A LOT of options when it comes to beating the block.you just need to know what they are.

One of the ways is to look for holes in the block between the middle blocker and the blocker who is blocking you. Also called "the seam" of the block don't be afraid to aim your spike right between the two blockersespecially if you see the outside blocker is late. Blockers that don't jump together meaning one going up while the other is going down is a great example of when you can aim for the hole in the block. If you are hitting a shoot set which is a faster paced medium height ball set to the outsides then this is a very good option because the middle blockers are often late getting to the outside so aim for the hole that's created.

Use the block

"The bigger they are the harder they fall". No wait, its "the madder they get when they can't block you because you keep wiping the ball off of that 6' 5" giants outside hands".

I'm 6' 0" and I'm proud to say that I've played and practiced against some of the best blockers-outsides and middles in the world.

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