This drill, called “Single, double, triple" and introduced by Mark Barnard, is designed to help outside hitters work on putting the ball away with blockers in their face.
How the drill works: Two hitters compete against each other. A coach tosses to a setter, the setter sets to the outside, the outside attacks – first against a single blocker, then vs. a double block, and then finally against a triple block.
Scoring: If the hitter gets a kill, one point is awarded. If the ball is in play but not a kill, the hitter gets zero. If there’s a hitting error, it's minus one.
The hitter who has a higher score after each attempt wins either a point or two points. (If one hitter gets a kill and the other just puts the ball in play, the hitter with the kill is awarded one point and the other hitter gets zero. If one hitter gets a kill and the other hitter makes an error, the hitter with the kill gets two points and the hitter who makes an error gets zero.) If the scores are equal, it’s a wash.
Double and triple block Once both hitters have attacked against a single block, the next progression is facing two blockers. The third and final progression is three blockers.
This drill can be done from the left side, right side, back row – wherever you want to focus. As an added challenge, play can begin with a serve to the attacker so he/she has to pass before approaching and hitting.
Another variation is to have the player start on the net, drop off, dig a hard-driven ball and then hit against the blockers.
For more on attacking at the net, check out this "tooling the block drill" with Nabil Mardini.
