The attack drill you see here is designed to give hitters a more realistic look at the other side of the court than just staring at empty floor space.
“It’s really important that you add a visual,” says Nabil Mardini, co-founder and director of the Los Angeles Volleyball Academy. “In my opinion, hitting to an empty court is useless.”
To create a game-like look, Mardini puts two defenders on the receiving side and has them move in tandem, shifting to the left or right as if they were attached by a 10-foot rope. This way, the hitter sees them in either the angle or the line before making contact.
Mardini stresses that the hitters should attack at the defenders, not away from them. This gets hitters used to taking swings with multiple players in their field of vision. As a bonus, the diggers get more touches.
Start the drill by lining up attackers on the left side of the court so they can hit in Zone 4. Play starts with a toss over the net to a passer, who passes to a setter, who sets the hitter.
This drill has no scoring, just lots of reps. The coach can control the pace by feeding more balls or fewer balls to the passer.
