Last Updated: February 28, 2024
The ability to put up good defense is an extremely important part of winning any volleyball game. Therefore, if you want to maximize your chances of dominating the sport season after season you’re better off taking your time to acquire some good defensive play skills.
The following guide comprises several volleyball defense strategies and best practices that teams can acquire for better outcomes.
Volleyball Defense 101: What You Need to Know
Defense is a term used in the game of volleyball to describe the activities a team engages in in order to prevent their opponents from scoring. In short, volleyball defense comprises activities such as backcourt digging, contacting the ball, and blocking.
This approach is all about reacting to the opponent’s offense and, therefore, players need to be on high alert in order to make the most of the game. In some cases, a team may need to play defensively after a free ball, down ball, or after a serve.
The main secret to conquering defense is to read your opponent’s every move so that you can predict their next one with high precision.
10 Volleyball Defensive Strategies Worth Practising
1. The Rotational Defensive Strategy
This is a tried, tested, and proven defense tactic. The idea behind it is to keep the players rotating in a predetermined manner when preparing for an attack from the opposing team.
The good thing with this approach is that it keeps your opponents guessing – thereby outsmarting them. Indeed, with this approach, it is possible to keep your entire side of the court fully covered and protected.
Also commonly referred to as forceful rotation or counter-rotation, this strategy is best used to ward off counterattacks that would otherwise catch your time flat-footed.
That said, even the best rotation defense strategy has its limitations. For instance, it involves a lot of movement, and players have to be capable of transitioning from attack to defense seamlessly.
2. Man Up Defense Method
This is one of the best defensive strategies for volleyball because it emphasizes the need for player discipline. That said, this technique is gradually being replaced by the rotating defense system of late as most coaches deem rotating as slightly more effective.
The idea behind this strategy is to defend against the middle assault. Hits made from down the line and unexpected tips are also easily managed using this method. The strategy’s main strength is the fact that it disguises some of the team’s weaknesses.
Unlike the rotation strategy, there isn’t much physical movement needed to put up a man-up defensive strategy.
When a coach opts for this approach, they’ll need to have two strong defenders playing in the back row of the court. These defenders need to be capable of covering huge swathes of court should the opponent launch an unexpected attack.
On the flip side, though, the man-up method places significant strain on one key player who needs to master their movements really well. As such, this player needs to be highly disciplined otherwise one blunder could easily leave the middle-up susceptible to swift attacks.
3. Mastering the Correct Positioning
A key part of nailing your team’s defense abilities is to have the defenders stick to optimal positioning. Defenders should always stand on the balls of their feet but in a low-lying position as if to squat – body leaning forward and butt facing down.
This posture gives the defenders total control of the ball as the arms are located between the oncoming ball and the ground. You basically want to have your defenders come into contact with the ball by meeting it as opposed to waiting for it and going down with it.
Defensive players should always assume the correct positions in readiness to either dig the ball or block. This way, they can possibly convert their defense contact and turn them into offensive play in your team’s favor.
Poor positioning will increase the probability of conceding attacks through unsuccessful digs and missed blocks.
Proper player positioning should always occur ahead of the attacker launching the attack. Even the most experienced and talented defender needs to assume the right position in order to perform their roles effectively.
4. Total Protection Against Off-Speed Shots
Off-speed shots can greatly work against your team especially if your defenders are not adequately prepared to deal with them. Indeed, off-speed shots are one of the ways an opponent can use to keep your team on its toes and, therefore, it is important to factor that in during training.
So, how do you go about defending against this? Well, the best approach is to train on how to recognize certain visual cues so that you appropriately anticipate the next move. Other than anticipation, you want to optimize floor management skills so that you can cover pretty much the entire court and, therefore, deny the competition any chance of an unexpected attack.
On top of that, defenders need to have a competitive mindset so that they seize every opportunity and keep the ball from landing on the ground at all costs.
Note that the off-speed attack is one of the most effective attack tools your opponents can use against you. Therefore, being able to handle that significantly increases your team’s ability to lock the opponent from grabbing a quick win.
5. Keep Your Eyes on The Most Dangerous Hitter
Volleyball is a mind game and this defensive strategy taps well into that. What you need to always keep in mind is that even though the opposing team might have multiple attackers, they most probably are not all equal.
A common mistake most defensive players make is to accord all attackers equal attention. Your team’s approach to defending should correspond with the attacker’s abilities.
In most cases, you will want to make good use of the middle blocker. For instance, you can have the middle blocker adjust their position so that they can shorten the distance between themselves and the hitter.
Worth noting, however, is that every attacking situation is different. So, once again, it all boils down to your team’s ability to closely monitor the opponents and anticipate the next move.
The moment you are one step ahead of the opponent, defending the rest of the game becomes significantly easier.
6. Perimeter Defense Strategy
This method is used to form a tight line of defense when a team wants to leave nothing to chance. One unique thing about this approach is that it utilizes a 2-0-4 system whereby the team has two blockers and four defenders.
One of the blockers should always be behind the block. The four defenders are to be spread throughout the court’s perimeter. The only problem with this approach is that no one is left at the center – but fortunately, anyone can always move there should the need arise.
The secret behind dominating the sport through this approach is maintaining excellent defense.
The defenders located on the back row are supposed to sit along the perimeter of the court but with one foot on the line. This helps your players to know when it is time to swing to action so they can direct their movements accordingly.
It is also worth keeping in mind that a good blocker should always sit low and always be ready to jump. They should also keep their hands on the front.
Strong leadership is extremely important for this routine. In particular, players need to improve their hand-eye coordination skills in order to be able to accurately plan for the trajectory of the ball as it arrives from the opponent’s side.
Based on the unique nature of the perimeter defense strategy, players may need to be armed with different playing strategies.
7. Middle-Up Strategy
Also known as the 6-up strategy, the middle-up strategy is a good defensive system that has one defender secure the space behind the block. You will want to have this defender sitting on the 10-foot line of the court.
What about the remaining defenders? Well, you free them up to join the block so they become part of the assault thereby keeping maximum pressure on your opponents.
Let’s face it, though – the fact that only one defender is left at the back means that things might backfire allowing an opportunity for the opposing team to give you a hard time. So if you’re going to use this strategy make sure you only use the best defenseman for the job.
8. Bank on Overhead Digging
If there is one area that you need to work on to empower your defense it has to be the overhead digging bit. Your players need to be capable of digging attacks using their hands in order to expand their area of coverage and successfully defend against tricky shots.
One needs to keep in mind that overhead digging is different from typical setting as the attack has high levels of velocity. As such, the player’s hands should always be held together and also cupped to make it easier to re-direct the attack to a target area.
9. Good Defensive Floor Skills
Most defensive players are trained to play in an upright and sort of stationary posture. Unfortunately, that creates a restrictive posture and can limit their court coverage.
It is worth working with your team to help them develop a superior level of comfort particularly how they move their feet and maintain low-level posture.
Along with adjusting posture, coaches should encourage their players to focus on disciplined foot movement prior to launching attacks. It is normally easier to react fast and remain stable if one is already moving.
10. Embrace Versatility
The game of volleyball is getting more competitive and challenging by the day. As such, teams need to evolve from merely using one defensive system as the opposing team can easily master it and devise ways to mitigate it.
To maximize your chances of winning you want to adopt a versatile approach. Even the best defensive system has its fair share of strengths and weaknesses. A good coach is, therefore, one who designs multiple systems for the team – ones they can conveniently switch to based on the opponent’s style of play.
Creating a versatile system involves different kinds of techniques and knowledge of the game. It also takes time for teams to internalize multiple defensive mechanisms. However, when well-thought-out, this approach is generally bullet-proof.
Also, other than merely ramping up your defenses, it is always wise to include some level of transition offense. As you might know, the best defense is to attack.
Good defense without any serious attacks only provides the rivaling team with extra opportunities to score.
How To Make the Most of Your Team’s Defense Strategies
It’s the little things that count when it comes to creating a solid defense mechanism. This all boils down to the nitty-gritty, e.g. team mentality and discipline. Good defenders need to adopt the mentality that no ball with hit the floor as long as they are actively playing. Their pursuit of ball control should be endless and relentless.
Recommended read: 8 Defensive Drills to Elevate Your Volleyball Game
It’s all about being highly aggressive and at the same time putting all that under neat control.
Other hacks that can help you optimize your volleyball defensive strategies include:
Goal Setting
Each team’s size of the court measures approximately 900 square feet. And since only 6 players can play at any given moment, it is virtually impossible to occupy every single inch of it. As such, goal setting becomes extremely important.
Based on how the opposing team plays you need to determine what specific areas of the net you need to cover or the areas of the net you need to sacrifice and so forth.
Competitor Analysis
Always analyze your opponent’s strategy so that you can thoroughly understand their strengths and weaknesses. Most importantly you need to devise a plan on how to capitalize on those weaknesses.
For example, you need to understand things like:
- How strong the opponent’s backcourt defense is
- The area of your court they tend to hit their balls to
- From which position do they like to launch their attacks
- Who is their strongest player
Once you do a complete analysis of the team you will be able to get a grasp of things like the strengths of each one of your players, your opposiotion’s weak points, and areas they are likely to attack.
Playing As a Unit
All your 6 active players must learn to play as a unit. Although they need to be good at coordinating separately, they also need to have the ability to switch roles when the need arises.
Also, your team needs to have a collective understanding of where the attacker hits. Interestingly, all attackers tend to develop certain tendencies that you can easily watch and master.
It is not unusual for players to strike the ball cross-court at an angle with most players preferring the keep the ball within their left and right shoulders. So, it’s all about understanding the correct biomechanics and using them.
Invest in a Strong Foundation
Good teamwork in blocking is the cornerstone of every good defensive formation. So, you want to invest in a bulletproof back row formation that should be based on the following principles:
- Attack is always the best defense
- Keep your number of blocking players to a maximum of 3
- Position your blockers strategically based on your opponent’s style of play
It is important to emphasize that your block can make or break your team. As such, you need to emphasize the following to your team:
- Blocks need to be implemented well in time before the ball finds its way to your side of the net
- If you’re going to block the ball, do so with all your might – let no balls slip through the blocks
- If possible, use a combination of techniques to create a firewall that gets your opponents scratching their head
If you follow all the rules, chances are that you’ll end up with a strong blocking system that will help your team on things like positioning and sequencing.
One way to go about this is by understanding your team. For example, you want to start by understanding your best digger, best blocker, and the person whom you need to trust with the tips.
Team Attitude
This is yet another seemingly minor but extremely important aspect of building strong defensive strategies for volleyball. Attitude and mentality go hand in hand. Winning a game is all about desire, perseverance, concentration, hard work, and above all discipline.
This is the trickiest part of the game to master because it entails intangible things. These cannot be drawn on a whiteboard or demonstrated by means of arrows.
Conclusion
Every major change in a team’s defensive approach should always start with the coach who then passes it down to the players. This way, the coach can customize the rules to suit the specifics of his team.
In a nutshell, one needs to be well-versed in the game and this includes scouting your competition, understanding their play patterns, and so forth.