Keys to Playing Great Individual Defense

Author: The Art of Coaching Volleyball
October 16, 2015

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Keys to Playing Great Individual Defense Dig

Playing solid, fundamental individual defense in volleyball, as Oregon State coach Terry Liskevych and OSU assistant Emily Hiza tell you here, is mostly about 3 things:

Stay on your feet, even if you’re bending your knees and moving toward the floor to contact a low ball.
Keep your arms between the floor and the ball.
Move your platform up toward the ball to make contact.

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This video also offers tips on advanced defensive volleyball moves for digging balls hit to your side or in front of you. Points covered include foot positioning that allows you to efficiently move forward for the ball, maintaining a low body position that makes your side-to-side movements smoother and how your body and feet should be positioned after you make a sideways move so you can direct the ball to target.