Volleyball: Middle Hitters w/ Club?

Question

Hi. I just started my first season for this club. We have about 7 outsides and I switched from OH to middle. I've played middle before, but never in club, and we mainly only hit 2's. In my club, we don't- we hit 1's, 8's, and some others I can't remember. Can anyone explain to me the hits available for a middle hitter, how to approach/do them, etc? Seriously the only thing I know is how to hit a 2 and a little bit of 1, and I need to get this down before my first tournament; and any pro. website or answers from people with experience would be great, thank you!!

Answer 1

As a former MB I'm going to disagree with the posts before that say how hard it is. I believe if anything it is an easier set to master. The advantage to it is you don't have to have timing. As an OH you have to wait and time each set and that can be difficult when the sets vary in height and location (inconsistent setting).

The trick to it is to be up before the set... try this in practice:

Have a friend/coach toss the ball to the setter and you have to hit the ball before the setter sets it.

It forces you to be up quickly.

In order to be effective you must do a few things:

-Never take your eye off the ball

-Never turn your back to the ball

-Be up before the set so the setter can set you the ball

-Cut the ball (hit to your left and right, never in the middle)

Things that make you better as a MB:

Reading the opponents setter (knowing the set before it is set)

Quickness and jump training, height isn't as important as speed and vert for MB's

Chemistry with a setter is important... you have no control over the pass/set so you have to make sure that repitition and consistency are there.

Answer 2

As everyone has said you need to be in the air quickly. If you have time for a full approach start at about the ten foot line. You watch the pass as it heads towards the setter, and as soon as the ball is in front of you you follow it in (called chasing the ball) This will help your timing so your in the air at the right time. Then you do you normal approach. It helps to always be talking ( ex: say "One One One One One" as you go or "Right Here, Right Here" So that your setter knows where you are and can time your jump. Most important is your wrist. If you are playing in a very competitive club you will always have a blocker up. You need to turn your wrist to the left (easiest) or right to go around them.

Good Luck!

Answer 3

Well, you have a few options. the first and most basic is the 1, and is probably the easiest to learn (but not so easy to do well). its really all about timing. you want to be in the air with your arm up ready to hit right as the setter releases the ball, and its just a quick motion of snapping your wrist. there is also a back 1, basically just a one, but the setter sets it directly behind his head (same height and everything, just behind him). treat this like a normal 1, just from behind the setter's head. there is also a push 1, where the setter sets the ball just like a one, except the hitter is 1-3 feet away from the setter (useful if the other block is starting to slide over one direction, he usually won't be able to make the block). Then there is a 3. you make the same approach as a 1, but about half way between the middle of the court and the outside antenna (the setter kind of shoots the ball at you). there is also a slide, which is just like a 5 or a red, but the middle "slides" over to the right side and hits it there. the most important part of these sets is to make it look like you're coming in for a one, then quickly cutting to the outside to swing (take the first step of your approach right at the setter, then quickly step to the outside and jump using your 2 other steps). be sure that your opposite isn't running a 5/red on the same play, as it could be very dangerous if you collide with each other. 2's are usually not a very good set to run, b/c most blocks set up in a bunch "blocking scheme", so most often you are hitting into a wall of 2-3 blockers, because the set is such a slow one (compared to 1s or 3s) they have a lot of time to get into position. im sorry but I have no clue what a 8 is, I've been playing middle for quite a while and have never heard or seen of an 8. Hope this helps.

Answer 4

I just contributes to those fellows below.

foot work, instead take 3 steps, take 2 steps. jump straight up 1/2 a arm away from the setter left shoulder, because you need adjust the direction and fall away from the net. Use more wrist than a full swing. Hope this help :-)

Answer 5

I agree with Anthony that "1" is the most difficult to master. I have seen some teams calling "1" but actually hitting "2".

To me, it is kind of easy for MH (which I have played for years), but more difficult for the setter, to hit "1". The MH just needs to go up into the air as quickly as possible, and the setter needs to time the jumping in order to "hit the hitter". Sometimes the setter would have to bend knees deeper to wait for the MH getting to the spot (and still reserve the option of setting high for OH).

Besides "1", you can hit "2", or slide (back 2 or 62/82), and you can do "double quick" or "swing quick" with the help of right front hitter. You may even cross with your left front hitter to run "3" or "shoot" while your left front OH is faking a "2".

Approach is usually three step when you have time, one step or half step when you come off a block. You do a half swing or quarter swing depending on your timing, but you would never do a full swing especially on "1". You should have good control over your wrist so that you put the ball where you want it to go.

I had a little trick that got my left hand involved while I hit most of the time with my right hand.

Answer 6

The middle can hit anywhere depending on what your coach wants to do with them. At the club level, if you can learn the middle quick ("1") you can be a real factor at MB.

The "1" is a tough set to hit because of the timing, and it really helps to work one on one with your setter. I see a lot of fellow coaches tossing sets to the middles in warm ups, and while it looks cool, it doesn't help you figure out things in game situations!

To hit the one, you must speed up the approach and timing. You would want to start your approach at or inside the 10 foot line, and jump just before your setter touches the ball to pass to you. there is a great video of the mechanics of a middle hit on youtube, I'll put the link in references below.

The real joy of running middle quicks is it opens things up for all the hitters. When I played club, the coaches wanted the MB in the air like they were getting the set on every play, unless we called something else. Once you run a few quicks, you can turn the same approach into a slide for a back 2, and all sorts of stuff!