How do I hit a volleyball inside the 3 meter line?

Question:

I want to hit the ball inside the 3 meter line. How do I jump high enough to do this?

Answer:

A few things to focus on...

1. Is your arm vertical when you make contact? If you're elbow is bent or you're reaching out to the side when you hit, then you won't reach as high.

2. Do you create topspin? If the ball isn't spinning and you hit it flat, it won't go down.

3. Is your approach and timing consistent? You should approach the same way. Do many reps approaching the same way and your body will learn the movement. You'll get stronger and faster if you practice a lot of approaches.

4. Can you jump high? You have to get up high in order to hit the ball down.

5. Do you jump straight up? You can't broad jump and expect to hit the ball down. You can't hit tight if you broad jump. You have to hit tight in order to hit down inside 3 meters.

6. Do you contact the ball at your highest point? Many players test really well at the vertical jump. But when it comes to approaching to hit, their contact isn't anywhere nearly as high as when they tested the vertical. Hitting out of the spike trainer is one way to force a player to contact the ball higher. Also try raising the net.

7. Place targets on the court at the 3 meter line and aim for them. First start by getting on box and self toss hitting the ball down at those targets. Focus on a vertical arm and creating topspin.