So you want to know how to defend against a hit on your debt, or tip as it is commonly referred to these days. I would look at it from the perspective of a coach trying to improve the team’s defense against these types of shots rather than from the point of view of an individual player. That said, I think you’ll find the bulk of what I have to say relates both ways.
It starts with the attitude
The first element of defense against off-speed attacks like tips and rolls is to go into it with a commitment not to allow these types of balls to hit the ground. Obviously, the overall goal of your defense is to prevent the ball from landing on your side of the field. But there is a difference here. Defense against the hard ball is primarily about positioning, while tipping drill is about pursuit. In many ways, the former is passive and the latter is aggressive. It takes an offensive stance to play good defense against off-pace balls.
positional responsibility
After stance comes centering. The players with specific liability to cover the tip, if any, are determined by the type of defense the team uses. For example, a rotational defense in which the right halfback moves up behind the block in an outside hitter’s offense means that the right fullback is responsible for shots over the block and into the middle of the field. In standard perimeter defense, there is no player designated to cover the end, so it is up to the player(s) closest to the ball to make the dig.
Predict the shot
This is probably the most important part of being good at off-speed defense. Tips, volleys, and the like tend to score more goals because they surprise defenders than they are well positioned. A good example of this is scoring dumps when there are two players on most teams base defense who are specifically positioned to defend against an incoming first or second ball. If these players are expecting a player to give up play, they will often play the ball lightly. If not, they are caught flat and the ball falls – a source of many gray hairs for a coach.
moves across the ball
As mentioned above, defending against an off-speed shot is often about chasing. The player must move to the ball to start playing it. In many cases, the player has to run to get the ball and may not be able to stop it in time to make a good play. In these cases, they must be able to perform a back-to-back drilling operation to the preferred target area. This is something that requires training for less advanced players as the mechanics involved are a little different than the more steadfast normal drilling or passing.
When done right, with the right attitude and expectations, defending against a tip or any other type of off-speed attack can seem pretty easy. Train your volleyball players to have the right attitude, expectations and mechanics and you will frustrate opposing strikers to no end!