Volleyball Transition Drills: Turning a Dig Into a Kill
Your team digs a hard swing beautifully into the air, and then nothing happens: the setter sets, and nobody is running. Those few seconds between defence and attack are called transition, and they decide how many of your won balls actually become points.
Why the attack after a dig so often dies
In a side-out — the rally where you receive — everybody knows what is coming: serve, pass, set, attack. Everyone is ready, everyone runs. After a dig it is completely different. The blockers land facing the net, the hitters are deep in the court because they were just defending, and the ball that comes up is rarely perfect. So a complete attack has to be organised in two seconds from a situation in which nobody is standing in a good place.
You see the consequence in every club match: a dig that ends in a high ball back over the net, after which the opponent gets to attack again. Statistically this is one of the clearest differences between teams at the top of the table and teams at the bottom — the first group finishes its digs, the second gives them back.
The footwork of the transition
Transition is largely a matter of fixed routes, and you can train those dry. Three rules:
- Blocker: land and immediately two steps back. A player who stays where they landed after the block is too close to the net to make an approach. Two quick steps backwards, face towards the ball.
- Outside hitter: out first, then in. From the defensive position at 5 you go to the sideline first and only then towards the net, so your approach comes from outside in instead of straight at the net.
- Everybody: only leave once the ball is up. A player who is already running while the ball is still being dug leaves a gap the opponent uses immediately.
Walk these routes through two or three times without a ball before you start on the drills. Five minutes of dry running saves you half an hour of correcting.
Four drills
1. Block-land-approach (10 min). Without a ball: the player blocks at the net, lands, takes two steps back and runs a full attacking approach. Ten repetitions per player. Phase 2: add a set, so they have to time the approach on the ball. Correction: not making enough distance — a middle blocker who is only a meter and a half back after the block cannot jump any more.
2. Coach attack, transition, finish (18 min). The coach hits a ball into the court from a box on the far side; the team digs, transitions and finishes the attack. The next ball follows immediately. Scoring: only attacks that score count; five points per set. Why: this format isolates the switch precisely and delivers plenty of repetitions, because the first ball always arrives.
3. Double transition (20 min). Six on six; the rally starts with a free ball, but both teams have to transition again after every dig. Scoring: a point from a second or later transition counts double. Why: most teams handle the first attack fine and lose it on the second or third. The scoring steers their attention to exactly that moment.
4. Wash with transition (20 min). Rally 1 starts with a serve, rally 2 with an attack from the coach on the team that just received. Winning both is a big point. That way you tie side-out to transition in one scoring system — the setup is in wash drills.
What you correct
- The setter who runs to the net too early. They have to keep defending until the ball is up; if they leave sooner, a gap opens at position 2 or 1.
- Hitters watching the ball instead of their approach spot. As soon as the dig is up, the eyes go to the setter and the feet go to the sideline.
- Second balls that are too low. After a dig the setter has less time, so demand higher sets than in a normal side-out, giving the hitters room to make their approach.
- Everyone running to the ball. After a broken dig there is often one player who has to take the second contact. Agree who that is and let the others go to their attacking spot — the reasoning is in playing out of system.
The link to the match
Transition cannot be separated from your defensive system: where your defenders stand determines how far they have to run to attack. A team that defends with a deep position 6 has a longer transition for that player than a team that keeps them shorter — see defensive systems. And the effect shows up in one number: the percentage of rallies you win after the opponent has served. If that rises after a transition block, the gain is not a coincidence. What that number actually means is in the side-out percentage.
Schedule transition right after defence. As a standalone block it always disappears off your plan. Hang it onto your defence block: ten minutes digging first, then ten minutes finishing the same ball. Then it trains itself in.
Frequently asked questions
What does transition mean in volleyball?
The switch from defending to attacking within the same rally: the moment blockers and defenders have to organise their attacking approach from a defensive position. You will also hear it called the transition game or the second-ball attack.
How far should a blocker move back after the block?
Two to three meters, meaning two quick steps backwards with the face towards the ball. A player who stays closer to the net cannot make an approach and jumps from a standstill — which costs at least twenty centimeters of reach.
Why does transition work in practice but not in a match?
Usually because you work with a predictable toss in practice and a real attack in the match. Build up towards a format where the first ball is a genuine attack and the team does not know where it is coming.
