Defense after the tip

The build-up on the other side promises a hard swing, but what comes over is a short tip behind the block. The back court is sitting low, waiting for something hard, and suddenly has to move forward. That switch — from set for a spike to sprinting for a tip — is what this drill trains, with the counter-attack coming straight off the back of it.

10 players 8 phases ± 20 min 6 balls, full court with net From U17 upwards

Phase 1 of 8Defenders ready low; the opposing setter has the ball

Your own team (M1 and M2 = the players at the net, D = opposite, L = libero, P = outside hitter) The opposition (S = their setter) Ball

This animation comes straight out of the Koach app. In the app you play it at your own pace and the positions carry your players' real names.

Open in the app

How the drill runs

What you are training

Defense: the hitter tips short over the block, the back players charge in and play the ball back high. Stay alert and low.

Staying alert for the short ball while your posture is set for a hard-driven one.
Moving forward and still getting the tip up instead of trying to catch it.
From dig to counter-attack, even when the setter is the one who had to dig the ball.

Coaching points

Weight on the balls of the feet, heels off the floor.

You cannot move forward off your heels. Defenders who arrive late on a tip were almost never too slow — they were leaning back.

Play the tip high to the middle, not toward the net.

A dug tip usually comes from low and close to the three-meter line. Play it forward and it drifts back over the net, handing the other team a free attack.

The blockers turn to the ball the moment they land.

They are closest to a tip behind the block and the last to see it. A blocker who decides in the air that the ball is gone can no longer turn around after landing.

Agree who takes the second ball when the setter is the one digging.

In this drill the player at the net regularly digs the tip. Without an agreement there is nobody under the ball afterwards, and that is exactly why so many good digs off a tip still lead to nothing.

Variations

Easier: The other team always tips, and the back court knows it. That way you first practice only the move forward and the high ball to the middle.
Harder: The attacker chooses per ball between a tip, a hard swing and a roll shot over the block to the back court.
With six players: Drop the opposition and tip from a box. Three players cover in front of the block, three at the back; swap lines after ten balls.
As a game: Ten build-ups per round. One point for every tip dug up, two points if the counter-attack lands; the attacking side scores for every ball on the floor.

Volleyball drills

4 players · 6 phases SafeVolley base round Warm-up 3 players · 5 phases Shoulder activation with band Warm-up 2 players · 6 phases Dynamic movement patterns Warm-up 5 players · 5 phases Core plank with rotation Warm-up

Read on in the knowledge base: the tip and the roll shot · who covers the short ball in your system · from dig to counter-attack