HIT Me Baby (One More Time)!

The server goes to the backline. She slowly bounces the ball a few times, waiting for the referee to signal for her. Once the whistle is blown, she gives it a nice, low toss, and floats the ball into the left back corner on the opposing side. The libero, who is stationed there for that rotation of serve-receive, gives a beautiful pass to the front right position, where the setter had released to just seconds earlier. Her fingers rap around the edges of the ball as it reaches her forehand. She then pushes a gorgeous set to the outside. Now, it's all up to-

the hitter.

Ah yes, the hitter. Or as many of you may know her as, the spiker (which is not what the position is really called, but you are forgiven for your ignorance, for now). The hitter is undoubtedly the position on the court that receives the most glory and credit, and in some ways, this recognition is well-deserved. 

The hitter is the main, and I guess you could say only, offensive position on the team. Their job is to try to hit the ball so that the other team cannot get a good pass, so that their team wins the point. However, hitters do not just play offense. They are also an important part of the defense as well. When the hitters on the other team go up to hit, the hitters on the opposing team jump up at the net and use their hands as an extra barrier to try to stop the ball from ever reaching their side of the net. This is called a block. 

Although it may seem as though being a hitter is a fairly easy position to play, it's not. Many people think the only thing you need to be a hitter is the genetic quality of being tall, but this is not the case. Yes, if you are on the taller side, it is easier for coaches to train you to be a good hitter. However, I have played against many hitters in my day that if you saw in passing, you would probably qualify as rather short, around 5'5" or 5'6". 

There is a lot more that goes into being a hitter than simply your height. Another misconception about hitting is that to be successful in that position, you need to have above-average strength. Again, this is not the case. Often, a smart hit is going to be much more effective than a hard-as-you-can hit. Hitters need to be able to assess what is happening on the other side of the court and decide where the most effective spot to place the ball would be. 

Unlike liberos and setters, where there is one or at most two of them on the court at a time, there are always at least three hitters on the court at a time. There is the outside, who hits from the left front position, the middle, who hits from the middle front position, and the right side, who hits from the right front position. With three different offensive players in the front row, there are many different plays and sets that can be run to try to get a kill, but I'll go over those in my next blog.

Until then, it you want to learn more about hitters and how they contribute to the game of volleyball, you can read about it here. And with that, we've now completed the sequence of bump, set, and spike! Woohoo! It's been a KILL-er run if you ask me. ;) Come back next week so we can really DIVE into the game of volleyball!