Anticipating Vs. Reacting and Guessing on Defense

Stop guessing and reacting to the ball on defense! As a defender, it is critical that you sit in an athletic stance and begin to get a read on an attacker. You want to be light and ready to move, but you don't want to leave early or wait and react late to the ball.

If you leave early and guess, a good attacker will see your early movement and then just go the other way. If you are reacting instead of anticipating, you are going to be late to the majority of balls.

The best defenders in volleyball are able to stay low and light, and then begin to read what an attacker is doing based on their approach, arm placement, set, etc. It doesn't mean that the defender will be right every time, but just as you will begin to get a clearer picture of a puzzle as more pieces are added, a good defender will do the same as they see more attacks from an offensive player.

So, as you play defense, stay light, read the attacker, and then continue to make adjustments as you go. Before long, you will feel like you are in the attacker's head because you know exactly what they are about to do.