Tips for Doubles Volleyball

Volleyball has been apart of my life since the moment I was born. Both of my parents played volleyball well before I was born. Unfortunately, being born and raised in Iowa there are very few opportunities to play if you are a boy growing up. Volleyball is not a sport offered for men in high school in Iowa, and there are virtually no club teams in the area. When I was very young and my parents were still playing volleyball I learned all of the basic skills such as passing, setting, and hitting. My favorite time in gym class growing up was when we got to play volleyball. I took any opportunity to play which was few and far between but I have always loved the sport. Now, I play beech doubles in the summer and it is so much fun.

Most people do not start their volleyball career playing doubles, but because of my upbringing I had a good skill set and I was able to learn quickly. Since I am right handed I usually play on the left side of the court like an outside hitter in indoor volleyball. A right handed player will usually want to hit from the left side of the court because it gives them a wider variety of shots they can perform based on their body position relative to the court and the ball. In doubles their are no set offensive positions because the play is determined by who receives the ball first as it comes to your side of the court. In general the person who receives the first ball will proceed to pass the ball to their partner. The partner will then set the ball to you and you will hit the ball over. Being able to hit the ball hard is a lot of fun, but in doubles how hard you are able to hit doesn't mean much. Doubles is all about control and placement, with only two people covering the court there is always areas on the court where the other team is not, naturally that is where you want to hit the ball. Good players can cover a lot of court but the more you can keep the other team off balance and scrambling while you are playing in control you are probably going to win the point.

On defense there are things you can do to help cover the court since there are only two of you. Depending on the type of doubles you are playing you may or may not be using a blocker. Generally if you are playing power doubles you will be using a blocker but lower level doubles will probably not use blockers and you will both be back in a defensive position. I have played both with and without a blocker. Most of the time I have played has been done without a blocker. If you are playing without a blocker most of what you have to do is watch the way the hitter approaches the ball and how they are swinging. The more you play, there are trends you will notice in how people hit which will give you a good idea as to where they are going to hit the ball. Being able to tell where the ball is most likely going to go dramatically reduces the amount of court you and your partner have to cover. With a blocker you can try to use the block to force the ball to be played in certain areas of the court by taking away angles from the hitter. 

There is much more to the game then the few tips here, most of which you just have to play to learn. Volleyball is one of my favorite games and I am looking forward to being able to play even more when I graduate.