A block begins well before the jump: a blocker reads the opposing setter's hand position and the trajectory of the pass to anticipate which hitter is about to be set and from where, then moves laterally along the net — using a shuffle step for short distances or a crossover step to cover more ground quickly — to arrive in position before the hitter's approach is complete. Jumping too early, before the hitter commits to the swing, is one of the most common blocking mistakes, since a hitter can simply wait out an early jump and hit around or past the descending block.
On the jump itself, the blocker's hands should reach up and slightly over the net rather than merely straight up, penetrating into the opponent's side of the airspace above the net to cut off the hitter's cross-court angle, with the hands angled inward and fingers spread to cover as much net width as possible. A well-timed block can win the point outright — a stuff block, sometimes called a roof — or simply slow and redirect the ball so a teammate can dig it, which still counts as a successful defensive contact even without a direct kill.
Single, double and triple blocks
Depending on the attack, a team may commit one blocker (a single block, common against a quick middle attack), two blockers (a double block, the standard response to a well-set outside or opposite attack), or occasionally all three front-row players (a triple block) against a particularly dangerous hitter, trading broader net coverage for fewer defenders positioned on the floor behind the block.
Blocking hand positioning against different shots
Advanced blockers also adjust hand shape to the specific threat: angling the hands and wrists inward to take away a hitter's favored cross-court angle, or closing the block's outside hand tightly against the antenna to remove the line shot entirely and force the attack toward waiting back-row defenders. Because a blocker only has a fraction of a second to make these micro-adjustments once airborne, this level of blocking precision is generally built through extensive repetition against a specific hitter's known tendencies rather than improvised in the moment.
