The standard attacking approach for a right-handed outside hitter is a three- or four-step run that builds horizontal speed and converts it into vertical lift: the final two steps typically go left-right (for a right-hander), with the arms swinging back and then driving up hard to help launch the jump at the peak of the approach. Timing the approach to the set — arriving at the point of contact just as the ball reaches attackable height — is at least as important as raw jumping ability, since a hitter who jumps too early or too late loses power and accuracy regardless of vertical leap.
The swing itself starts with the hitting arm drawn back and the body arched slightly, then whips forward with the shoulder, elbow and wrist snapping in sequence, contacting the ball at the top of the reach with an open hand that wraps slightly over the top of the ball to drive it downward. A well-executed spike, called a kill when it lands for a point, combines this power with shot selection — hitting cross-court, down the line, or finding a gap in the block — rather than simply hitting as hard as possible at every opportunity.
Softer options: tips and roll shots
Not every attack is a full swing: a tip, played with the fingertips to softly redirect the ball just over or around the block, and a roll shot, an off-speed swing that clears the block with placement rather than power, are both deliberate changes of pace that punish a defense that has set up expecting a hard-driven attack every time.
Reading the block before the swing
Elite hitters process the position and movement of the opposing block in the split second between the setter's release and their own contact, adjusting shot selection on the fly — hitting a hard cross-court angle if a blocker has overcommitted to the line, or tooling the ball intentionally off a blocker's outstretched hands and out of bounds to draw a point via the block-out rule, under which a ball that touches a blocker and then goes out of bounds is scored against the blocking team rather than the attacker. This real-time decision-making, layered on top of the approach and swing mechanics themselves, is a large part of what separates a merely powerful hitter from a genuinely difficult one to defend.
