The purpose of this study was to investigate the read blocking techniques against quick attacks with combination attacks in volleyball. 28 occurrences of blocking motions in 4 games (Poland vs Iran, Poland vs Japan, Cuba vs Argentina, Cuba vs Serbia) from the 2011 Men’s World Cup Volleyball were analyzed by the Direct Linear Transformation Method.
The findings were as follows:
(1) The number of occurrences of double blocking (Middle blocker with side blocker) was 11 (Right-side blocker 5 times, Left-side blocker 6 times). Most blocks were single blocks by the middle blocker.
The average of the highest finger-tip heights for blocking motions were right-side 2.80m, middle block 2.97m, and leftside 2.84m.
(2) In 11 occurrences of when a middle blocker touched the ball, the average of the finger-tip height for the right fingertip was 2.91m (range: 2.76 to 3.04m), and the left finger-tip height was 2.85m (range: 2.70 to 2.99m). In 8 occurrences, the middle blocker took off －0.016 to －0.134 seconds before the quick spiker hit the ball.
(3) When the quick spiker took off, the distance from the net to the middle blocker’s position averaged 0.90m (range: 0.38 to 1.91m). On the other hand, when the quick spiker hit the ball, the distance from the net to the middle blocker’s position averaged 0.66m (range: 0.31 to 1.34m). There was a significant difference between the distance at the time the quick spiker took off and the distance at the time the quick spiker hit the ball (p<0.01). Middle blockers took off 0.150 seconds later when their stance was usually wider than 0.6m.
