Volleyball Offense: The Basics of Tipping

Don’t overlook the tip. When used in key moments, it can help your team capture a much-needed point.

Tipping is often thought of as only being used in volleyball to bail yourself out of a difficult situation. But when done correctly, it can be a great tool for you to create chaos for the opposing team. In many situations, you can even score.

The two most important keys to tipping effectively are:

• Placement: Tipping on setters is always a good decision, as it will keep the opposing team from running their offense. The placement of the ball is crucial and dependent on the defense and their positioning. You will want to tip the ball over the blockers so that it falls in between them and the back-line players.
• Hiding the action: To create deception, you should keep a high elbow in order make it difficult for the defense to distinguish between a spike and a tip. To do this, you want to approach hard, as if spiking the ball. Keep your elbow high and adjust to tip the ball short at the last moment so as not to give away your plan.

Whether your tip scores or just disrupts the offense of the other team, tipping is a very valuable tool as many times a defense will be on their heels and not ready to deal with this surprise play.

To help improve your offense on the volleyball court, you’ll want work on your ability to attack the hitting line.