Hi, I’m Ed Ratledge AVP Pro and NCAA National champion.  Hitting effectively both indoors and on the beach is done with plenty of deception.  Deception can make every swing look the same with the ball going to a different place each time.  These tips and drills are what I use and teach at all of my camps.  Enjoy!


Volleyball Spiking Techniques – Deception Using your thumb is how to deceive your opponent.  With a swing that looks like the ball is going straight will be changed by ending with your thumb up, or down.  Since I’m a lefty the thumb up sends the ball to the right.  Thumb down sends the ball to the left.  Righty’s will be opposite. Deceiving your opponent is a lot of fun...they go one way and the ball goes the other

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Excellent volleyball spiking requires more than just a powerful hit. As a large hitter who was known for hitting the crap out of the volleyball, I found that my biggest problem when I was spiking was not that I wasn’t generating enough power, but that I wasn’t maintaining good control over the ball when I hit it.

Hi Everyone,

Andor Gyulai here, owner and Founder of Volleyball1on1.com and former NCAA champion. Over the years I have developed a tried and true method for ball control when volleyball spiking that I learned through experience and careful coaching, Today, I want to share my hard earned technique with you.

Most people tend to spike a volleyball on the top right hand side of the ball, this can be a mistake as it sacrifices accuracy for power

While spiking the right side of the ball does generate power, it has a serious downside when it comes to control. If you consistently aim for the upper right side of the ball when you spike you will notice that your ball will have a tendency to waffle out of bounds much more often than it would if you had adapted to the more control oriented left side volleyball spiking technique.

Hitting on the right hand side is a natural tendency for a hitter, and if you never make the effort to break the habit of coming in on top of the ball on the right side then you will never truly maximize your volleyball spiking ability and gain more control over you spike.

I hope you’ve enjoyed my video on volleyball spiking and gaining more control, and I hope you check out more of my instructional volleyball videos at volleyball1on1.com