Volleyball Criteria A Assessment

For our Volleyball Criteria A Assessment, we were to...

Look at the play from the 32 second mark to the 1 minute mark of the following video. Focus on the girl in dark blue playing in the middle of the back row (the one returning the ball using underhand passes) and answer the following questions about the technique of this player.

1) On which passes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) did she move to the proper position to execute the pass properly? Why is her positioning important?

2a) On which passes (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) does she look balanced? Why is being balanced important?

2b) What does she need to do to improve her stability?

3) Analyse all aspects of this player's underhand pass technique and comment on why she was successful on the first pass but not on the second.

This is what I replied with...

1) The girl was in the correct position on the 1st and 3rd passes. And because she was in the correct position at those times, she was able to execute the pass properly. On the 4th pass, which wasn't passed properly, the distance between her and the ball was too great when she had gotten into position and therefore it was impossible for her to properly pass.

2a) I think that all passes were balanced except for the 4th pass - because she hadn't moved to get under the ball, when she attempted to pass the ball, she got off-balanced. I think being balanced is important because it helps to balance the power from legs, arms, etc. And therefore, you can stay energetic throughout the whole game.

2b) To improve her stability, she could use more power from her legs. She could also keep arms ready and stretched out.

3) She was successful in the 1st pass because her arms were ready and her legs were bent. Her eyes were also on the ball, so she was prepared to pass the ball. The 2nd pass wasn't successful because she started off with her legs straight. This was a bad decision because, if she had bent her knees, she would have had more power, which is especially important when there is more force on the ball and the strength of your arms can't match up.