Biomechanics of a Volleyball Spike

Biomechanics of a Volleyball Spike

Introduction

One of the most exciting moves in volleyball to watch and to execute is the spike. The tall players with a high vertical jump ability execute the spike the best. To make this maneuver most difficult to return, the projectile (volleyball) is launched from an angle below the horizontal at high speeds. The higher the position of launch, the greater the chances of clearing the net and coming in at a steep angle too. (Alexander 2009)

Proper way to spike

The duration of the spiking motion is 0.6 to 0.8 seconds, and can be divided into the following phases: back-swing, turn-swing, and forward swing. Elite level spikers hit the ball half way into the jump at 0.3 to 0.4 seconds. This makes the spiking technique one the most complicated skills in sports. In order to hit the ball powerfully, the researchers examined the range of motion of the arm swing required for the hitting hand to generate the most power. That is, the researchers found the range of motion of the hitting hand to be relative to the power of the spike.The loss of the ground reaction force from jumping required that the main action motion of the swinging arm must be generated and balanced by the other reaction segments of the body (i.e. the legs and the opposite arm) that can be explained in biomechanics by the principle of the conservation of angular momentum. (Briner 2010)

here are a various types of spikes or hitting techniques in volleyball. For instance, outside hit, middle hit, quick balls, backcourt spike etc. In its most basic form, spiking is simply the action of jumping into the air and hitting the ball downwards into your opponent's side of the court, which hopefully results in a 'kill'.

To execute a spike you need to make an approach, jump into the air with a good arm swing and then hit the ball with force as you bring your arm back from the swing. It takes a lot of practice to get all three actions to flow together smoothly and to develop an effective spike so be patient and put in the hard work.

Lets breakdown the action of a spike into easy to follow instructions. In this example, we will describe the actions for a right-handed hitter.

The Approach

Start with your left foot well back from your right foot and take your first step with your left foot. The aim of the first step is to build speed and cover distance, so be sure to make this first step powerful and strong. (Agel et. al 2010)

The second steps is with your right foot and so continue to build speed and cover distance. It should take you to the ball. You can vary the distance of this step to adjust for the position of the ball from the net. So if the ball is off the net and closer to you, take a shorter second step or conversely take a greater second step ...