Posted by I have done a few posts in the last months analysing situations that happen in matches and seeing what we could do better, or why they were great in the first place. This post is of the latter variety, and looks at consecutive plays from the Civitanova v Kedzierzyn Champions League match that took place this week.
In the first clip we see Civitanova’s best spiker being blocked in a 1 v 1 situation by the setter. What happens that the spiker knows he has the setter in front of him, and sees that he starts a long way from him. His logical assumption is that the line will be open, and that if he hits close to the net he will beat the defender. However, the blocker makes a great move, arriving late and reaching to the line and to get the block. A great blocking play, if a little lucky.
The second clip we see the next rally, after a timeout. In this one we see a really great blocking play. Kedzierzyn often has the short setter drop off the net on high balls leaving the other two blockers to block. In this situation, on a negative reception, they have the setter drop off, leaving the middle to play 1 v 1 against the same spiker. It is a risky play because 1 v 1 gives the spiker has a huge advantage no matter which blocker it is. Here, the spiker still knows that the setter is in front of him but this time sees the setter drop off the net and knows with 100% certainty that the line is free. This time he doesn’t make the mistake of hitting low over the net. But the middle has made an incredible move and gets all the way to the line with his feet and makes the block. If he is a fraction of a second later, or a few centimetres further inside, it is a spike point. In a match full of great blocking plays, this was the best.
Tagged CEV Champions League, Blocking
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