The hitting percentage in volleyball is an important statistic to track. Coaches track these statistics to improve their teams even if they don’t look at them unless they are in a high-level program.
What is a good hitting percentage in volleyball? In volleyball, a good hitting percentage is at least 0.300. Generally, anything over 0.300 is considered excellent, and anything between 0.200 and 0.300 is considered average. Despite the 0.100 total range being below average, it still indicates that a hitter is scoring for the team.
People who know the sport will understand if you say 300 as if it’s not a decimal. We don’t say 0.300 or “point three hundred.”
How To Calculate Your Hitting Percentage
How is it going? Taking the sum of all kills and subtracting hitting errors, the hitting percentage is calculated and then divided by the total number of attacks.
Volleyball Hitting Percentage Formula
If you were to write it out in a formula, it would be (K-E)/TA=PCT.
Where:
K = Kills
E = Errors (hitting errors)
TA = Total Attempts
PCT = Your Hitting Percentage
Calculating and tracking statistics
For every kill, you will put a +, and for every error, a -. But what about an attack that is kept in play? These attacks are called zero attacks, and we record them as zeros.
For example, +00++-0+00-0-00+-++0 would match
In total, 20 attempts were made, with 7 kills, 4 errors, and 9 zero attacks.
In other words, 7-4=3 3/20= 0.150, or 150.
Why Is Hitting Percentage Even Calculated?
The hitting percentage is essentially a measure of your hitting efficiency. You can gain valuable insight into how you play volleyball by looking at these stats. The statistics after a volleyball match are often scrutinized by coaches of competitive teams.
What do you think about a hitter who attacks over and over without getting a kill? Are there hitters who make just as many errors as they do kills?
You may be surprised to discover that one of your hitters earns a lot of points and is very efficient, yet goes unnoticed.
Calculating your volleyball hitting percentage is key to your overall game strategy, as it helps you determine if you are making the opponent’s life easier or if you are scoring more points for your own team. There is no point in having a mediocre hitting percentage for your team.
Having a hitting percentage of 0.300 or above is crucial for most competitive teams. However, it takes a lot of practice, dedication, and time to achieve this. Find out what hitting percentages mean and how to improve your team’s hitting percentage by reading on.
Hitting Percentage Vs Kill Percentage
The terminology here can be a little confusing, so be careful…
There is a difference between kill percentage and kill efficiency/hitting efficiency/hitting percentage.
Kill percentage can be defined as the number of kills divided by the number of attempts.
Based on the above example, our outside hitter had a 50% kill rate after making 10 kills from 20 attempts.
These stats differ slightly – she has a hitting percentage of .300, but a kill percentage of 50%.
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The importance of volleyball hitting percentages cannot be overstated
A hitting percentage calculation is crucial because you can use the results as a guide and tool to determine the skill level of your hitters. However, numbers should not be taken too seriously.
Stats and calculations are only part of what makes up a volleyball team. While sizing up your volleyball team’s players, there are many other factors to consider.
In addition to strengths and weaknesses, certain team members may work better together, and this may occasionally justify a slightly lower hitting percentage.
Younger volleyball players are less concerned about hitting percentages, while older players are more concerned about them. The older and more experienced the player is, the better the hitting percentage, and the fewer errors are expected. Growing and developing better hitting skills and strategies takes time for younger players.
Also, statistics show a more accurate measurement over time, just like any other type of measurement. The hitting percentage for a game might be very low, or even negative if you’re on a bad streak. Your skill is not measured accurately by that.
Thus, the more data you have, the more accurate your measurement will be when examining a player’s statistics. After a tournament or several games, players should reflect rather than obsess about each game’s statistics.
An In-depth Look At Volleyball Hitting Percentages
To hit percentages, 300 and above is ideal, 200 is good, and 100 is just below average, but still doable.
In the case of a 0% hitting percentage, what does it mean? A hitting percentage of zero indicates that they are statistically a wash. While they aren’t losing points for the team, they aren’t either scoring or losing points.
You may not find inspiration in these players, but they are a good starting point for improving your hitting skills. Making better choices during attacks can allow someone who starts off as a 0-hitter to become the best player on the team.
What is a bad hitting percentage in volleyball? Your team is in trouble if your hitting percentage is negative. In young and beginner players, negative hitting percentages are common. Instead of hitting the ball on the opponent’s floor, hitters put it in the net or out of bounds.
Younger and beginner teams generally experience negative hitting percentages until skills and strategies are better developed, which is why tracking hitting percentages is usually done for older or more experienced teams.
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What Is The Importance Of Hitting Percentages For The Player?
Fans and players of volleyball mistakenly focus all of their attention on kills. The success of a team or player appears to depend on every kill, but there is much more to it than that. Rather than just measuring efficiency in certain situations, the hitting percentage gives a truer picture of a player’s overall efficiency.
A hitter’s hitting percentage is an important factor to consider when applying for competitive teams. For hitters, knowing their strengths and weaknesses is a good starting point.
Occasionally, a team member will think they’re great at hitting because they score at just the right time towards the end of a game and get a few kills. In many cases, they do not take into account the missed hits they may have made during the game.
In recruiting hitters, what do college volleyball coaches or external coaches look for? In this regard, hitting percentage is very important. It is important for coaches (and team members) to look for hitters who attack zeros and pluses with as few negatives as possible. Coaches want hitters who don’t take chances just to hit the ball and play a clean game.
Most junior volleyball teams and middle schools will not spend much time calculating hitting percentages. Noting down-hitting statistics can help players determine their own hitting percentage.
You can also use it to show your young hitter that you are engaged by keeping track of his stats and talking about them to show you are paying attention to him.
Kill Percentage: A Problem
Can you recall the outside hitter who hit 10 kills in 20 attempts with a kill percentage of 50%?
Her performance couldn’t be tracked by kill percentage if we only looked at the number of errors she made, or by how many great digs she made to preserve the point…
There is a huge difference between the two.
True Offensive Efficiency is Revealed by Hitting Percentage
Getting stuff blocked on every attempt that our star player didn’t kill would greatly reduce her efficiency as compared to skillfully guiding the ball over the net to make the best of a bad situation.
Adding errors to our equation gives us a more accurate picture of how well a player is hitting the ball.
Volleyball Positions and Hitting Percentage Goals
The hitting percentage plays an important role in-game strategy. It is not always a good idea to swing for the kill. Controlled shots are usually better than uncontrolled shots.
Due to the team’s emphasis on kills rather than hitting percentage, some players feel that they must swing for a kill instead of playing the ball and defending. In the absence of hitting percentages, you may make unforced errors and give free points to your opponents.
Depending on the quality and type of sets being served, players should aim for a certain hitting percentage. Below are approximate hitting percentage goals for the following positions as a team:
- The overall team hitting percentage goal: 300
- Middle blockers hitting percentage goal: 400
- Outside and opposite hitting percentage goal: 250
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How To Improve Volleyball Hitting Percentage
You can improve your hitting percentage by being a smart hitter. It is common for younger players to unload on every hit in an attempt to prove themselves. Increasing your hitting percentage won’t be achieved by doing this.
As you attack, keep an eye on the defense.
Looking at the block before hitting is very important for improving your volleyball hitting percentage. Before hitting the ball, players rarely look at the position of the block, especially when the play is fast.
Consider the block before hitting in order to improve the hitting percentage. Observe how many blockers you have facing you when you become aware of the block.
Unload the ball away from the blocker if there is only one blocker on you. Hitting a diagonal shot through the court is a good move for hitters. You should swing aggressively when you have one blocker on you. By making this calculated and strategic move, you are more likely to get a kill which will increase your hitting percentage.
The trick is to find a gap when multiple blockers are present and decide if you can move the ball through their block. When they don’t get into the right position fast enough, you can hit around the block. The decision must be made on the spot.
In certain situations, a tip or even a volley may be appropriate. Whenever you receive a poor set or your opponent is well-positioned for a double block, consider making the smart play and tipping it just over their reach or volleying it deep to an open space.
Your efficiency will increase if you don’t force every opportunity to be a predictable, normal attack. The other team will be caught off guard and you’ll be able to avoid some frustrating blocking situations.
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What Is A Good Hitting Percentage In Volleyball?
Hit percentage is heavily influenced by position, which is the first thing you have to understand.
Hitting Percentages Vary by Position
There are different benchmarks for hitting percentages for outside hitters, opposites, and middle blockers.
Middle Blocker Hitting Percentage
In most teams, the middle blocker has the highest hitting percentage.
They’re only really given the ball when the backcourt passes it well.
According to the table above, 24 out of the top 25 NCAA D1 women’s players have been middles this season.
Hitting percentages greater than .350 are considered good for middle blockers. An excellent score is anything over 0.400.
Another factor contributing to middle blockers’ high efficiency is their infrequent back-row attacks.
Taking out a back-row attack is much harder.
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Outside Hitting Percentage
It is often virtually impossible for outside throwers to kill stray balls since they are often not near their optimal hitting window.
Outside hitters should have a hitting percentage of .250-300, and 300+ is excellent.
In addition, they are often paired with an opposing blocker who will make life hard for them on the net.
Opposite Hitting Percentage
Furthermore, opposites are more likely to receive scrappy sets, resulting in lower hitting percentages.
It is considered excellent for an opposite hitter to have a hitting percentage between .270-320.
Furthermore, the opposites are responsible for reducing the overall efficiency of back-row attacks due to their lower kill percentages.
What Is An Average Hitting Percentage In Volleyball?
A range of .200-250 is generally considered to be reasonable, although it varies based on position.
Those numbers would indicate slight underperformance for a middle blocker.
Can You Have A Negative Hitting Percentage In Volleyball?
This is definitely cause for concern if your hitting percentage consistently drops below .100.
The hit percentage of a player with a .100 is technically satisfactory, but not quite.
When hitting the ball, a player with a negative hitting percentage is more likely to make an error than get a kill.
The player becomes a liability on the court as a result of spiking.
Is A Hitting Percentage Of 0 Considered Average?
You are neither winning nor losing points if your hitting percentage is close to zero.
The fact that your PCT is 0 does not mean you are performing in the middle of the pack…
Your performance is definitely lacking.
In order to get kills, we need to hit the ball well.
With spiking, the ball is presented to you on a silver platter so that you can put it away and end the rally.
In volleyball, we should score points when we spike the ball. The game just works that way.
Volleyball Hitting Percentage Targets
To be considered strong offensively, you and your team should shoot for these figures.
| Position | Hitting Percentage |
| Middle Blocker | .350 |
| Outside Hitter | .250-300 |
| Opposite Hitter | .270-320 |
| Team | .300 |
However, you should still strive to reach these benchmarks even if you aren’t hitting these numbers.
How Do You Increase Your Hitting Percentage In Volleyball?
In order to increase your hitting percentage, there are only two ways…
Either you need to get more kills or you need to make fewer errors when hitting in volleyball to increase your hitting percentage.
Alternatively, you could become a middle-blocker, but that might be cheating.
Increase your kills
If you’re interested in getting more kills in volleyball, you should start with my list of 10 things to do.
Reduce Hitting Errors
There are really just three things that make this all make sense.
1. Too much hitting into the net
There are many reasons why this may happen.
How hard are you hitting the ball? Do you want to impress your teammates by hitting really sharp angles?
There’s a possibility that you are simply inexperienced. It’s possible that you’re short and inexperienced.
Practice tooling and aiming for the back of the court instead of hitting the ball hard when it isn’t in an ideal position.
2. Too much hitting the ball out of bounds
The ball is at least going over the net!
You’re probably trying to hit angles that are too sharp if you’re hitting too wide often, and you’ll be better off aiming for backcourt corners.
3. You’re getting blocked too much
There are a number of things that could be causing this.
It might just be that you’re facing a strong defensive team.
You’re probably not putting your shots in the right places.
Try not to put too much pressure on the ball and just aim for an open area of the court. Your first kills will be few, but baby steps will help.
Volleyball Hitting Percentage FAQs
What is a good hitting percentage in high school volleyball?
You’ll have to take into account what year you’re in when figuring this out.
As errors are common and few players have mastered spikes yet, a team-hitting percentage of .200-250 is probably very good for freshmen.
This level is unlikely to require you to track stats.
A .400 team PCT would be expected for seniors who play against weaker opponents.
There are even players who average north of .700!
What is the record for the highest hitting percentage in volleyball?
There are few records available for women’s D1 volleyball at the professional or international level, but we do have some interesting data to share.
It was once Tyrona Clark who hit .519 for the entire 1988 season.
From 1993 to 1996, Virág Domokos hit .423 for his entire college career.
In 2011, Dylan Davis hit .882 for 15/17 during a match in men’s volleyball.
Conclusion
While it’s important for any team to have a great hitting percentage in volleyball, if it’s not perfect, it’s not the end of the world. You can steadily climb your hitting percentages by training consistently, strategically hitting, and working together.
Now might be the perfect time to start monitoring your hitting percentages. In order to improve your hitting, you must execute with solid technique.
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