How high do volleyball players jump?

In volleyball, just like in basketball, football or track and field, jumping high — explosive strength and elevation — is one of the main qualities a player needs to make a difference on court.

Vertical jump shows up in almost every key action of the game: from the jump serve (both float and spin) to the spike in attack, through a solid block on defence and, why not, a good set to build the play and speed it up.

WHY IS THE VERTICAL JUMP SO IMPORTANT?

There's no doubt about it: for a volleyball player, jumping is a real habit, one you have to train constantly and, as a result, improve.

To be precise, when you watch a volleyball match you don't only see vertical jumps, but different kinds: long jumps, or jumps off one leg. Either way, the jump has one final goal: getting an advantage over your opponent, stealing time from them or taking space or a position faster, going over them or containing them.

STANDING JUMP OR APPROACH?

It goes without saying: nobody likes jumping from a standstill.

Jumping from a static position doesn't let you build the explosive strength you need to perform well. That's why every player looks for enough space to take at least a small step, which helps both to add strength and elevation and to coordinate better.

Every athlete has movements that suit their own physical characteristics: some set up the jump with one foot slightly ahead of the other, some start with their legs more or less apart, some load up by bending the knees.

The fact is that all the greatest champions take a proper approach before hitting a serve that reaches impressive speeds or spiking with incredible power. That run-up, usually a few steps, increases their effectiveness by a lot.

HOW HIGH DO VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS JUMP?

At this point you're probably wondering what kind of reach volleyball players can hit. The questions players always ask are: how high does Zaytsev touch? At what height does Kaziyski attack? Who's the highest jumper of them all?

One thing before you read the numbers below: the figures you'll find are attack heights (how high the hand gets off the ground), not centimetres of jump. They're values declared by federations, clubs and training measurements, so take them as ballpark figures, not lab measurements.

Robertlandy Simon, during jump tests in training, reached 386 cm, then did it again on his second attempt at 384 cm, even though his personal record is listed at 3.89 metres.

Dmitrij Muserskiy, the Russian middle blocker standing 2.18 m, attacks at a height of 349 cm.

Klemen Čebulj made the top 20 of the overall ranking with 364 cm, then repeated it at 367 cm. Top of that same ranking is Matey Kaziyski, who can hit the ball at 3.90. In second place is Leo Marshall who, according to FIVB rankings, gets to 383 cm.

Other players with a great personal record are Luis Sosa Sierra at 369 cm, 374 on his second attempt, and Srećko Lisinac, who touched 367 cm.

HOW HIGH DO ITALIAN VOLLEYBALL PLAYERS JUMP?

Now let's look at the numbers of the Italians which, as you'll see, are no less worth a mention.

The best Italian jumper is Osmany Juantorena, who gets to 3.70, followed by Ivan Zaytsev, who reached 368 cm, the same height Luigi Mastrangelo hit back when he played.

On the women's side, one of the best-known Italian champions is definitely Paola Egonu, who at 19 was already considered one of the biggest talents in world volleyball. At 189 cm tall, Egonu reaches a vertical reach of 344 cm.

AND YOU, HOW HIGH DO YOU JUMP?

Reading how high the pros jump is interesting, but the number that really counts is yours. And to get it you don't need a force plate at a federal centre: your phone is enough.

JHP JUMP TEST — FREE, FROM A VIDEO

You upload a two-second video of yourself jumping and the test works out the height in centimetres from the flight time. The analysis runs inside the browser, so the video never leaves your device, and the page also tells you the margin of error of the measurement, so you know how much to trust the result.

How it works:
1️⃣ Upload a video of your jump.
2️⃣ Mark the start and the end of the jump.
3️⃣ Hit the button and read your result.

➡️ UPLOAD YOUR VIDEO AND FIND OUT HOW HIGH YOU JUMP

Practical tip: take the test today, write the number down, and do it again after four weeks of training. Without a starting point you don't know if you're improving or just training.

HOW TO TRAIN THE VERTICAL JUMP

You don't train the jump by jumping more. You train it with strength, plyometrics and the way those two things are sequenced across the week. The JHP subscription gives you 13 programs with day-by-day plans and a video for every exercise, at €99 a year instead of buying them one by one:

• Jump Higher Program — 10 weeks of bodyweight jump work, if you don't have a gym
• JHP Gym Edition — 16 weeks in the weight room on maximal strength and power
• Jumping Monster — 14 days of intensive plyometrics
• Volley PowerShot — arm speed and power in attack, no equipment
• Spike Revolution — 16 weeks dedicated to the spike
• Knee Power — knee strengthening and jumper's knee prevention

You can also buy them one at a time, if you already know what you need. From two courses up, the subscription is the better deal.

You might also like: stretching for shoulders, arms and hands for volleyball players and the contrast method to increase your vertical jump.