The defence right at the tape: one to three players jump with arms extended over it. Yet a direct block point lands on only about 10% of attacks.
No action in volleyball is misread as badly as the block. Almost everyone judges it by block points — yet a point scored directly on the block happens on only about 10% of attacks. The real value sits in block touches: they slow the ball down and are what makes the defence behind you possible at all. The classic mistake is jumping early. Leave the floor before the direction of the set is clear and all you do is open up your own half. That is why the read block is the default: hold your ground, watch the setter, jump once you know. The commit block — deciding early on the quick attack through the middle — is a deliberate gamble against a genuinely fast opponent, not a standing policy. One thing that gets overlooked: middle blockers jump 15 to 23 times per set for the block alone. Ignore that volume and what you collect is a knee problem, not a block point.