You don't have to be able to hit the ball straight down to be a good volleyball hitter. You need good shots, whether you're short or tall, to put the ball away off a bad set or against a blocker. You simply have to master the four-corner offense: dink, cut, deep line, and deep angle.

Before discussing the above mentioned hits, there are two principles that need to be understood:

1. Always hit the ball into the court. You can land a helicopter on the opponent's side of the court. So hit the ball inbounds.
2. Always, always approach to hit the ball hard. Begin every approach thinking "kill," because you can always change your mind and make a different shot. If you approach softly, thinking "shot," and then change your mind to kill, you will just bury the ball into the net or get stuffed.

Hit the ball with an open hand for better control of your hits. The wider you spread your fingers, the more surface area you will have to make contact with the ball, which will give you more control of your hits and better spin on the ball.

A tip to help you know where to contact the ball is to picture the back of the ball as a clock. To hit the ball straight ahead, strike the ball at 12 o'clock. To direct the ball to your right, strike the left-side of the ball between 10 and 11 o'clock. And to spike the ball to your left, hit the ball to the right of center at 1 or 2 o'clock. By sighting the ball correctly, you can direct the volleyball any direction you want.

The key to making great hits is to use the same motion and energy until the last possible second every time you attack. Approach hard and jump hard every time. Contact the ball at the peak of your jump with a fully-extended arm every time. That consistency will make you more deceptive and harder for your opponents to read.

THE DINK

To make a good dink, your armswing should slow down at the last instant. But then continue the armswing and wrist snap in slow motion so that the ball travels upward and forward just enough to clear the net and fall into the opponent's court-and still have some top spin. The top spin will help the ball fall away from the approaching defense and will help the ball roll over the net in case you tried to make the shot too perfect.

Remember that if there is a blocker, you will have to make the shot higher (to clear the blocker's hands) and deeper (so the blocker can't land, lunge backward and pick up your dink.)

DEEP ANGLE AND DEEP LINE

The deep angle and deep line shots are more like normal spikes because you get to take a little harder swing at the ball. Aim both shots about three feet in from the sideline and three feet in from the endline. Using your slow armswing, make sure you put top spin on these hits to keep the ball inbounds. When hit well, the shot looks like a rainbow, landing softly deep in the court.

The hit you see least is the deep angle. Many players do not realize that you have over 40 percent more court to hit toward, about 30 feet down the line versus over 42 feet on the angle. That means you have more room behind the digger to land the ball in, especially if she is leaning forward, or cheating toward your deep line or your cut shot.

One common mistake players make on their deep line is to hit around the ball (like a cut shot) too much so the ball sails sideways out of bounds. Hit the ball closer to 12 o'clock so the ball flies true.

THE CUT SHOT

The cut shot is the most difficult hit to complete because you have to make the ball cross the net up to 5 or 10 feet away from you and then fall short to avoid the defense. That is why you will rarely get blocked making this shot-the ball crosses the net too far from the blockers when making this shot.

To cut from the right side of the court, hit the ball at around 1 or 2 o'clock to make the ball go left. Again use your last second, slow-motion armswing and wrist snap to hit this off-speed shot. As you contact the ball, snap your wrist over and around the ball to make it go to the side. If you are righthanded, make sure that you do not contact the ball over your left shoulder in an effort to make the ball go left. This is a common error. Instead let your wrist do the work.

Cutting from the left, as a righthander, is easier because you can reach a little outside your body line as you snap your wrist around the left side of the ball, at about 2 o'clock.

READING THE DEFENSE

To put the ball away against a blocker, a hitter must make sure to have good control of her shots. However the setter and the remaining players covering the attack can be of help. After every set, the setter should immediately tell the hitter how many blockers there are and a player behind the hitter, covering the hitter, should read the blockers and diggers and tell the hitter what area of the court is open.With that kind of help, the hitter doesn't have to go cross-eyed trying to see the ball, the blockers, and the diggers.

Remember to approach the ball hard every time, slow everything down at the last second and let your wrist snap guide the ball.

HOT DIPS FOR THE DINK, DEEP LINE, DEEP ANGLE AND CUT SHOT

Dinks:

• Armswing should slow at last instant
• Wrist snap should be in slow motion so ball travels upward and barely over the net
• Top spin will help the ball fall in bounds

• Aim about three feet from sideline and endline
• Use slow armswing and top spin
• Hit ball squarely so it doesn't sail sideways
• Deep angle gives hitter 40 percent more court to work with

• If the ball is a clock, hit it at 1 or 2 o'clock to make it go left
• At contact, snap wrist over and around the ball
• Let the wrist do the work