Volleyball is often considered to be a tall person sport and when you look at the volleyball lineups of professional teams it is easy to see why.
Although being tall can certainly be advantageous does it mean that you simply can’t play volleyball to a good standard if you are not blessed in the height department?
Well the short answer is no and some would argue the extremely long answer is yes.
Now that may seem confusing now but hopefully by the end of the article you will have enough evidence to make your own decision.
Volleyball players can in fact be short. The shortest male to ever play professionally was Farhad Zarif from Iran who stood at just 165cm or 5 Foot 5 Inches.
Whereas the shortest Female to ever play professional volleyball was Jorella Marie de Jesus who was a Filipino international player who was just 152cm or 5 Foot.
Both of these players heights are below the global average for height, which distinctively proves that Volleyball players can be short.
Now for those of you who are avid volleyball fans, you will note that both of these players are Libero’s which would explain how these smaller athletes are able to thrive in a game of giants.
But it does raise a separate question, if you are a shorter are you destined to play Libero if you want to progress to the next level?
Well this question got me thinking about the various heights of different players in different positions so to investigate this further I thought it would be a good idea to look at the shortest players, both men and women in each position on the court.
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Table of Contents
Average Height of Volleyball Players
Before we dive into the shortest players in each position I thought it might be worth noting what the average height of a professional volleyball player is in both the men’s game and the women’s game.
Surprisingly there is actually very little data on this subject.
That’s not to say the numbers aren’t correct but the only real data I could find on the matter was a report done by the FIVB on the 2012 Olympic Games.
The data was recorded using only the men’s division and also only took into account the top 5 teams.
I have inserted a screenshot of their table below.
This table clearly shows the data however based on how long ago the study was undertaken and the limited number of players/ teams selected I think the best option is for me to look at all the teams & players competing in the Volleyball World League currently and obtain this data myself.
At the time of writing this article the Men’s teams have been listed however, the women’s have not, so for the womens data I have used the teams that competed in the 2019 Volleyball Nations League.
Just to give you a snippet of how many teams this will consist of, according to the FIVB nations league schedule the following teams take part in the Mens division of the upcoming Volleyball Nations League in 2021
- Argentina,
- Australia
- Brazil,
- Bulgaria
- Canada
- China,
- France,
- Germany,
- Iran,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Poland,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Slovenia
- USA
In the women’s 2019 Nations League there were the following teams:
- Belgium
- Brazil,
- Bulgaria
- China,
- Dominican Republic
- Germany,
- Italy,
- Japan,
- Korea,
- Netherlands,
- Poland,
- Russia,
- Serbia,
- Thailand,
- Turkey
- USA
After many painstaking hours I compiled a table of all the players listed on the roster of each team including their heights, to make the article more informative I also recorded what position the players commonly play so I can offer some insight into the average height of players per position.
If you want to look at the table I compiled feel free click on the screenshot below to view the original google sheets page.
Please note the spreadsheet has been mixed up multiple times whilst obtain the averages etc..
Men’s League
At the time of writing this the Slovenian team has not been listed so in the interest of clarity I have used the Slovenian team list from the FIVB challenger cup of 2019.
From this data I can conclude the following.
The average height of a male professional volleyball player is 197.44cm or 6 feet 5.7 inches.
Women’s League
As stated above although the teams had been listed for the upcoming 2021 Volleyball nations league, unfortunately the rosters have not been, to try and offer the most up to date information I have used the rosters from the 2019 Nations volleyball league.
Fortunately the teams in the Volleyball Nations league don’t change much as the bottom two teams are swapped out each year, so for the most part the information is still extremely current.
From the data I can conclude the following:
The average height of a female professional volleyball player is 183.48cm or 6 feet 0.2 inches.
Okay, so I expect you have just looked at the above heights and unless you are substantially taller than the height of the average human being, you may be feeling like you have no chance in the world of professional volleyball.
Well fortunately there are a few different positions in Volleyball and as you will see as we dive further into this article there is quite a disparity in height between each position.
One other thing I want to mention is just because you may be smaller than the current shortest player in the Volleyball national league, this doesn’t mean you can’t be the next shortest player to ever play professional volleyball.
To start the position portion of this article I am first going to through the Men’s division and then the Female’s
Libero’s In Men’s Volleyball
Libero’s are traditionally the shortest players in any volleyball team, the main reason for this is because there is no real requirement for them to be tall.
The Libero’s role within volleyball is to be the defensive specialist, the Libero stays solely in the back row and is not allowed to attack the ball from above the height of the net.
Due to this fact there is no need for the Libero to be a tall player.
Now this doesn’t mean that Libero’s can’t be tall but it is often more advantageous to be slightly shorter with a lower centre of gravity to move and react with more proficiency than the tall counterparts
The average height of the Libero in men’s professional volleyball is 182.23cm or 5 Foot 11.7 Inches
Now you may be looking at that height and thinking if these are the shortest players then I still have no chance.
However, this is only the average height so as you can imagine there are a number of players shorter than this height.
In fact the shortest Libero’s currently playing in the NVL are Jiajie Chen who plays for China and Taichiro Koga who plays for Japan. Both of these players stand at 170cm or 5 Feet 6.9 Inches
If you are particularly short but fancy yourself as a capable defender then the Libero is a perfect role for you.
Outside Hitter In Men’s Volleyball
Outside hitters come in all shapes and sizes and in general is a very fluid and diverse position.
As an outside hitter you are expected to be a good defender as well as a reliable hitter.
Outside hitters are often among the most skillful players of any team.
Outside hitters are often used as the get out of jail free cards are they are often the go to players when a team is out of system, in simple terms this means when a pass is not close to the setter and the setter has limited options as to where they can set the ball.
This means that outside players are often called upon time and time again to swing against two or even three player blocks.
Obviously being taller with a large vertical jump offers a nice advantage over potentially shorter players so you will start to notice the heights of these players jumping up considerably from the Libero.
The average height of a male professional volleyball player who plays in the Outside hitter (Wing hitter) position is 197.47cm or 6 foot 5.7 inches
These outside hitters are obviously considerably larger than the height of the average male, however, there are a few examples of some players who are much closer to the average height and still competing with the best of them.
The shortest outside hitters currently playing in the Volleyball nations league are Francesco Recine who plays for Italy and Masahiro Yanagida who is the captain of Japan, both of these players stand at 186cm or 6 feet 1.2 inches.
Now although this wasn’t in my study I do think it is worth noting that there are players shorter than these two who are still known to be some of the best outside hitters in the world.
One player that comes to mind is Francisco Ruiz from spain who is just 178cm or 5 Feet 10 inches.
If you are a shorter player with big dreams of playing outside look no further than this guy for inspiration.
Middle Blocker In Men’s Volleyball
Now as we move into the middle blocker position this is where the shorter players start to get left behind. Traditionally Middle blockers are among some of the tallest players throughout the game of volleyball and if you are a shorter player with aspirations of playing Middle blocker you may need to start looking towards other positions.
Middle blockers are expected to hit quick balls to trick or catch the other team off guard, this also means the opposition is trying to do the same, so middle blockers are also responsible for reading the game and reacting to block quick attacks.
Being much taller in this position makes logical sense as the taller the player the less distance or height they have to jump to block a quick attack or react to hit a quick attack.
As such middle blockers are rather tall.
The average height of a male professional volleyball player in the middle blocker position is 203.98cm or 6 feet 8.3 inches.
Unfortunately the numbers don’t get much smaller even as we turn to the shortest player currently playing in the NVL
The shortest male middle blockers currently playing professionally volleyball in the NVL are Agustin Loser of Argentina and Haku Ri or Japan, both of these players are 193cm or 6 feet 4 inches
Obviously 4 inches between the average middle and shortest middle is quite a lot however being 190cm or over in height still places you in a small percentage of the global population who are considerably taller than the average human.
Opposites In Men’s Volleyball
Opposites are an evolving breed in volleyball.
As the years have progressed opposites seem to be getting taller, more powerful and more skilled.
An opposite (sometimes referred to as a right sided hitter) is someone who primarily attacks the ball from both the front and back court from the right side of the court.
When they are in the front row they act much like an outside hitter would however they swing from the right side rather than the left.
When in the back row they are responsible for defending and attacking the ball from behind the 3m or 10 foot line.
The opposite player can cause a lot of teams problems as it can be hard to block an opposite as often the blockers aren’t expecting the setter to use them and on top of this the opposites these days are very tall and powerful.
The average height of the male professional volleyball player who plays opposite is 202.04 6 Feet 7.5 inches
Although the opposites seem to be getting taller and more powerful we are actually in a weird time in which one player is changing the way we view opposites and how they can be used.
This player is the smallest opposite currently competing in the Nations Volleyball League and he is widely considered as one of the best players.
This man is Yuji Nishida.
The shortest male professional volleyball player who plays opposite is Yuji Nishida of Japan who is 186cm or 6 foot 1.2 inches tall.
Not only is Yuji Nishida the shortest opposite, he is shorter by quite some margin with the next closest player to him in terms of height is Casey Adam Schouten from Canada who measures 194cm or 6 feet 4.4 inches.
That’s more than a 3 inch difference and if you have ever seen Yuji Nishida play, you know all too well that height is not stopping this man.
Could this be the start of a different mentality towards opposites, could we see a new breed of player develop from this change?
Setters In Men’s Volleyball
The last position we are yet to discuss is the setters.
Setters are a position where height really doesn’t matter that much, in a traditional sense setters would be responsible for blocking and even occasionally hitting, however, with the progression of volleyball over the years and formations such as the 6-2 rising in popularity, setters heights is becoming less and less important.
Being tall and being a setter certainly has its advantages but by no means is it a requirement.
The average height of a male professional setter in volleyball is 193.30cm or 6 feet 4.1 inches
Much like with the Libero’s the disparity in heights between the shortest setter and tallest setter is rather large, proving that setters can be both short and tall.
The shortest male setter currently playing in the Volleyball nations league is Masahiro Sekita of Japan who is 175cm or 5 feet 8.9 inches tall
Interestingly Japan actually has the two shortest setters on the circuit currently as well as the shortest opposite that we touched on earlier.
Now it’s true Japan is not known for being a tall nation but they are certainly becoming well known in the volleyball space as they increase their world rankings and thus reinforce the notion you don’t have to be a giant to compete with the best in Volleyball.
So we have covered the Men’s discipline and we can now move onto the womens. I appreciate that a lot of these average heights and in fact even the shortest heights are a little bit discerning especially if you are not the tallest.
However we only have to turn to Japan who are seemingly leading the way in how effective a team or in deed player can be in the right situation regardless of height.
Libero’s In Women’s Volleyball
Moving on to the women we will start by looking at the Libero.
Although there are some differences in how the game is played between the Men’s game and the Women’s ultimately the objectives are the same and as such the positions have the same roles.
Just as a reminder the Libero is a defensive specialist and has no business being in the front row.
Due to this there is no need for a Libero to be tall.
Currently in the Volleyball Nations League the average height of the female Libero is 171.19cm or 5 Feet 7.6 inches
Although this figure is interesting it is somewhat irrelevant as I said Libero’s do not need to be tall to compete with the best.
The shortest female Libero’s currently playing professional volleyball are Supattra Pairoj from Thailand and Leia Henrique Da Silva Nicolosi from Brazil. Both of these ladies measure 160cm 5 Feet 3 Inches.
If you are a quick nimble player with outstanding defence then maybe the Libero spot is the perfect position for you.
Outside Hitter In Women’s Volleyball
The outside hitter is the jack of all trades and quite often the master of all trades as well.
There are many ways in which an outside hitter can make their presence felt which of course means they can be shorter as well as extremely tall.
The average height of a female outside hitter playing professional volleyball is 184.41 or 6 Feet 0.6 Inches
This certainly isn’t short for a woman and is quite a bit above the height of the average female, but there are some shorter players that may make you feel a bit better about your height.
The shortest female outside hitter currently playing professional volleyball is Mami Uchiseto of Japan who measures 170cm or 5 feet 6.9 Inches.
To be honest this isn’t actually that short in the grand scheme of things but as per my example for the Men’s bracket there are numerous examples of players much shorter than this playing through the outside position and dominating.
Middle blockers In Women’s Volleyball
Much like in the men’s game middle blockers are traditionally taller than the outside hitters due to the same reasons noted above.
Middle blockers are often less concerned about passing and setting and focus more on hitting and blocking, making being taller more advantageous.
The average height of the female middle blocker in professional volleyball is 188.96cm or 6 Feet 2.4 Inches
Fear not if you are a female under 180cm as there is still hope.
The shortest female middle blocker in professional volleyball is Aya Watanabe from Japan who stands at 176cm or 5 Feet 9.2 Inches.
Much like in the Men’s game the headlines don’t look great if you are on the shorter side and have a dream to be the next superstar middle, but that doesn’t mean you can’t make it happen.
Records are set to be broken so why not be the next shortest middle ever.
Opposites In Women’s Volleyball
To summarise the opposite is a player who primarily focuses on hitting from the right side of the court both frontcourt and backcourt, this is why they are sometimes referred to as the right sided hitter.
Opposites are generally amongst the taller players in the team just behind the middles.
The average height of a female opposite in professional volleyball is 187.40cm or 6 feet 1.8 inches
Again if you are a female under 182cm or 6 feet fear not as there are examples of shorter opposites.
The shortest female opposite currently competing the VNL is Jung-Won Moon of Korea who is 174cm or 5 Feet 8.5 Inches tall
Yet again the numbers aren’t very reassuring if you are shorter but up until recently opposites in the men discipline were very tall until Yuji Nishida came along and upset the apple cart.
If you are a shorter woman and love playing opposite, why not be the female Yuji Nisida.
Setters In Women’s Volleyball
We are here again, at the last position on the team, the setter spot.
Similarly to the Men the disparity in height amongst the female setters is rather large.
As stated before with the progression of the 6-2 amongst other tactics being tall as a setter is becoming less important as the years roll by.
Now obviously being taller makes a setter more accommodatable within a team but if the setter is very effective im sure the height could be overlooked.
The average height of a female setter in professional volleyball is 179.99cm or 5 Feet 10.6 Inches
As an average this is relatively tall when compared to the global average height of everyday women however setters can certainly be shorter then most of their counterparts.
The two shortest female setters currently in the NVL are both from Thailand, Tapaphaipun Chaisri is the shortest player measuring 168cm or 5 Feet 6.1 Inches whilst her teammate and captain Nootsara Tomkom is 169cm or 5 Feet 6.5 Inches tall
There you have it the average heights and shortest players for each position currently playing in the Nations Volleyball League.
Now I’m sure with enough digging you can find players that are much shorter scattered throughout the professional leagues in volleyball, however, this data does offer a nice overview of what sorts of heights players currently are.
Now admittedly these numbers aren’t going to fill any shorter players with hope but by no means does this put the nail in the coffin.
Volleyball is an ever changing sport and with the rise of teams like Japan who are, for the most part, much shorter when looking at a position by position basis, this should fuel any young aspiring players who are short to not give up on their dreams.
Although stereotypically volleyball players are tall this by no means ensures that all volleyball players must be tall.