ACL Injuries in Volleyball: Why They Happen and How Smarter Training Can Reduce Your Risk
- Sonny Wilson
- Jul 15
- 6 min read
In Part 1 of our Volleyball Injury Series, we explored why knee injuries are among the most common injuries in volleyball.
In Part 2, we looked at jumper's knee (patellar tendinopathy), the overuse injury that affects countless volleyball athletes every season.
Now we're turning our attention to the injury that many players fear the most:
An ACL tear.
Although ACL injuries occur less frequently than jumper's knee, they often have far greater consequences. They commonly require surgery, months of rehabilitation, and a long return-to-sport process. For competitive athletes, they can mean missing an entire season.
The encouraging news is that many ACL injuries don't occur because of bad luck.
They occur during predictable movements that can often be improved through purposeful training.
No program can eliminate the risk completely.
But research consistently shows that athletes who improve their strength, movement quality, landing mechanics, and neuromuscular control can significantly reduce their risk.
At PuncHIIT Fitness, that's exactly what we mean by:
STOP EXERCISING – START TRAINING
What Is the ACL?
The anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) is one of the major stabilizing ligaments inside the knee.
It connects the femur (thigh bone) to the tibia (shin bone) and helps control:
Forward movement of the tibia
Rotation of the knee
Overall knee stability during explosive movement
In volleyball, the ACL is challenged every time an athlete:
Lands from a jump
Changes direction quickly
Decelerates
Cuts laterally
Recovers after an awkward landing
It isn't designed to absorb all of these forces by itself.
Instead, it works together with the muscles surrounding the hips, trunk, and lower body to stabilize the knee.
When those muscles aren't doing their job efficiently, the ligament may be asked to tolerate more force than it was designed for.
Most ACL Injuries Don't Involve Contact
One of the biggest misconceptions about ACL injuries is that they usually happen because another player hits the knee.
In volleyball, that's rarely the case.
Most ACL injuries are non-contact injuries.
The injury often occurs during:
Landing from a block
Landing after a spike
Rapid deceleration
Cutting to reach a ball
An awkward change of direction
The athlete simply lands, pivots, or changes direction—and the ligament experiences more force than it can tolerate.
That's important because if many ACL injuries happen without contact, it also means many of the contributing factors are trainable.
Why Female Volleyball Players Are at Greater Risk
Female athletes experience ACL injuries at significantly higher rates than males in sports such as volleyball, basketball, and soccer.
Researchers believe this is due to multiple interacting factors rather than a single cause.
These may include:
Differences in lower-limb anatomy
Hormonal influences
Neuromuscular control
Hip and trunk strength
Landing mechanics
Previous training history
It's important to remember that these factors increase risk—they do not make injury inevitable.
Many female athletes complete long, successful careers without ever suffering an ACL injury.
Purposeful training can make a meaningful difference.
The Movement Patterns That Increase ACL Stress
Most ACL injuries don't happen because an athlete is weak.
They happen because the body loses the ability to control force effectively during high-speed movement.
Several movement patterns have been associated with increased ACL loading.
Knee Valgus
Often described as the knees "collapsing inward."
This position increases stress on structures inside the knee during landing and cutting.
The goal isn't rigidly straight knees.
The goal is controlled alignment.
Stiff Landings
Landing with very little bend at the hips and knees limits the body's ability to absorb force.
Instead of the muscles dissipating energy, more of that force is transferred to passive structures such as ligaments.
Learning to land softly is one of the most valuable athletic skills a volleyball player can develop.
Poor Hip Control
The gluteal muscles play a major role in controlling the position of the femur during landing.
Weakness or poor neuromuscular control around the hips can contribute to excessive knee movement.
Limited Trunk Control
Your core is more than your abdominal muscles.
The trunk acts as the foundation from which the legs produce and absorb force.
Poor trunk control can shift the body's centre of mass, increasing demands on the knee.
Fatigue
Movement quality almost always declines with fatigue.
Reaction time slows.
Landing mechanics become less consistent.
Decision-making deteriorates.
Fatigue doesn't cause ACL injuries on its own, but it may increase the likelihood of poor movement patterns appearing at exactly the wrong moment.
Can ACL Injuries Be Prevented?
This is where it's important to be honest.
No training program can guarantee that an athlete will never tear an ACL.
Volleyball is simply too dynamic for absolute guarantees.
However, numerous studies have shown that well-designed neuromuscular injury-prevention programs can significantly reduce ACL injury rates.
These programs typically include:
Strength training
Landing mechanics
Balance training
Single-leg stability
Plyometrics
Agility drills
The evidence is strong enough that many sports medicine organizations recommend these programs as part of regular athletic training.
What Should Volleyball Players Actually Train?
Rather than chasing individual exercises, focus on developing athletic qualities.
Landing Mechanics
Every landing is an opportunity to practice absorbing force efficiently.
Athletes should learn to:
Land softly
Control knee position
Use the hips effectively
Maintain trunk stability
Landing is a skill.
Like serving or passing, it improves through coaching and repetition.
Single-Leg Strength
Volleyball rarely happens with both feet perfectly planted.
Exercises such as:
Split squats
Step-ups
Single-leg Romanian deadlifts
Rear-foot elevated split squats
help improve control during sport-specific movement.
Hip Strength
Strong gluteal muscles help control lower-limb alignment.
Strength isn't just about producing force.
It's about directing force.
Hamstring Strength
The hamstrings work with the ACL to help control forward movement of the tibia.
Developing strong hamstrings may help reduce stress placed on the ligament during explosive movements.
Deceleration Training
Many athletes focus almost entirely on jumping higher.
Learning to stop efficiently is equally important.
Great athletes don't just accelerate well.
They brake well.
Balance and Neuromuscular Control
Athletes who can quickly organize their bodies after unexpected perturbations are often better prepared for the unpredictable nature of volleyball.
Training balance, coordination, and reactive movement improves more than stability—it improves confidence.
Common Mistakes Athletes Make
Only Practicing Volleyball
Volleyball improves volleyball skills.
It doesn't automatically improve tissue capacity.
Purposeful strength training fills that gap.
Chasing Vertical Jump Before Earning Landing Control
Everyone wants to jump higher.
Few athletes spend enough time learning to land better.
Producing force and absorbing force should be trained together.
Ignoring Recovery
Recovery isn't time away from training.
It's where adaptation occurs.
Poor sleep, inadequate nutrition, and excessive training loads all reduce an athlete's ability to recover and adapt.
Skipping Warm-Ups
A structured warm-up prepares both the body and nervous system for explosive movement.
It should never be treated as optional.
The PuncHIIT Perspective
At PuncHIIT Fitness, we believe injury prevention isn't a separate part of athletic development. It is athletic development.
Volleyball rewards explosive athletes.
But explosive athletes also need brakes.
The ability to land, decelerate, stabilize, and control force is just as important as producing it.
That's why our programs aren't built around simply making athletes tired.
They're built around making athletes capable.
When we coach athletes, we're not just trying to improve today's performance.
We're preparing their bodies for hundreds of practices, thousands of jumps, and many seasons of competition.
That's why our philosophy remains:
STOP EXERCISING – START TRAINING
Key Takeaways
Most volleyball ACL injuries occur without contact.
Landing mechanics and movement quality matter.
Female athletes experience higher ACL injury rates, but risk can be influenced through training.
Strength training and neuromuscular training are among the most effective injury-prevention strategies supported by research.
Great athletes don't just produce force—they learn how to absorb and control it.
An ACL injury can change an athlete's season.
Purposeful training can help change the odds.
While no program can eliminate risk completely, building stronger, more resilient movement patterns is one of the smartest investments any volleyball player can make.
Because the goal isn't simply to play harder.
It's to stay healthy enough to keep playing.
Continue the Volleyball Injury Series
Part 3: ACL Injuries in Volleyball: Why They Happen and How Smarter Training Can Reduce Your Risk (You are here)
Suggested Internal Links
Volleyball Injury Series - (Parts 1,2,4,5) - links above
Research References
Hewett TE, Myer GD, Ford KR. Reducing Knee and Anterior Cruciate Ligament Injuries Among Female Athletes: A Systematic Review of Neuromuscular Training Interventions. Journal of Knee Surgery.
Sugimoto D, Myer GD, Bush HM, et al. Compliance with Neuromuscular Training and ACL Injury Risk Reduction. British Journal of Sports Medicine.
Webster KE, Hewett TE. Meta-analysis of Meta-analyses of ACL Injury Reduction Training Programs. Journal of Orthopaedic Research.
Griffin LY, Albohm MJ, Arendt EA, et al. Understanding and Preventing Noncontact ACL Injuries. American Journal of Sports Medicine.
American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). ACSM's Guidelines for Exercise Testing and Prescription.
National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA). Essentials of Strength Training and Conditioning.
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