1.

Serving

Every play in volleyball starts with a serve. As one of my coaches used to say, serving is the only time in
the game that you start with full control of the ball. This is why you’ll often see a lot of strategy used by
servers.

A player can choose to serve over or underhand. An underhand serve is often seen as more of a
beginner or recreational type of serve; however, I’ve seen some pretty aggressive underhand serves.
There are many different techniques and strategies for each, so it’s really about which the player
prefers.

Factors related to a good serve include targeting, speed, and spin. A good server takes a second or two
to identify any areas of weakness in the opposing side’s serve receive setup, and then targets their serve
to that area of weakness.

Obviously the faster a ball travels from a serve, the harder it is for the other team to react to. The trick
to serving a ball fast is your arm swing when you contact the ball. Whether you’re serving over or
underhand, remember to follow through with your swing, even after you’ve contacted the ball. This
gives your swing a little more speed.

Not only is speed a factor, but so is putting spin on the ball. When there’s spin on a ball, it will either
drop quickly once it sails over the net, or it will ricochet off the forearms of the player who is passing it –
or both. Putting spin on a volleyball is a great skill, but does take time and practice to develop.

The official rules give players 8 seconds to serve the ball after the referee has blown the whistle, but
some rec leagues give players 5 seconds, so be sure to check the rules for the league you’re playing in.

The best advice I can give for serving is to just take your time, and focus on getting the ball to where you
want it to go. For beginners, that could just mean getting it over the net. Nothing wrong with that! As
you build up your skill and confidence, work on looking at where the other team’s players are standing,
and try to aim your serve to the holes in their defence.

Another important tip to remember when serving is to make sure that your feet don’t go over the
serving line before you contact the ball. When serving, the player has to start outside the back line of
the court, and can only step into the court after they’ve contacted the ball. Again, since you start with
full control of the ball when serving, make sure you give yourself enough room to serve the ball without
getting a foot violation. No one to blame but yourself for that error!

At high-calibre levels of play, volleyball is a sport of specialization, skill, and strategy. But you don’t have
to be an expert in all the volleyball skills to play well! Knowing the basic skills is a great starting point,
and you can build up your skill the more you play. Many players are more comfortable with some of the
skills than others. Be open to learning from your experienced teammates, and you’ll definitely pick up
some new skills the more you play.
RECIEVING VOLLEYBALL.

During the game of volleyball a receiving team has to receive a serve first. Afterwards, a player who has
received a serve has to make an accurate pass to one of his/her teammates. Then, a setter sets a ball to
a hitter. Lastly, a hitter carries out a successful attack hit

2. Setting

A set is a specialized type of volley. It’s usually the second hit, and it’s intended to set up one of your
teammates to attack the ball. So, it’s basically volleying the ball in a way that means the attacker can hit
the ball over the net.female player setting the volleyball The difference between a set and a regular
volley is that you are aiming your set in a very specific way. Getting it on target is the most important
factor when setting the ball. You’ll also need to volley it high enough that the hitter has time to do their
full approach. But not so high that they’re just waiting and waiting… which also give the blockers on the
other team lots of time to get in place! The speed of your set is also important. There are some trickier
sets that are a lot faster (and require good communication between the setter and the hitter), but when
executed well, they often get through the block.A good set is actually about a foot away from the net.
This gives the hitter enough room to follow through with their whole arm swing, and gives them enough
room to land without touching the net.The setter is a specialized position, which means there’s one
player whose job it is to try to set every ball. However, even with a dedicated setter, there will be plays
where the setter just can’t get to the second ball, and another player will have to set the ball. Being able
to volley is necessary, but knowing the other factors like where to aim the set, and set speed and height
will help to get a better set.

3. Attacking

While spiking is the most glamourous and well-known type of attack, there are actually other ways to
deliver an offensive play as well.

Hitting or spiking is when a player jumps up and hits the ball with a one-armed overhead swinging
motion, contacting the ball squarely with their slightly open hand. The intent of a hit is pure power –
jumping helps generate more power and momentum. A skilled player also aims the ball around the
block and targets the area of the opposing team’s playing area that they think has the weakest defense
coverage.

The basic technique for delivering a hit actually begins with your feet, known as the hitting approach.
Start by taking a big step with your non-dominate foot (for right-handed hitters, this is usually your left
foot), then a big second step with your right foot. Then, plant your left foot beside your right foot, and
jump. Taking those first two big steps helps give your jump more power and height.

When I was learning to hit, I would actually say to myself, “Leeeft, Right-Left”, drawing out the first left,
then saying quickly the “Right-Left”. Sounds cheesy, but it helped with the timing of my approach, and it
helped me to remember which foot to start my approach with.
A tip is similar to a hit in technique, but instead of powering the ball as hard as possible, the attacker
simply pokes at the ball to “tip” it over the net. You can either use your fingertips, or your knuckles.
Either way is allowed, as long as the ball isn’t held too long or carried.

A tip is often used intentionally to place the ball in the holes of the opposing team’s defensive setup…
or, it can also be used as a last-ditch effort to get the ball over the net when the attacker has mistimed
their hitting approach, or the set it too close to the net for the hitter to get a full arm swing.

A roll shot is also a great attacking option. This again is similar in technique to a hit, but instead of
powering through the swing and contacting the ball as hard as possible, the hitter focuses more on
placing the ball strategically, and swinging a bit more slowly. A player can hit a roll shot either using a
jumping approach, or while keeping their feet on the ground.

The name “roll shot” comes from how the player contacts the ball, which is by rolling their open hand
over or underneath it (instead of smashing it with a slightly open palm like a spike). This gives more
control in placement, and also in timing. It also puts a spin on the ball, making it harder to pick up by the
defensive player.

You might ask, why does a roll shot work so well? It seems like kind of a lame hitting option. However, a
well-timed roll shot is actually one of the most strategic offensive plays. Most blockers anticipate a hard-
driven hit, and time their jump to block it. With a good roll shot, the ball either goes over or around the
blockers, who have already committed to blocking a hard-driven hit.

As a blocker there’s nothing worse than being in the air and seeing that ball soar over your head – ahh,
so frustrating! Since you’ve already committed to the jump, you can’t exactly jump again while you’re
still in the air!

However, as the hitter, you’ve just executed a smart and strategic play, which has a good chance of
scoring the point. It may not have the glory of a powerful hit, but done at the right time, it’s a great play.
And definitely worth a round of high 5s!When you’re attacking the ball, remember that no part of your
body is allowed to touch the net, or land on the other side of the net. This is especially important as the
hitter, because the momentum from your jump can actually give you less control for where you’re
landing. That’s why you want to be extra mindful of where you start your jump, so that you give yourself
enough space to land on your side of the court, and also to swing your arm with enough follow through
so that you’re not swiping the net after you’ve contacted the ball.

Being able to attack the ball well is a critical volleyball skill, as most points in volleyball are scored by a
successful attack. You don’t have to be the best power hitter and get all the killer spikes. A well-timed
and well-placed tip or roll shot has just as much chance of scoring the point

4. Blocking

Probably one of the most straight-forward named skills, a block is a defensive play when a player jumps
at the net to block the hit from coming onto their team’s side of the net. The key secret to blocking is
timing. I’m 5’5, and I’ve blocked hitters who are over 6’ when I’ve managed to time my jump correctly.
There are, of course, other factors related to a great block. You want to keep your fingers splayed as
wide as possible to cover as much space as you can. And since the hitter is trying their hardest to hit
around or above your block, you want to keep an eye on their shoulder to try to determine where
they’re aiming. This way you can adjust your hands to put them in front of the ball more accurately.

A lot of newer blockers think you just jump straight up, but you actually want to push your hands slightly
forward at the peak of your jump. This action gives you more strength against the hard-driven spike
when you contact it. Without this extra boost, you may still contact the ball, but the momentum from
the swing will win out against your block, and the ball will still make it onto your side of the court.

When blocking, remember that no part of a player’s body can touch the net, either when they’re
jumping up or when they’re landing. A player must also be careful that their feet stay on their side of the
centre line. This is often how ankle injuries occur, when either the blocker or the hitter lands under the
net and they land on the foot of the other player. This is how I sprained my ankle, and I still get a bit
squeamish thinking about it! However, with the right technique, these kinds of injuries can be
significantly minimized.

Blocking is an important skill, because it is literally the first line of defense against the attack coming
over the net. Even if the block doesn’t completely stop the attack, it has a good chance of slowing down
the ball so that another player can dig it up.

And sometimes having a block in place is a good intimidation factor for the player who is hitting the ball.
It’s much easier to hit a ball over the net when there aren’t any hands in the way! Putting up a block
means the attacker has to work just a little bit harder to earn the point.

5. digging

The job of a volleyball digger is to prevent the ball from hitting the floor after being spiked by the
opposing team. ... To dig, the volleyball players must anticipate the spike and be prepared to quickly
dive in any direction.