Basic skills

Each team must master six basic skills. Each one of them comprises a number of specific techniques which have been introduced over the years.

Serve

A player stands in the service area and serves the ball, trying to drive it into the opposite court. In contemporary volleyball, different types of serves are allowed. But two of them are the most common:

Float serve: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable. This type of serve can be also performed with a jump: jump float serve.

Jump serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed in the air, then the player jumps and hits it forcefully. A player must practise it many times in order to perform a powerful serve.

Reception

The reception is the attempt by a team to handle the opponent’s serve. As a result, in this phase of the match it’s important for a player to call the ball aloud so that the order in the team can be maintained.

Set

The set is usually the second contact which a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air so that a player can place it into the opposite court.

Spike/Attack

The spike is usually the third contact which a team makes with the ball. Spiking is to handle the ball so that it lends on the opposite court and can’t be defended.

Block

Blocking is the action taken by the players standing at the net to stop or alter a spike. Players perform a good block by jumping and penetrating with their hands into the opponent’s area.

Dig

Digging is the ability to prevent the ball touching the court after a spike.