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Basic Volleyball Skills

These are the 5 basic skills that you will need to learn to play a game of volleyball:

Serve, Pass, Setting, Spike (smash), Block

Serve

There are 2 main types of serve: underhand and overarm.

The underhand serve is the simplest to learn & easiest to control. Start by keeping your feet apart for good balance, & keep your knees bent. Keep the hand closed. Throw the ball from the non-serving hand & bring the serving hand from behind your back to make contact with the ball in front of you at approximately waist-height. Hit the ball with either the clenched fist or wrist. After making contact with the ball, follow-through with the arm.

Pass

When your opponents serve to you then the first task is to retrieve the ball & make a pass to the setter who can set the ball up for a team-mate to smash the ball.

You can pass the ball with either a dig or a volley. A dig is normally used when receiving the ball from a service, or when playing a ball that is too low to volley. The volley is used to pass the ball, set up a smash, or to play the ball over the net. A volley is played when the ball is above the head.

To dig, hold both hands open & facing upwards and place one palm in the other, pressing both forearms together side-by-side. Keep your arms together & straight making contact with the ball on your forearms, which together should provide a flat surface for the ball to bounce on. Don't swing your arms at the ball, and do keep your shoulders in a 'shrugged' position. While the dig is a passing movement, its prime function is to absorb the power of the ball. Bend your knees before receiving the ball, but straighten them as you receive the ball on the arms. You must move your body to the ball and contact it at, or below, waist-level.

To volley, your legs should be flexed at the knees with your feet shoulder-width apart. Contact with the ball is just above the forehead and is made with the fingers of both hands cupped around the ball. The palms of the hands do not touch the ball; full contact is by thumb and first two fingers. The other two fingers of each hand do make contact with the ball, but not full contact. Before contact the arms should be bent with the elbow at shoulder-height. They should be straightened as contact is made with the ball.

Setting

Setting is, as its name implies, a player setting the ball up for another player to make a smash (spike). Setting is a volley pass done close to the net. The ball must be set up at a height above the net for the smasher to be able to make a powerful smash.

Setting is the second part of classic three-touch volleyball (dig, set, smash). It's no good having a good smasher in your team if he/she isn't receiving good sets from his setters.

Spike (smash)

The smash, also known as the spike, is the method of attacking the opposition by hitting the ball down into the opposing team's court.

When a team-mate sets the ball to you by the net, you should jump as high as possible without travelling forward too much. The left arm is used for balance (assuming you're right-handed) and the hitting arm travels upwards, and bends at the elbow. The ball is hit at the top of the reach and with the open hand. After hitting the ball the arm should follow-through so the action is a full one. Be careful not to touch the net after completing the smash.

Block

When the opposing team smashes the ball, the block is your defence. It's carried out by any or all of the front-line players who jump as high as they can & try to block a smash with their hands. You can put your hands over the net into your opponents' court to make the block, but you must not touch the net.