Volleyball Skills London

At international level, competitive teams should master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, spike, block and dig. Each of these skills comprise a number of specific techniques that have been introduced along the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball.

1. Serve

The serve marks the beginning of a rally in volleyball. A player stands behind the baseline and hits the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. Their main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside after being touched by an opponent.

In contemporary volleyball, many types of serve are employed:

• Underhand and Overhand Serve: refers to whether the player strikes the ball from below, at waist level, or first tosses the ball in the air and then hits it above shoulder level. Underhand serve is considered very easy to receive and is not generally employed in international competitions.
• Sky Ball Serve: a specific type of underhand serve, where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line. This serve was invented and employed almost exclusively by the Brazilian team in the early 1980s. It is now considered outdated.
• Line and Cross-Court Serve: refers to whether the balls flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle.
• Spin Serve: an overhand serve where the ball gains topspin through wrist snapping.
• Floater: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable. Can be administered while jumping or standing.
• Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then the player makes a timed approach and jumps to make contact with the ball. There is usually much topspin imparted on the ball. This is the most popular serve amongst college and professional teams.
• Round-House Serve: the player stands with one shoulder facing the net, tosses the ball high and hits it with a fast circular movement of the arm. Usage of this serve in indoor volleyball is today restricted to a few Asian women's teams.

2. Pass

Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve or 'free ball'. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.

The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump ('bacher' in European terminology), where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips above the head.

3. Set

The set is usually the second contact a team makes with the ball. Th...