QUEENIE C.

CARALE

BSED ENGLISH 2A

SIX SKILLS IN VOLLEYBALL

Like most sports, volleyball requires every player to get good at some basic skills before they can truly
excel at the sport. Here are the six basic skills a player absolutely need to master to be a competent
volleyball player – then on a way to being an expert.

1. Serve

One of the crucial final fundamental skills of volleyball is serving. How can you be a great volleyball
player without knowing how to serve? There are a variety of ways to serve, but you’ll most often see the
underhand or overhand serves. For an underhand serve, if you’re right-handed, hold the ball in your left
hand while the right hand makes a fist with the thumb on top. Make contact with the underside of the
ball to send it over the net while For an overhand serve (which is more advanced and common among
skilled players), you’ll be tossing the ball up while you pull back the dominant arm and swing. Don’t
follow through after your hand contacts the ball, which should feel almost like you’re punching the ball
across the volleyball net. A serve may be executed anywhere directly behind the endline. Indeed, it
might be most effective to serve from various places along the length of the endline. During the course
of a match, passers tend to get into a groove with their passes. Serving from different areas can help
prevent an opposing passer from getting too comfortable. Being forced to adjust to serves coming from
different places along the endline can also disrupt the flow of the passers in relation to each other.

2. Pass

Passing is simply getting the ball to someone else on your team after it’s been served or hit over the net
by the opposing team. It’s commonly thought of as the most important skill in all of volleyball, because
your team can’t return the ball without a solid volleyball pass. Forearm volleyball passes are often used
to direct the ball in a controlled manner to a teammate, but overhead passing is another option. First
and foremost, an effective serve receiver (passer) must have the proper visual skills to be able to track
the ball from the exact moment it leaves the opposing server’s hands to the time it reaches his or her
arms. A good serve receiver must have excellent distance vision.1

3. Set
The setter has the most important position on the team, and is often the team leader for this reason. It’s
their job to make it easy for a teammate to get the ball over the volleyball net, preferably with a spike
that the other team can’t return. The setting motion gets the ball hanging in the air, ready to be spiked
by another teammate with force. The ability to attack and score points effectively corresponds to a
player’s ability to deliver a ball that is expected and located at the point the attacker wants it.
Generating consistency in setting begins with creating many opportunities in practice for players to gain
confidence using their hands. When players begin to learn and practice the skill of setting, the main
objective for the coach should be developing their confidence in touching the ball with open hands.

4. Spike

A real crowd-pleaser, spiking is the act of slamming the ball in a downward motion across the volleyball
net to the other team’s side of the court. When done well, spiking is very difficult to return, which is why
it’s an essential skill. A proper spike will help accumulate points quickly.To the casual observer, attacking
is the most identifiable skill in volleyball, especially for spectators. To the players, attacking is often the
most fun and dynamic skill. Undeniably, attacking is the most explosive part of the game and garners the
most attention. 2There are six basic movements inherent in any good attack or spike, including the
approach, which encompasses the plant or step close; the jump; the armswing; ball contact; the follow-
through; and landing. How a player executes each movement during the attack leads either to success or
failure. If executed properly, the attack terminates a rally, gains a point, and swings momentum in your
team’s favor. The object of a good offensive attack is to put the ball where the defense is not. 2

5. Block

Blocking is another important skill, although it’s probably the most expendable of the fundamentals.
Still, it adds a great dimension to the game, keeping the other team on their toes, so to speak. By timing
it right, you can jump up and deflect or block the opponent’s attack before it even crosses the volleyball
net, which can take them by surprise and give your team an easy point. As the team lines up to serve at
an opponent, frontcourt blockers should be busy identifying the attackers on the other side of the net.
Even more important, they should communicate to one another about their responsibilities, perhaps
with a “blocking captain” designated in each rotation to facilitate this communication2

6. Dig
Digging is a defensive maneuver in volleyball that can save your team from an offensive spike or attack.
Your job is to keep the ball from hitting the floor, and you do that by diving and passing the ball in a fluid
motion. Unlike a typical pass, you’ll probably be trying to recover the ball from a steep downward
trajectory. This is another great skill to have, but isn’t as important as passing, setting, or spiking. Teams
that “dig everything” frustrate their opponents by keeping the ball in play and by consistently defending
what normally goes down for a point. Successful defenders not only dig but also control the ball better
than their opponents. The ball is controlled and returned at such a high rate that opponents often make
errors caused by their own frustration.3