Volleyball, the second most popular sport after soccer in the world has evolved within the last few decades. The major objective of the players of teams on either side of the net is to score at least 25 points. There are six basic volleyball skills which are necessary to know and absorb as a volleyball player. Time, target and focus are the major ingredients which help in making an efficient player. Before getting accustomed to the volleyball skills, make sure you are well aware of the rules which are required to be followed within the volleyball court.  The six major skills in volleyball include serving, digging, setting, blocking, spiking, and passing.

 

Serving Skills:

To ignite the volleyball court with fire and upsurge with a quick momentum of energy, serving is one of the best volleyball skills which can put a weaker opponent at a great disadvantage. Underhand serve is the easiest to execute which keeps the ball in motion. Do not make contact with the end line while serving. You can both, serve the ball with open or cupped hand, and always maintain the firmness of your wrist. Always keep your eyes steady on the movement of the ball. Serving types includes:

• Floater: In this, the ball is punched with a fist and does not spin, rather darts as a knuckleball in baseball.

• Top spin: The ball is thrown above, and then swiftly passed over the net to reach the opponent’s side. In order to create a spin, make sure to give your wrist a quick snap.

• Jump serve: The jump serve skills in volleyball require tossing the ball high above, and jumping a little to hit the ball. This is the hardest volleyball serve, and may end up out of the bounds if there isn’t sufficient top spin.

 

 

Digging Skills:

Digging are defensive skills in volleyball where the knees are required to be bent. The weight of the player should be exerted more towards the front so that he/she can easily dive to the floor in order to retrieve the volleyball. To become an expert in digging volleyball skills, timely execution, great foot work, rolling and diving are few of the key things. The player must have a lower position with the knees positioned over the toes and forwardly placed. Keep your right foot forward. The weight of the body is required to be equally concentrated on both the balls of feet. Always keep the feet at a shoulder length distance with your arms bent a little before the knees. Keep a keen eye on the movement of the hitter and react only after studying them. While diving on the floor to obtain the ball, make sure you fall on your abdominal and not on your knees or elbows.
 

 

Setting Skills:

Setting is an important ingredient to spice up the game and the setters are more often responsible for almost all the contacts, made by the team with the ball. The setter generally decides on which hitter to set. Many teams keep two setters as they are the one who receives a bumpy pass and make it manageable enough to be hit by his/her other team mates. Setting is one of those volleyball skills which have a strong hand in deciding on the team’s fate. Setting involves keeping the elbows and knees bent and focus on your target always. Make sure that your both hands are engaged in handling the ball. Avoid violations by preventing the ball from touching your palm which is known as push. You will be alarmed by the referee if your hands are not kept above your face. This skill in volleyball requires the setter to hold the ball for at least 3 seconds.
 

 

Blocking Skills:

Blocking is one of those volleyball skills which tends to cripple the hitter’s spike, making the opponent weak. The blocker is generally near the net and stays in motions with hands place higher up. Keeping target on the ball is of utmost importance and the player jumps vertically to obtain maximum height while hitting the ball above the net. A typical blocker will have his/her arms raised above the head, both the hands in contact with fingers open, hips almost parallel to the net, flexed knees and wrists in square with the arms.  While landing, it is important for a blocker to maintain proper inertia and keep balance. Swinging arms are considered as a major fault on the player’s side so it must be prevented. The blocker should have excellent perseverance power and be able to anticipate where the ball will be hit and therefore react accordingly. It is important for a blocker to touch almost every pass.
 

 

Spiking Skills:

When the team has a good number of players who can spike well, undoubtedly your team has a better chance to win the match. Spiking volleyball skills are majorly attacking techniques where timing is very significant. Keep yourself at an angle with the ball to execute a proper spike. This skill is a four step technique for the right hand players: Right, Left, Right and Left; whereas for the left hand players, it is a three step technique: Left, Right and Left. To exert more strength on your spike, always face cross court. The player requires his/her legs to be angled at 90 degrees for an excellent jump. Give your jump the guidance of both of your arms for a smoother ride. Broad jumping is big no-no in spiking technique. You will be at a disadvantage if your contact with ball is too low or your jump to approach the ball is too late.
 

 

Passing Skills:

Passing skills in volleyball are usually the least identified, but a highly critical ingredient in this sport. While passing volleyball skills keep the feet placed widely apart from one another, with one foot placed a bit forward. Keep your shoulder lowered and knees bent for a better pass. Keep your eyes in search of the ball till it makes contact with your hand. Keep your arms straight and keep your hips open in the direction of the approaching ball.  The players must not handle the ball in “shank” orientation.  Do not keep the ball too close to your body while passing. Poor footwork often renders to a poorer pass. Always make sure that the floor on which you are playing is even.  For passing you can either have a wrapped fist or cupped palms to pass the ball. Choosing either of the two hand volleyball position depends totally on the players’ choice and comfort.

 

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Playing the game

Volleyball is a team sport that imbibes positive vibes in team relationship and improvises the communication skills. The upper body strength increases and gives a whole lot of fun to the players. This following article will teach your how to play volleyball.

Playing Volleyball – Step 1:

Choose the players: For this type of competitive game we will need at least 6 players. We must keep equal number of players in both the team even when we are playing among our friends.

• There are 1 to 3 rows of players in each team. The first row is closest to the net and the back row is close to the rear boundary of the court.

• The person in the back right corner of the court serves the ball. We can rotate the players each time so that every time there is a new player serving the ball.

• If we rotate the players out, we should rotate them clockwise. On the right side, the player closest to the net rotates out thus allowing many players to play.

A good service game is not possible if only one player is allowed to serve. Rotation is a very important in how to play volleyball

 

Step 2:

We should always serve the ball from behind the line which is at the back of the court otherwise if we serve it from front of the line we will not score any point. This fault is called foot fault. This is one of the errors made in such games and we should be careful about it. If the ball after the serve touches the net it will be another error. The serve is said to be good if the ball lands on the ground in the opponent team’s court. This scores a point for the serving team. This is a vital point in how to play volleyball.

• The ball is considered to be good if the ball is grounded on the line.

• The ball is served by the back row right side corner player in the team

 

Step 3:

If the person is in the receiving team, we have to return the ball and the rally begins! We have to bump, set the target and spike. This is the typical game strategy but its good till it crosses three consecutive hits.

• The ball should not come to rest and for that we can hit the ball with any part of our body.
• The ball cannot go out of the line, but the players can go over the line. We may run to retrieve the ball successfully so that is does not touch the ground, when a player hits it from out of the boundaries. This small points matters in how to play volleyball smartly and wisely.

 

Step 4:

Basic Rules: Until a fault occurs we need to hit the ball back and forth to continue the rally because of any one of the following:

• The ball is grounded.

• If the ball hits the ground in the side of the serving teams, then the opponent team will get an opportunity to serve.

• If the ball is grounded by the serving team in the opponent team’s court, then the serving team again gets an opportunity to serve the ball.

• A point is rewarded to the team who prevents the ball from being grounded.

• If a net foul occurs(if any player from one team touches the net) the opponent team scores a point

• If someone’s foot goes under the net, the opponent teams receives a point.

• Players can strike the ball only twice in a row

• Without sending it over the net, the team can hit the ball 3 consecutive times.

These are some of the errors which one should not make. These are the volleyball basics one should remember while playing.
 

Step 5:

Serve the ball again: the team that has scored the point gets an opportunity to serve the ball. If are thinking of rotating, you should rotate now. These are good volleyball techniques.

• It’s common for the rows to back up a bit if your team has the ball. This is the best time to get ready for an attack. Move forward if you don’t have the ball.

 

Step 6:

You should continue playing until the threshold is reached. How many points we will allow for each game can be decided by you. When a team earns 15 points you can start a new game. This is very important in how to play volleyball.

 

Volleyball Playing methods (Learning the shots):

 

Step 1:

Learning the basic stance: You need to understand that when you are not serving its common to take a stance from the volleyball basics. Yourfeet should be placed in such a way that they are wider than your shoulders. Your knees should be bent and the whole body weight should be concentrated on your toes as you bent forward. Your arms should be free and it is in front of you. These are some of the basic body postures involved in volleyball techniques that are followed for playing a good game.

 

Step 2:

Practicing your serve well: In volleyball basics, serving the ball from anywhere behind the serve line and gets your ball over the net in the opponent player’s court and the rally is started. A serve immediately helps in scoring a point and is known as “Ace”.

Overhanded serve: for experienced players, they can try this type of serve:

• Toss the ball.

• Raise your hand which is dominant in the air, bend the elbow to bring it closer to your shoulder.

• Then straighten your elbow to strike the ball with the outside part of your hand

 
Underhand serve: For less experienced players, they can use this type of serve:

• In front of you, hold the ball out in your hand.

• Then you make a fist and pull your dominant hand down by your side. The elbow should be bent slightly and you should keep your thumbs stretched across your fingers.

• Using the front side of the fist strike the ball from the level of your waist.

• The ball should hit the fist, against the index finger and the bent thumb.

 

Step 3:

“Bumping” the ball: This is one the commonly used volleyball techniques, which is used to return a serve. How to play volleyball using a bump includes the following volleyball techniques:

• Bring your arms together. They should be straight and away from your body. Knees should be bent.

• A platform should be created by our forearms where the ball comes into contact.

• We should not use fists or wrists to hit the ball. The contact should be made almost about 6 inches above the wrists.

• We should not swing the arms and just let the ball make the contact.

 

Step 4:

“Setting”: we use the set when we want to get the ball into the air and make another player to strike it or bump it. Volleyball techniques to set the ball:

• Bring your hands together

• We have to put our hands together in such a way that our finger tips should touch

• We have to form a triangle with our thumbs and index fingers by opening up our hands.

• Bring your fingers apart and to a distance that would be perfect for the placement of the ball.

 

Step 5:

“Spiking” the ball: Spiking is an important aspect in how to play volleyball. This is also known as “attack” the volleyball basics to play the spike are as follows:

• Lift your dominant hand to approach the ball. Hand is curved in shape of the ball with the elbow bent.

• You should jump to reach as high as you can to gain maximum power to hit the ball with your palm so that It travels across the net and is grounded on the opponent team’s court.

 

Step 6:

“Blocking” is one of the vital volleyball basics one should master. There are mainly two types of blocking:

• Offensive block:The blocker aims to keep the ball on the opponent’s court. In this case the ball can be sent straight to the opponent’s ground in his/her court if the timing is accurate to jump up, properly predicting the trajectory of the ball and then slamming it back.

• Defensive block: This is called the soft block because it is used only to stop the power from behind the ball so that it is easier to send the ball back. The ball is made to hit the blockers palm, then it loses power by rolling over the fingertips and another player receives it.

 

Step 7:

“Dig”: This is one of the volleyball techniques that requires great reflexes and agility. The digger saves the ball just right before it is going to hit the ground.

• In digging, players have their arms stretched out and they land on their chests. If this is done wrongly the digger might get injured so it should be done safely. To minimise the risk of injury experienced diggers should employ rolling technique.

 

Role of Volleyball Players:

 

– Outside hitter

An outside hitter or left side hitter is a player who takes the position of front left side of the volleyball court, hits and blocks the ball from that position. On offense, the outside hitter is the main go-to-hitter and one of the main passers who pass the ball. He swings to hit the ball that approaches from outside of the court. This is one of the volleyball positions techniques that enhances the play of the team and can be very beneficial
 

– Libero

Libero is a player who plays in defense from the back row and wears and opposite coloured jersey. He specialises in passing the ball received from pass, setting, digging, and free ball passing. He/ she is mainly a defensive specialist. This position was added to the game in 1999 to improvise the rally and digging skills and make the game more exciting. The libero should be master in volleyball basics.

The libero is not regulated by the rules of rotation and he remains in the game all the time. He / she takes the position of the middle blocker when they rotate to the back row and they cannot again rotate back to the front row. The person is chosen as a libero in the very beginning of the match or the tournament and no one can replace the libero for the entire match or tournament once chosen unless the libero is injured. If the libero is injured he/she is replaced by a player not present in the court. But then the new player should remain the libero for the rest of the match/tournament.
 

– Setter

Setter is the player whose main responsibility is to hit the ball in second contact and strike the ball to the teammate for further attack. Thus he should know how to play volleyball properly with all its basics and fundamentals. The person is totally In charge of the offense. The setter decides when and who should get the ball. It is a very important position in this game. No matter how well skilled are the hitters but if there is not any good setter who can deliver good ball to hit then the team’s chances to lose will be maximum and they will have not have a good offense.

Apart from these important players there are Substitute players like the Defensive Specialist whose functions are same as the libero.International rules says that there can be only 6 players and the game allows unlimited substitutions.

 

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Volleyball Dig:

 
Volleyball dig is one of the three most attacking hits where the ball is passed onto the setter after being spiked by the hitter of the opponent team. Digging can be critical, and is well executed when the right posture of hands are incorporated in the play. Giving your hands a comfortable posture will help you excel in volleyball digging. Some of the ways are:

• One of the basic ways to hold the hands is to put one hand above the other. Bend your fingers in such a manner as if you are holding water. Then place your thumbs adjacent to each other, on top of the other arched fingers.

• The next best formation is to making a fist with the left hand and positioning the knuckles towards the right hand. Then place your thumb on top, embracing the fist with the right hand. Then place the two thumbs side by side to deliver a great volleyball dig.

• The last manner in which you can make your hands feel comfortable while digging is the palm on palm manner where the bottom hands are placed on top of the upper palm. Let the palms face up and bend them towards the back bringing your arms straight, in cooperation. This gives great momentum while changing positions or angle of attack.

No matter which position you try, make sure that the arms and shoulders are at equal heights. In order to change the position of the ball, one can slightly raise the shoulders. Keep your feet shoulders width apart from one another and knees flexed, while digging. In order to maintain a stable base, avoid putting one foot before the other. As you practice volleyball dig, make sure to unbent your knees and keep your arms steady. Always face your target while digging as this signals your concentration over the movement of the ball.

 

 

Volleyball Block:

 
Blocking is an important technique in volleyball positions which is seldom taught yet holds great significance for this energetic sport. If you want to know the secrets behind becoming a great blocker, then follow the steps mentioned:

• In the volleyball block technique, timing is very significant. Being spontaneous is the one solution to avoid missing the opportunity to handle the ball.

• Keep your feet at shoulders width and hips parallel to the net. This enables a player to jump off swiftly.

• To achieve the ready position for the volleyball block, keep your knees bent. Stand straight when you are waiting to block.

• Always keep your elbows raised at shoulder level at same length with your arms placed higher. This reduces the time required to position your arms before blocking.

• For an accurate volleyball block, make sure your palms face the net, which also endures less wastage of time making you a blocking expert.

• Allow adequate space to exist between you and the net to prevent violation. This also helps the player not come in contact with the net accidentally.

• Communication among the players makes a better team. Generally the middle blocker is assigned to provide information related to blocking. Keeping the movement of the setters and hitters is important for a blocker so that proper blocking serves can be executed.

• Great foot work helps develop a great volleyball block player. Sidestep and crossover step are the two forms of footwork :

• The sidestep footwork pattern is used when the distance between the hitter and the blocker is 3 to 5 feet. The blockers need to keep one foot close to the hitter, followed by the other maintaining a shoulder length distance. While side stepping, place your hips and shoulders parallel to the net. If one step does not help you reach the hitter, then crossover step is a better option for you.

• When the hitter is more than 5 feet away from the blocker, then take a step with the leg in close proximity to the hitter. Cross the other leg before your body. Keep shoulders square to the net and your hips directed towards the hitter.

• Balance yourself properly while jumping and make sure you and the hitter jump at the same time, when the latter makes contact with the ball.

• When you are blocking, keep your hands close enough preventing chances of deflecting away from other defenders.

• Keep your wrists firm and fingers straight but not rigid.

 

 

Basic Volleyball Defense:

 
Spontaneous and great stimuli are very effective elements of volleyball defense. The players must not take time to restore back to their original positions after serving the ball. The number of blockers required to be incorporated and their positions are decided by the collective effort of the players. If a single blocker defends an attack, it can be well assured that a mistake in volleyball defense has been committed. A common myth in volleyball is that players must concentrate on receiving the ball rather than blocking. When the opponent team handles the ball more and encounter a failed attack, they become more prone to making mistakes. Blocking is a major volleyball defense, without which it becomes easier for the opponent team to win.

The elementary volleyball defense formation is the 2-1-3 in which the players are responsible for conducting only one type of attack. Each of the players is trained to emerge successful before other beginners, as this formation is effectual against dinks and off-speed hits but not spikes. In this, the two blockers and a setter position near the net waiting for a block. In the center of the court stay the middle back player and the rest of the players stay 20 feet away from the net, in close proximity to the sidelines. This position is maintained until the setter decides to switch positions to a free-ball formation or a block formation.

In 2-4 volleyball defense setup, the center back player remains at the core of the volleyball court. The left and right back players maintain a 3 to 6 feet distance from the respective sidelines and position halfway to the attacking line. You make your team vulnerable when some players of your team block while others move in free ball pattern. The off-blocker is not directly associated with blocking but is expected to cover major spikes and dinks.

 
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