Volleyball Basics

March 1, 2012 1:50 amLeave a Comment

Volleyball BasicsThe object of the game is to get the ball over the next to the other side and have it fall within the boundaries. Every time you do, you get a point. The first team to reach the maximum points, and do so with a point differential of 2 or more, wins the game.

So the playing field consists of a rectangular court divided by a high net. Officially, the court size is about 30ft by 60ft. A little smaller is there’s only two players. But, for recreational play, it can really be any size. From behind the boundary line at the back of the court, a team will begin play with a serve. The serve must be from behind this line and the ball must go over the net to the other team. Teams have up to three contacts with the ball to get it back over the net and within the boundary lines. failure to do so will result in a point for the other team.

There are two methods of scoring in volleyball. The traditional method allows only the serving team to score points. So, if team A serves the ball and team B is unable to return the ball back over, team A gets a point. If team A serves the ball and team B returns the ball back over the net and team A can’t get it back over, team b gains control but does not earn a point. In rally scoring, every time the ball hits the ground a team scores a point.

Rally scoring, in my opinion, is more enjoyable and moves the game quicker, while the traditional method could result in a longer game.

The serve rotates so that everyone on the team gets an opportunity to serve the ball, thus making it fair and gets everyone involved. This is one of the aspects of the game that makes it so popular. Other games, such as basketball, baseball and golf, requires some level of skill to play and enjoy. With volleyball, all you have to do is hit the ball and get it over the net. If you mess up, you have other teammates and two more hits to still score a point. Continue Reading →

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Volleyball Tipping

March 1, 2012 1:46 amLeave a Comment

The most important part of tipping is to make it look like you are going to swing hard. Approach the set as you would if you were going to hit the ball hard. The goal here is to fake the other team out.

Below is a list of the different ways that you can tip the ball. Become familiar with them and mix it up when you play.

1. Tip the ball to the deep corner, down the line. This is a spot that is open very often. The closest player usually will defend at the fifteen foot line. Use a strong hand and essentially try to throw the ball down the line to the deep corner. Continue to do this if you are getting kills. When the other team moves that player, start to tip the ball short. This is one way to play head games with the other team. This will for sure get them angry.

2. Tip or roll the ball over the block and try to land the ball in the center of the court. A great time to do this is when the middle blocker on the other team is involved in the block also. Try and get the ball to land on the ten foot line in the middle of the court. The roll shot is slightly different because you will use an open hand. This is really effective because the defense will think that you are going to hit the ball. If done correctly, you will for sure fake the other team out.

3. Using the block is my favorite way to “tool” a blocker. Tooling the blocker means that you are going to try and hot the blocker’s hands on purpose in an effort to make the ball go out of bounds off of the blocker’s hands. The way to get the ball to land on other side of the net is to tip the ball off of the blocker’s fingers or off of the side of their hand. You need to make it a strong tip because a good blocker will throw the ball right back into your face. That is the reason I do not use this method too often. Continue Reading →

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The Different Volleyball Serves

March 1, 2012 1:42 amLeave a Comment

Volleyball ServesIn the sport of volleyball, there really are only three serves that are going to be the most effective (I am definitely not speaking of the underhand serve here). Those three serves, when used effectively, will result in points. If you want to be an all around good player, your going to need to master these skills.

The top spin serve, the float serve, and the jump serve are the three serves that are going to influence your game the most. These are the only effective serves that you will ever see in competitive volleyball. If you want to succeed in volleyball, you have to learn how to perform these serves.

So let’s take a look at them:

Top Spin

The top spin serve is a serve that makes the ball look a curve ball pitched from a baseball player. The ball is going to curve straight down. The way to do it is to put as much top spin on the ball as possible. By hitting the ball really hard and snapping your wrist, you should get the ball to spin towards the ground as it crosses the net. This is a tough serve to receive because serve receivers are going to pulled closer to the net than they may think they need to be.

The Floater

The floater is a cool serve because this is going to cause the ball to do some really odd things. It is called a float serve because the ball appears to float and not want to come down out of the air. In addition, the ball moves very weirdly, back and forth, and serve receivers have a tough time reading the path of the ball. A good float serve should have almost no spin, should have a good pace on it, and should go right over the top of the net, as low as possible. Continue Reading →

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