How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig

The 6 volleyball skills are passing, serving, setting, hitting, digging and blocking and are volleyball techniques you learn to play on varsity. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: The 6 volleyball skills are passing, serving, setting, hitting, digging and blocking and are volleyball techniques you learn to play on varsity. (Ralph Aversen)

Are you ready to learn how to improve volleyball skills needed to play on your varsity team?  

In short they are

• passing
• serving
• spiking
• setting
• digging
• blocking

These are the six most basic skills of volleyball a competitive middle or high school Vegas player needs to learn in order to make their high school team.

I'm going to talk briefly about each skill on this page so you can then explore the other larger sections I've created that break down every part of each of these skills in order to help you learn how to do each one properly. #Yourewelcome!

Let's start with serving...

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: The serve is the one volleyball skill you do all by yourself without the assistance of another player to help score a point for your team. (Ralph Aversen)

The serve is the first opportunity for you, the player, to score a point. 

And, its the one skill, out of all six of the essential skills, that you, the player can do, all by yourself without the assistance of another player to help score a point for your team. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: The serve is the first opportunity for you, the player, to score a point. (Al Case photo)

Once the referee blows their whistle to begin a rally, the player on the serving team in the right back position, which is also known as Zone 1,  steps behind the service line and serves the ball over the net.

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: In high school volleyball the ability to serve receive the serve also known as "passing a ball" (Matt Duboff)

In high school volleyball the ability to serve receive the serve also known as "passing a ball" from an opponent's serve to your setter is one of the most important volleyball skills to learn in order to play competitive indoor or sand volleyball games and tournaments.

Why? Basically because  if you can't pass then you can't play.

MY PASSING EBOOK QUICKLY HELPS YOU IMPROVE YOUR PASSING SKILLS. Click to Learn how to perform one of the most important skills you need to know to gain more playing time on the court!

 

 

Passing is done when you hold both wrists together and with both thumbs side by side and pointing to the ground as you contact the ball on the  forearms of both arms.

Keeping your thumbs pointed to the ground, keeps your arms straight.

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: Your forearms, commonly known as "your platform", should be angled towards the target you plan on passing the ball to. (April Chapple)

Your forearms, commonly known as "your platform", should be angled towards the target you plan on passing the ball to. 

Other names you might hear players say about passing the ball are

• the bump
• bumping a ball
• receive the serve
• serve receive
• volleyball passing
• passing the ball
• forearm pass

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: Passing the ball describes how to contact the ball on your forearms to transfer it to another player or over the net. (Shakes KC)

These terms all mean the same thing and are describing how to contact the ball on your forearms to transfer it to another player or over the net. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: Longhorns Texas setter about to set a volleyball to her middle hitter. (Ralph Aversen)

To set a volleyball means you contact the ball over your head using widespread open fingers to transfer the ball to a teammate or over the net. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig:Former Penn State setter Micha Hancock sets the ball (Penn State News)

When learning how to set a ball, you'll use an all ten fingers shaped in a triangle around the ball to push it back up towards the ceiling, while keeping your shoulders close to your ears and the palms of your hands facing the direction you want the ball to go. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: Spiking the ball describes what happens when a volleyball player delivers a high speed attack using a powerful armswing and a three or four step spike approach. (Al Case)

Spiking the ball describes what happens when a volleyball player delivers a high speed attack using a powerful armswing and a three or four step spike approach. 

The hitters responsibility is to spike the ball over the net, back to the side of the team who first served the ball.

The hitter is trying to spike or hit the ball to an open space on the court so the receiving team can score a point. 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: The hitter is trying to spike or hit the ball to an open space on the court so the receiving team can score a point. (Al Case)

When you score a point with a hard hit, its called a "kill." 

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: A volleyball block is the first opportunity at the net to defend a ball by attempting to keep an opposing hitter from hitting the ball into your court. (Ralph Arvesen)

A volleyball block is the first opportunity at the net to defend a ball by attempting to keep an opposing hitter from hitting the ball into your court. 

You do this by

• placing your body in front of the hitting arm of the opposing hitter in front of you
• extending both arms above your head keeping your shoulders close to your ears and fingers widespread
• while timing your block jump so you jump ...penetrating your arms over the net ...just before the hitter contacts the ball

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: A volleyball block is the first opportunity at the net to defend a ball by attempting to keep an opposing hitter from hitting the ball into your court.

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: Its the responsibility of the players in the back row also known as diggers to keep the ball of the floor, if the ball happens to get past their block. (Al Case)

While its the blockers job to try and stop the ball at the net, its the responsibility of the players in the back row also known as diggers to keep the ball off the floor, if the ball happens to get past their block. 

To dig a ball while your team is in defense a back row player will clasp both wrists together placing one closed fist into the palm of the other hand and point both thumbs down to keep both elbows straight while creating a platform.

How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig: This platform becomes the flat surface used to redirect a hard hit spike or attack back up in the air angled toward the direction you need the ball to go. (Denis Wright)

This platform becomes the flat surface used to redirect a hard hit spike or attack back up in the air angled toward the direction you need the ball to go while keeping it off the floor.   

How To Improve Volleyball Skills:
Where Do You Go From Here?

What do you need to do now? You have three options: 

1. Learn more about Serving
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started. 

1. Improve Your Volleyball Playing with Private Head Coach April Chapple
 ›
2. How to Improve Volleyball Skills: Pass, Serve, Set, Hit, Block and Dig




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