4 Types of Serves in Volleyball Overhand, Underhand, Topspin and Jump

There are four types of serves in volleyball varsity players learn. Beginners learn the underhand serve first, then the overhand serve, then topspin and jump serve.   

How many types of serves in volleyball are there?

There are three main types of serves that Vegas varsity players should learn how to do. 

The underhand, the overhand serve and the jump serve. 

• the underhand serve
• the overhand serve - float serve
• the overhand serve - topspin serve 
• the jump serve - jump float 
• the jump spin - jump topspin
  
  

When players first learn the basic skills in volleyball they are usually taught how to underhand serve first.

A Step-by-Step Guide on How To Underhand         Serve in Volleyball

The underhand serve is done by

• having the left foot in front of the right foot in a balanced position with your weight on the back foot and toe of the left foot pointed towards where you intend to serve the ball (lefties do the opposite)
• holding the ball in one hand and
• swinging your other arm back keeping it parallel to your body 
• then swinging your arm forward with a closed fist or open hand contacting the bottom panels of the ball 
• when your arm swings forward you shift your weight from your back foot to your front foot which helps to 
• propel the ball across your court and into the opposing team's court using the momentum of the swinging arm to get the ball to travel over the net 

Click here to read more about the underhand serve. 

The next two types of serves in volleyball are important because when done correctly they are designed to make it difficult for passers in serve receive to pass the ball easily to their setter. 

With the floater overhand volleyball serve:

• place the ball in your tossing hand - left hand for right handers and right hand for left handers
• with your left hand toss the ball 2-3 feet up in the air in front of your front foot   
• with the right hand which is held above your head at a 90 degree angle with your elbow above the level of your ear  (lefties do the opposite) use the middle of your open palmed serving hand to contact the middle panels of the ball while 
• you keep a rigid wrist, flat hand and widespread stiff fingers

Imagine giving a friend a "high five" keeping your elbow above the level of your ear while you rotate to contact the ball. 

When using this volleyball serving technique the ball crosses the net quickly with no spin and alot of float movement in the air.

Then the ball drops suddenly to the floor making it super difficult for a passer to track and pass the ball to their setter target. 

The standing topspin serve is another type of overhand volleyball serve. 

The primary difference in performing the topspin serve is

a. the wrist isn't stiff, its loose when contacting the ball and bends so the serving hand contacts the top third of the ball.

Contacting the top third of the ball

• creates the forward spin motion and along with 
• a quick arm swing motion that "follows through" after contacting the ball so 
• that your thumb finishes by your thigh

insures the ball crosses the net with a lot of pace and velocity like a spiked hit.

I think its a great idea to share some scenarios where different types of serves in volleyball are used. 

If you understand when and how to use different serve techniques strategically you can learn how to apply your own impact to the game.

Consider the following example scenarios:

The underhand serve is often the first type of serve that beginners learn and is used when players are first learning the game or in situations requiring a high level of control, such as accurately placing the ball into a specific area of the opponent's court during serve receive.

As a former pro volleyball player, I learned how to do a high paced precisely located underhand serve after training with several Asian coaches who use the underhand serve in fast paced drills with their players.

When used well, the underhand serve can become a point scoring option that opposing receivers easily underestimate. 

Once I learned about the overhand float serve I made it my mission in college to score as many points as I could each set or match with a tough serve.

I set many serving and aces records that still stand today. 

This is because I practiced for hours just on my serve so I could deliver it at any time to any place on the court in order to make opposing passers have to move out of their base passing position to chase the ball or I'd serve right at them in order to force them to shank the ball so it would be a direct point for my team. 

As an elite private volleyball coach one of my priorities is to produce very tough servers who can serve at very specific spots on the court at varying speeds on command. 

Now I spend a lot of time with my clients on serving drills so they too become known for having consistently tough point scoring serves.

The overhand float serve is effective because its used to disrupt the opponent's passing and serve receive formation.

Make sure you work on

• keeping a consistent ball toss in your practice drills, 
• a toss with no backspin helps make this serve even more challenging for the opposing passers to get a well-controlled pass

Simply said, if you want to get the ball over the net fast and hard you choose to use the overhand topspin serve with your jump approach. 

The float serve is the finesse serve while

the topspin is the power serve. 

-April Chapple

Don't believe me? Watch how Siena does it? 

The topspin serve is used when you want to generate power and add spin with a downward trajectory once the ball crosses the net to the serve.

Even younger players are getting really good at including the topspin serve in their toolbox of skills they can use during their match when they need to start a rally after the ref blows their whistle. 

This topspin serve places increased pressure on the passers that're on serve receive, because the ball is coming over the net at a super fast speed so making it more difficult to move to the ball in order to execute a clean pass.

The jump serve is the second type of serve that most young players learn during their playing career. 

Combining the three or four step approach with the standing float serve technique is what players learn how to coordinate in practice...specifically learning how to put the timing together with their upper body work with their lower body approach... 

The jump serve is a dynamic and powerful serve technique.

It is used by more advanced players who can generate high speeds, lots of pace and velocity, making it difficult for the opposing team to pass which increases the potential scoring opportunities.

By

• carefully assessing the game situation,
• understanding opponent weaknesses, and
• considering your team's strengths, 

you can strategically choose the best serve technique in order to gain a competitive advantage.

Okay so once or twice a month I scroll through the  Reddit volleyball forums, so I can see what passionate debates are going on about the various types of serves players are having trouble with  - which to learn first, what's most effective, and how to add power or strategy. 

The problem?

Most advice comes from

• 'what worked for me'

instead of

• 'what works for most.' or
• 'what is the most effective that consistently scores aces and/or direct points

Let me share my professional insights on Reddit's most heated serving discussions.

*Reddit can't agree. But here's my take based on personal and professional experience*

The serve that has the most upper body and lower body components to master and for you to learn to get control of is a jump serve with any kind of top spin.

Why do I say that? 

Because you have to learn

• which serve step approach works for you and you have a four step, three step or two step approach to choose from
• how much of a wrist flick works in order to give you the spin speed you want and 
• in which direction of wrist flick do you need so the ball spins in a very specific direction - either front spin, back spin or side spin so when you contact the ball it spins in a very difficult direction that's hard for the passer to read and prepare for 
• about a toss with a very consistent 'two-step' distance in front of you so when you take your last two steps to the ball ..it remains in front of you so you can see the ball along with the areas of the court you intend to serve to

My advice would be to learn the components of the standing float serve first because there are a lot less elements that you need to focus on with upper body technique and lower body technique. . Period.

The standing float serve  is a lot more reliable, because your feet are on the ground in a balanced stance which is effective at all levels, and this type of serve  builds the foundation for other serves.

I've seen D1 players win matches with just a nasty but high speed and accurately placed standing float serve aimed at the right seam between players, the right player wo isnt concentrating or the right open spot on the court that no one is covering. 

*The Great Reddit debate..please let me settle it:*

Only if you can land 7/10 in practice consistently. Otherwise, an aggressive standing or jump float serve scores more points than a jump spin serve of any kind ( Im going to add -- done by a high school player) in the net.

Your goal should be to build consistent reps of getting your float serve to the intended target and In the court.... before you start adding  power.

*Beyond Reddit's "snap your wrist more":*

Follow me on Pinterest Volleybragswag to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

Your three options are: 

1. You can learn more about Basic Volleyball Skills by visiting the related links below.                            
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. 
4. Before leaving this page Say "Hi" to Miss Tattoo the Tiger wearing the #9 jersey below.  Miss Tattoo is the starting defensive and serving specialist for the All Beast VolleyBragSwag All Star team.

Meet Tatoo the Tiger, Serving Specialist on VolleyBragSwag's All Beast Team

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Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

A-1 Vegas Volley VBC

    In It To Win It      Tournament   

May 2 - 4, 2025 Tournament

Gold Medalists

18s Premier Division

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