Departamento de Educación Física
IES Juan Gris
VOLLEYBALL
THE COURT AND BASIC VOCABULARY
NOW. LET´S START WITH THE VOCABULARY:
TECHNIQUES:
A Serve: Servicio o saque
An Underhand serve: saque de abajo
A Set: Colocación de dedos.
An Overhand pass/bump: Toque de
dedos
A Forearm pass or a bump: Toque de
antebrazos
A Dive or dig: plancha
A Spike or Smash: Remate
A Block: Bloqueo
Back row player (back court players):
zaguero
Captain: Capitán
Libero: libero
Hitter or spiker: rematador
Setter: colocador
LINES:
Boundary lines: líneas de la pista
Base line (end line): línea de fondo
Sidelines: líneas laterales
ACTIONS:
To serve: sacar, to pass pasar, to set
colocar...
To attack: atacar To defend: defender
To switch or rotate: rotar
To hit: golpear
PLAYERS:
Front row player (front court players):
delantero
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2. BASIC RULES
Who wins? The first team to score 25 points, by a margin of two points, wins the set. The
team that wins three out of five sets wins the volleyball match.
How Long Is A Match? There is no time limit for a volleyball match. There are two-minute
breaks between each game; teams switch court sides after each break.
How many people play? Each team has two rows of three players in the court, so six
players.
What are the main faults? A fault occurs when:
 The ball is held, thrown or pushed.
 A team contacts the ball more than three times consecutively. Except when the first contact
is a block.
 A ball touches a player twice in succession or the ball touches the body twice in succession.
 Players are out of position at service.
 A player touches the net.
 A player attacks the ball above the opponent court or steps in an opponent’s court.
3. Skills
A) THE SERVE:
A missed serve counts as a fault.
There are many types:
underhand, sidearm, or
overhand, standing in a
stationary
position
or
jumping in the air. For all
you have to stand outside
the court, anywhere along
and behind the end line.
We will learn the basics ones:
The underhand serve
 If you are righthanded, hold the ball with your left hand. Place your left foot in front
of you but behind the line. Your shoulders and hips should be aligned with the net.
 Place the ball in front of your body, in line with your right foot and arm. Move your
right arm back, keeping it straight.
 Move your arm forwards to hit the ball, and keep it extended. If you bend it, the ball
will not reach the net.
 Hit the ball with the palm of your hand. If you do not hit the ball with a flat surface,
its trajectory is unpredictable.
 Keep your hand tense. It doesn´t matter if you close or you open your fingers, but you
must hold them tense, so you don´t hurt yourself when hitting the ball.
 After hitting the ball, follow it through with your body and step into the court.
Overhand serve
 If you are righthanded, hold the ball with your left hand. Place your left foot in front
of you but behind the line. Your shoulders and hips should be aligned with the net.
 Place your non-dominant hand directly in front of you, almost completely straight (but
with a flexible elbow) and palm up with the ball in it.
 Swing your serving arm back next to your head. Make sure that your elbow is pointing
upwards and your hand is at or slightly above your ear.
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
Toss the ball up with your palm of your left hand (not fingers) about 30 to 45 cm. in
the air. Swing your dominant arm back at the same time, keeping your wrist rigid.
 Bring your dominant hand forward and smack the ball with the heel of your hand, or
the bottom of your palm. Try not to hit it with your fingers or the flat of your palm, as
this will cause the serve to have less power.
Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then the player
makes a timed approach and jumps to make contact with the ball.
B) THE FOREARM PASS (or bump):
Use it to receive a serve or a low hit ball.
 Place your body low, extend
your forearms and pass it up
to the “setter.”
 Position is fundamental: Your
feet must be shoulder width
apart.
 Join your hands together,
making a fist with one hand
and wrapping it in the palm of
your other hand.
 Let the ball hit you in the middle part of your forearms simultaneously. A common
mistake is to hit the ball with your wrists or hands. This often makes the ball bounce
with an unpredictable trajectory and it goes out of your court.
 Press the wrists and hands down to fully extend the arms
 Bend your knees before the ball gets to you so that you can absorb the serve and keep
the ball in your court.
C) THE SET:
 The set is an overhead
pass. With it, the setter
passes the ball with a high
arc to front-line players
for them to spike.
 There are many different
types of sets: to the front,
to the side, to the back...
 Your thumbs and index
fingers must form a
triangle, and also, your
hands must form the shape of the ball.
 Go to the ball and get under it, facing the direction to which you want to pass it.
 Bend your elbows and your knees.
 You must hit the ball with both hands together and simultaneously. If you hold the
ball or you strike it unevenly with either
hand, you’ll be in violation.
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D) THE SPIKE (or Smash):
 The spike is a powerful overhand smash into the opposite court.
 The spiker steps toward the net, jumps high in the air, and swings his or her arm
powerfully toward the ball to smash it. The spiker must be careful not to touch the
net.
 Front row players can attack the ball from anywhere on the court. Back row players
can only attack from behind the three meter line.
 Jump with both feet
 In the air, bring your right hand to your ear, and your elbow back. Bring your left arm
down and hit the ball
with your right palm.
Your arm must be
extended.
 You must hit the ball in
front of your head, not
above it, so it goes
straight to the floor.
 This is a very difficult
move, and requires
perfect timing with the
ball, so keep trying until
you get it!!
D) Block:
Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack
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4. Positions in the Court and Rotation
Positions:
There are six positions in the court. Three in the front line and three in the back line. Players
must keep their positions before the other team serves.
Starting at the serving position and going counterclockwise the positions are numbered 1-
Back-row Players (Left, Right, Middle Backs)
Front-line Players (Left, Right, Middle)
Play in the backcourt behind the attack
-Positioned in the frontcourt between
line.
the attack line and the net.
They are responsible for passing the ball towards -These players mostly hit “spikes” into
teammates who then “set” the ball to the spikers. the opposite court and jump to “block”
Back-row players also “dig” the ball on returned shots hit by the opposing side.
shots.
Rotation:
Every time your team gains the possession of the ball, your whole team must rotate one
position clockwise. So the player that was in position number 2 goes to position number 1
and serves.
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