The basic skills used in volleyball

There are six main skills in the sport of volleyball. They are as follows:

Serving – Each volleyball play begins with the serve. It is the only skill in the game that is completely under the control of the individual player. The serve can be executed from a standing or jumping position. The two main types are floating serves, which are hit without a twist to knuckles in the air, and top-spin serves, which are hit to cause the ball to sink towards the end of its flight.

Going – Passing is the act of directing a ball from the other team in the form of a serve or other form of play other than an attack into the net where it can be placed. Most often these passes are executed with the forearms (sometimes known as strikes), but can also be done over the head (at least in indoor play).

Setting – After a ball is passed (or dunked) on first contact, a second is used to provide an attacking ball to a batter. This series is generally run overhead in indoor play, although it can also be accomplished with a forearm pass. You will see the latter, generally known as a hitting game, in the beach game quite often, where the restrictions on ball handling are somewhat more stringent.

Hit – Also known as spiking, hitting is the process of attacking the ball into the opponent’s court. The object is to score a point by causing the ball to fall to the ground or be played out of bounds by a defending player. This is generally accomplished by jumping and hitting the ball above the height of the net in a downward trajectory.

Blocking – The first line of defense against a hitter is blocking. When blocking, a player (or players) tries to prevent the ball from entering their court by preventing it from crossing the net at the point of attack. This is done by jumping very close to the net and extending the arms overhead, and to the opponent’s side of the court for those with the height and / or jumping ability to do so.

Excavation – Performed similarly to passing, digging is the handling of an attacked ball. It can be done with a forearm or overhead pass, although in general the ball arrives at a faster rate than in the case of a normal pass. The idea, however, is the same in terms of playing the ball in the direction of the net and then placing it.