1. Serving. Every game, match, and play starts with a serve. So naturally it’s the first technical skill on our list. Before attempting any serve other than a standing serve, you should consistently get your serve over and in. Once you’re consistent, then you should start trying jump-float or jump-top spin serves. However, your jump serves are not going to be useful if you don’t have the basic skills needed for a standard, standing serve. Also, once you’re consistent serving, try aiming your serves as well. You can aim either by choosing a certain opponent to serve at, a specific number on the court (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, or 6), or if you see any holes in the opponent’s serve receive formation.
2. Passing. An equally important skill needed is passing. Similar to how every game, match, and play starts with a serve, the second touch on the ball is a pass. Also, it’s the first touch for your team, so it’s really important that the pass is useful. Focus on getting your pass nice and high to allow time for your setter to get underneath the ball – generally, getting the pass at least 15 feet in the air is sufficient; however, if your setter is coming from the back row, a higher pass will be helpful. Each team will have a preference for where a “perfect” serve receive pass goes, but in general you should pass in between where the middle hitter and the backside hitter will approach for the ball. You should also get your pass anywhere from 2-5 feet off the net so your setter doesn’t have to worry about running into it. In addition to serve-receive passes, all the rest of your passes during the game should be aimed at around the same area – especially during free balls when you have extra time to set your body to do a perfect pass!
3. Setting. Following the passes, the set is (hopefully!) the next touch on the ball if the pass allowed you (the setter) to get to the ball on time. You want to beat the ball so you can set your body before the ball gets to your hands. This requires you to anticipate where the pass is going and to move quickly once you pinpoint the location of the ball. Also, getting your body set quickly will allow you to contemplate where you want to set the ball. You normally will always have at least 2 options – the outside hitter and the middle hitter – and if you’re setting from the backrow then you’ll have a opposite hitter as well. However, don’t forget that you have your backrow teammates as hitting options as well (if your team, coach, and you feel comfortable with that). While you’re setting, consider who is hitting well at the moment and continue to set them because when someone gets a really good hit, they are going to be hungry for the next set – so give it to them!
4. Downballs. I know we’ve all probably seen highlight videos of 6’3” outside hitters just pounding the ball and all wishing we could do that, right? Well I PROMISE YOU, before that outside hitter was able to attack the ball like that, they were taught to do a downball. A downball is when you’re going to attack the ball but you stay standing on the ground and don’t jump. Not worrying about jumping and your timing will help you master the other components to hitting well, like using a guide hand, having your feet and body positioned correctly, contacting the ball at the highest point, snapping your wrist, and following through on your swing. All of these components will still be used when you start approaching and attacking the ball – so it’s better to master them as early as possible, and downballs will help you do that!
5. Digging. Digging refers to passing but specifically when you’re playing defense against your opponent’s attacks. This skill is really important when you’re trying to keep a rally going and your team needs to play defense really well. To dig effectively, you need to stay low while playing defense. This means keeping your knees bent and staying on your toes so you can move quickly to the ball. Also, keep your eyes on where the ball is going and what the ball is doing so you know who is attacking the ball and what kind of attack is coming (hard-driven ball, tip, rollshot, etc.). Once you’ve established the ball is coming toward you and at what speed, you can adjust your platform accordingly. If the ball is coming quickly, keep your platform stable and absorb the ball a little bit by shrugging your shoulders to avoid shanking it. On the flipside, if the ball was tipped, you need to add a little swing to your platform when you contact the ball to make your pass higher and reachable for the setter.
6. Approach and Attack. Remember how we talked about the importance of downballs? Well, once you’ve mastered that skill, you can start utilizing an approach to get momentum behind your attack on the ball. An approach is a skill that can be used from attacking anywhere on the court with a few adjustments related to the location of the set and your position on the court. There are lot of variations to your approach, but they all employ a few of the same things. For example, it’s really important to use your arms to in order to swing efficiently. Also, your last two steps should be used to balance yourself right before you jump. Some approaches are 3 steps and some are 4 steps; plus each approach is going to be different depending on if you’re right-handed or left-handed. For all of these personal adjustments to your approach, you should ask your coach for some help!
7. Diving. In volleyball, we know that not every ball comes right to us – in fact, most balls don’t. In some cases, we’re able to reach the ball by just taking one step forward, back, left, or right. However, sometimes the ball is out of reach and we need to do something else to get to it. That’s where diving comes in! But we need to be careful when we’re diving because we can get hurt very easily if we don’t dive properly. When you start diving, remember to keep both knees out sideways to make sure they aren’t the first things to hit the ground. Also, you want your dive to have some momentum behind it so you slide through the dive instead of just flopping on the ground – this will help with the initial impact on the ground. Again, if you want to start learning how to dive properly ask your coach for some help or check out some tutorial videos on YouTube.
No matter what level of volleyball we play at, we’re always going to need these 7 technical skills. So, master them as early as you can so you can start building your skills from there!