Volleyball Glossary
A quick reference to the most common volleyball terms, defined simply and accurately. Where a term has a full guide on this site, the definition links to it so you can go deeper.
Glossary A–Z
- Ace
- A serve that wins the point outright — the receiving team fails to return it, or cannot keep it in play. See types of serves.
- Assist
- The pass — almost always the set — that leads directly to a teammate's kill. See setting.
- Attack (spike)
- An offensive hit that drives the ball into the opponent's court to try to score. See attacking.
- Block
- A defensive play at the net to stop or slow an attack. A solo block is one blocker; an assist (double or triple) block is two or three together. See blocking.
- Dig
- A defensive save of a hard-driven attack that keeps the ball in play, usually with the forearms. See digging.
- Tip (dink)
- A soft, one-handed attack that places the ball just over or around the block instead of hitting it hard.
- Double hit
- A fault where one player contacts the ball twice in a row (except on a single first team contact). See the rules.
- Foot fault
- A fault where the server steps on or over the end line before contacting the serve, or a player steps fully over the centre line.
- Free ball
- An easy, non-attacking ball sent back by the opponent, giving the receiving team time to run its full offense.
- Joust
- When two opposing players contact the ball simultaneously above the net; play continues and it is not a fault.
- Kill
- An attack that directly ends the rally in your team's favour — the opponent cannot return it.
- Libero
- A back-row defensive specialist in a contrasting jersey who cannot attack the ball from above the net and cannot block. See positions.
- Lift (carry)
- A fault where the ball comes to rest in the hands or is thrown rather than cleanly hit.
- Overlap
- A positional fault — players are out of their rotational order at the moment of the serve. See overlap rules.
- Pancake
- A one-handed defensive save with the hand flat on the floor so the ball rebounds off the back of the hand and stays in play.
- Pepper
- A common warm-up drill where two players rally pass, set and hit back and forth to each other.
- Rally
- The sequence of play from the serve until the ball is dead and a point is scored.
- Rotation
- The clockwise shift of all players one position when the team wins back the serve. See court zones.
- Serve
- The hit that starts every rally, struck from behind the end line. See types of serves.
- Set
- The overhead contact, usually the second touch, that delivers the ball to an attacker. See setting.
- Side-out
- Winning a rally while receiving serve, so the receiving team earns the serve — and, under rally scoring, the point.
- Six-pack
- Slang for being hit in the face or head by an attacked ball.
- Substitution
- Replacing one player on court with another; the number of substitutions allowed is limited by the rules.
Deep dive: terms that are easy to mix up
Kill vs ace vs assist
A kill is an attack that ends the rally; an ace is specifically a serve that ends the rally; an assist is the touch (usually the set) that sets up a kill. One rally can produce an assist and a kill, but an ace needs no assist.
Dig vs pass vs pancake
A pass handles a serve; a dig handles a hard attack; a pancake is an emergency dig with the hand flat on the floor. All three aim to keep the ball off the floor and, ideally, deliver it to the setter.
Tip vs free ball
A tip is an attacking choice — a soft placement to beat the block — while a free ball is a ball the opponent sends over with no attack at all. Reading which one is coming changes how your team positions on defense.
Side-out scoring
Modern volleyball uses rally scoring, so a point is won on every rally. The term side-out survives from older scoring, where only the serving team could score; today it simply means the receiving team won the rally and will now serve.
Frequently asked questions
What is an ace in volleyball?
An ace is a serve that wins the point outright — the receiving team fails to return it or cannot keep it in play.
What is the difference between a kill and an assist?
A kill is an attack that directly ends the rally in your favour. An assist is the touch, almost always the set, that leads directly to that kill.
What is a pancake?
A pancake is a one-handed defensive save with the hand flat on the floor, so the ball rebounds off the back of the hand and stays in play.
What is a side-out?
A side-out is winning a rally while receiving serve, so the receiving team earns the serve. Under rally scoring it also wins the point.
What does pepper mean in volleyball?
Pepper is a common warm-up drill in which two players rally the ball back and forth, passing, setting and hitting to each other.