Basic Volleyball Skills

Volleyball is built on six core skills: serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and digging. This page gives a short explainer of each, and links to a full guide so you can go deeper on the ones you want to practise.

Serving

Starts the rally

Passing

Controls the serve

Setting

Feeds the attack

Attacking

Scores points

Blocking

Stops attacks

Digging

Saves attacks

Serving

The serve starts every rally and is the one skill fully under your control. Beginners use the underhand serve for control; competitive players use overhand serves for power and movement. Read the full serving guide.

Passing (the platform)

Passing, or the forearm "bump", is how you control a serve or a hard attack. You join your arms to make a flat platform and angle it toward your target rather than swinging at the ball. It is the foundation of serve receive. Read the full passing guide.

Setting

Setting is the overhead contact that delivers the ball to an attacker. Good setters use soft fingertips, a square body, and consistent hand position to place the ball accurately. Read the full setting guide.

Attacking (the approach)

Attacking — the spike — is how most points are scored. Power comes from the approach: a timed run-up (commonly a three-step approach, step-hop-step, for right-handers) into a two-foot jump and an arm swing that contacts the ball at full reach. Read the full attacking guide.

Blocking

Blocking is the first line of defense: front-row players jump at the net with their hands over it to stop or slow an attack. Good blockers read the setter, press their hands over the net, and close the gap with the neighbouring blocker. Read the full blocking guide.

Digging

A dig is a defensive save of a hard-driven attack, usually with the forearms, keeping the ball off the floor so your team can counter-attack. Low, balanced posture and quick reactions are key. Read the full digging guide.

Deep dive: serve types and how the skills connect

Types of serve

• Underhand serve: struck below the waist; the easiest to learn and the most consistent.
• Overhand float serve: hit with little spin so the ball wobbles and moves unpredictably, making it hard to pass.
• Topspin serve: hit with forward spin so it drops quickly and dives into the court.
• Jump serve: a topspin serve hit out of a jump for maximum power; the jump float adds a floating ball out of a jump.

There is more on each of these in the serving guide.

How the skills fit together in a rally

A rally chains the skills together: a serve is passed, the pass is set, the set is attacked, the attack is met by a block, and anything that gets through is dug to start the next attack. Improving any one skill improves the whole chain. To see where each skill happens on the court, start with the six court zones.

Where to start

Beginners get the fastest results by working on passing and serving first, because they touch the ball on nearly every rally. From there, add setting and attacking, then the net skills of blocking and digging.

Frequently asked questions