Volleyball Glossary
Here's a list of volleyball terms you'll hear on the court. Each definition includes examples and links to related concepts.
A
Ace
A serve that directly scores a point—the ball lands untouched, gets shanked out of bounds, or produces an unplayable reception. The second meaning of 'ace' can also refer to a team's best player or go-to scorer.
Approach
The footwork sequence a hitter uses to build momentum and jump to attack the ball. Right-handed hitters typically use a left-right-left three-step or add a lead step for a four-step approach. The rhythm converts forward speed into vertical lift, giving you a higher contact point above the net.
Assist
The touch that directly sets up a kill. The player who makes the last contact before the attacker scores—usually the setter—gets credited with the assist. In a 5-1 system, the setter's assist total reflects how often the offense is running in-system and getting hitters hittable balls.
Attack
Any attempt to score by sending the ball over the net, whether it is a hard spike, roll shot, tip, or setter dump. The standard offensive sequence is pass-set-attack. Every attack that ends the rally in your favor is recorded as an attack.
Attack Line
The line 3 meters (about 10 feet) from the net that divides each side of the court into a front zone and a back zone. Front-row players can attack from anywhere. Back-row players must jump from behind this line when attacking a ball that is above the height of the net. The same rule applies across FIVB, NCAA, and high school play.
B
Back Row Attack
An attack by a back-row player who jumps from behind the 3-meter line while the ball is above the net. The rule only cares about where you take off—landing in the front row after contact is fine. Back-row attacks (pipes, Ds, and high balls from zone 1) give modern offenses scoring threats from all six positions.
Block
A front-row play at the net where you reach over the plane and try to stop the hitter’s attack on your hands, alone or with a teammate. You can end the point outright with a stuff, or you can take pace off the ball so your defenders can dig and transition. The stat sheet tracks total blocks, block assists, and stuffs depending on the scorer.
Bump
A forearm pass where you clasp your hands together and let the ball rebound off the flat surface of your forearms. It is the first skill most players learn and remains essential at every level for serve receive and defense.
C
Carry
A lift where the official decides the ball stuck to your hands, even for a tick, instead of one clean rebound. You hear it a lot on tight sets and emergency hand passes.
Coverage
The positioning of the five non-attacking players around a teammate who is hitting, ready to play any ball that deflects off the block. The formation looks like a shallow cup around the attacker. Good coverage turns blocked balls into second chances instead of lost points.
Cut Shot
A sharp angle to the short pin where you work the outside of the ball and yank your wrist to send the ball back toward the inside of the antenna. It is a favorite against blockers that fly wide because the ball only has to clear the tape, not travel the full diagonal. The shot shows up a lot in women’s international play when the block sells out to take away line.
D
Dig
The first defensive touch on an opponent's attack, usually with a forearm platform but sometimes a one-arm reach or rolling save. A clean dig to the setter's target area gives your team a full range of offensive options. A poor dig forces an emergency set and limits your scoring chances.
Dink
A soft fingertip push over, around, or off the top of a block, same family as a tip. You use it when the block is selling out to touch sky and the back row is parked deep, because the empty floor between tape and first defender is the reward. The AVP announcers call it a dink; indoor coaches more often just say “tip the seam.”
Dive
A defensive play where you leave your feet, fully extend to reach the ball, and land on your chest or torso. Used when the ball is too far away for a normal dig. A successful dive keeps the rally alive and can lead to a transition opportunity.
Double Contact
A ball-handling fault where the ball visibly contacts your hands (or body) in two separate motions on a single play. On the first team contact (serve receive, dig, or free ball), FIVB rules allow more leniency because the ball arrives with pace. On the second or third touch—especially when setting—the standard is stricter.
Dump
The setter’s own attack on 2nd touch: push, one-hand, or tip. You sell the wide set, wait for the block to drift, and drop the second ball in the open area. FIVB back-row player rules still apply, so a back-row setter can only “dump” on a contact below the height of the net, while a front-row setter can attack a ball completely above the net. That is why many teams script dumps the moment their setter is in zone 2 or 3 on the front row.
F
Float Serve
A serve with little to no spin, causing the ball to move unpredictably in the air—similar to a knuckleball in baseball. The server strikes the center of the ball with a firm hand and stops the follow-through to minimize rotation. The lack of spin makes the ball drift and drop in ways that are difficult for passers to read.
Foot Fault
Stepping on or over the end line before contacting the serve. Under FIVB rules, no part of the server's foot may touch or cross the end line until after the ball is struck. Jump servers are particularly prone because their approach momentum pulls them forward.
Free Ball
A high, easy ball the other team sends over because they cannot mount an attack. Treat it like a serve receive opportunity—get your passers under it, pass to target, and run your best offense. Converting free balls into kills is expected at competitive levels.
H
J
Joust
A contested ball at the top of the net where players from both teams press against the ball simultaneously. The player who applies more force or gets on top of the ball wins the play. Pushing or pulling the net during a joust is a fault.
Jump Serve
A maximum-velocity serve where you use a true approach, jump, and snap topspin for a steep drop. The ball gets on passers fast and breaks down, which is why the NCAA stat sheet shows higher ace and error counts on teams that only jump-serve. You pay for the power with a narrow timing window, bad tosses, and the occasional foot on the end line in big moments.
K
L
Let Serve
A serve that clips the top of the net but still crosses over to the opponent's side. Under FIVB, NCAA, and most other rule sets, the ball is live and play continues. The net contact can change the ball's trajectory unpredictably, making it harder to pass.
Lift
A ball-handling violation where the ball visibly rests in the player's hands instead of rebounding cleanly—essentially the same call as a carry. The referee judges that the player caught and threw the ball rather than volleying it. The standard for what counts as a lift can vary between referees and levels of play.
Line Shot
A ball you send straight down the sideline with the antenna as your guide. The window is tight, so your volleyball hitting percentage on line swings is usually lower than cross, but when the defense shades hard middle, the line is often the only honest score. Watch the NCAA men’s game: the pipe and the BIC get the clips, but matches still turn on late line rips when the libero cheats across.
M
N
O
Off-Speed
Any attack disguised as a full swing but delivered with less pace—tips, roll shots, and dinks. Used when the block is big and defenders are deep, because the slower ball drops into the gap between the block and the back row.
Overhand Pass
A pass using your fingertips above your forehead, similar to a setting motion but directed toward the target. More accurate than a forearm pass when you have time and a high ball, but referees watch closely for double contacts. Common on free balls indoors and used frequently in beach volleyball.
Overlap
A positional fault at the moment the server contacts the ball. Each front-row player must be closer to the net than the corresponding back-row player, and left-to-right order within each row must match the rotation sheet. The rule is only checked at the instant of serve contact—after that, players can move freely.
P
Pancake
A last-resort defensive play where you slide your hand flat on the floor, palm down, so the ball bounces off the back of your hand instead of hitting the ground. It counts as a legal touch and is used when you cannot get your platform under the ball in time.
Pass
The first touch on a serve or the first contact in transition, usually with a forearm platform but sometimes with hands. Coaches grade passes on a 0-3 scale: a 3-pass reaches the setter's target and unlocks the full offense, while a 0 means the ball was not playable.
Pepper
A partner warm-up drill cycling through dig-set-hit. Players face each other and continuously repeat the sequence to warm up their hands, timing, and ball control before practice or a match.
Pipe
A back-set tempo ball to a hitter coming through zone 6, middle back. The approach hides behind the front-row shapes, so the block is late more often than on a high out. FIVB back-row rules still apply: the jump has to start behind the 3 m line; the set is what changes the look.
Platform
The flat surface created by joining your forearms together for passing and digging. Lock your wrists, present the platform early, and direct the ball by adjusting your angle rather than swinging your arms.
Q
R
Rally
Everything from the serve contact to the dead ball whistle. Under rally scoring (the standard since 1999), every rally awards a point to one team, whether it ends on an ace or after a long sequence of attacks and digs.
Rally Scoring
A point on every play, no matter who served. FIVB went here to shorten matches and add urgency; the NCAA followed on the same timeline for college programs. You still go to 25, win by two, fifth to 15 indoors, and the old side-out scoring system is no longer used at any major level.
Roll Shot
A controlled, mid-speed attack with topspin where the hitter uses a shorter swing than a full spike. The ball clears the block with enough pace to land deep but not so much that it flies out. Effective when defenders are positioned for a hard swing, because the reduced speed drops the ball into open court.
Roof
Gym slang for a stuff: the ball smacks the block and dies straight back on the attacker’s side. On the stat line it still counts with the rest of your block total, but on the floor it is the exclamation mark that shifts momentum harder than a service ace some nights.
Rotation
The clockwise step every player takes when you win a side-out: 1 to 6, 6 to 5, 5 to 4, 4 to 3, 3 to 2, 2 to 1. The rules only care about order at the serve, then you transition to your coverage spots. FIVB overlap checks happen in that one instant, not after the ball is in the air, which is why your receive lines look so choreographed in NCAA film.
S
Serve
The opening contact of every rally, struck from behind the end line. It is the one skill entirely in your control—no teammate can help. Types include float serves, jump topspin serves, standing topspin serves, and underhand serves. All are legal under FIVB, NCAA, and high school rules as long as the server stays behind the line at contact.
Serve Receive
The pass off the opponent's serve and the formation your team uses to cover the court. A good serve receive pass is the foundation of your side-out offense—a clean pass to target unlocks quick sets, pipes, and high sets. Common formations use two or three passers depending on the rotation and scouting report.
Service Error
A serve that fails to start the rally: the ball goes into the net, lands out of bounds, or the server commits a foot fault, wrong rotation, or other violation. Service errors are tracked alongside aces to evaluate whether an aggressive serving strategy is paying off.
Set
The second touch, usually a finger release, that puts the ball in the hitter’s window for an attack, though bump-sets on bad passes are still in play. The set fixes tempo, location, and how much the block can read you. A clean set in-system is a foot above the net, off the net, in stride for the approach; a bad one ends up as a free ball the other way.
Shank
A badly mishit pass that flies wildly off target—into the stands, into the net, or far from any teammate. Usually caused by late footwork, a poor angle, or contact on the edge of the platform. The stat sheet records it as a reception error.
Side-Out
You take the other team’s serve, win the rally, get the point, and the ball. In the old system you only got serve; in rally you get both, but coaches still call the pass-kill side-out.
Slide
An attack where the middle hitter runs along the net and jumps off one foot to hit a set delivered behind the setter. The lateral movement and timing difference make it difficult for the opposing middle blocker to track, especially if they already committed to a quick set in front.
Spike
A hard, downward hit where you jump and swing at the ball above the net. The approach, jump, and arm swing combine to generate power—top-level players can hit 60 to 80+ mph. In everyday gym language, spike and hit mean the same thing, though the stat sheet records any scoring attack as a kill regardless of how hard you swung.
Sprawl
A low, forward extension where you push off and slide on your chest without fully leaving the ground. Used for balls in the mid-court area where a full dive is too much and a normal dig cannot reach.
Stuff
A block that sends the ball directly back down to the attacker's side for an immediate point. The ball never crosses back to the blocking team's court. Stuff blocks are tracked as solo blocks or block assists and are among the most momentum-shifting plays in the game.
T
Tip
A soft, fingertip redirect over or off the block. The indoor game calls it a tip, sand doubles use “dink” in conversation more often, but the read is the same: find the seam where the back row is not. Refs only care that you are not carrying the ball, so a quick, clean pop beats a lazy roll off the palm.
Tool
Intentionally hitting the ball off a blocker's hands so it deflects out of bounds for your point. When the block is set and you can't find open court, aiming for the outside edge of the blocker's hands sends the ball wide. The stat sheet still credits you with the kill.
Topspin Serve
A serve where the server snaps over the top of the ball to create forward spin and a downward trajectory. Less unpredictable than a float serve but faster and with a sharper drop. Many players learn it after mastering the float because it offers more pace without the complexity of a full jump serve approach.
Transition
The shift from defense to offense within a rally—after your team digs the ball, players move from their defensive positions to set up an attack. Transition offense is less organized than serve receive because players are scrambling from wherever they defended. Teams that score efficiently in transition have a major advantage in close sets.