Volleyball words · Beginner

The words you will hear in your first match, grouped the way you meet them.

B · Beginner · 47 words · Step 1 of 2

Basic setup terms

Team

Indoor: six players on court at a time, from a squad of up to 12 (up to 14 in FIVB senior events). Beach: exactly two players, with no substitutes.

Court

The playing court is 18 m by 9 m indoors and 16 m by 8 m on the beach, divided into two equal halves by the centre line under the net, inside a free zone of at least 3 m on every side.

Net

The net hangs over the centre line. Its top is 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women. A side band and an antenna at each side line mark the crossing space.

Set

A match is played in sets. Indoors a set goes to 25 points with a lead of two, and the deciding fifth set goes to 15, also with a lead of two. On the beach a set goes to 21 and the deciding third set to 15, each with a lead of two.

Also called: game

Match

The match is won by the team that wins three sets indoors, or two sets on the beach.

Referee

The match officials: the first referee, who directs the match and whose decisions are final, the second referee, the scorer and the line judges. In FIVB events there is also a challenge referee, a reserve referee and an assistant scorer.

Court and equipment

Free zone

The area around the court, at least 3 m wide on all sides (5 m from the side lines and 6.5 m from the end lines in FIVB events). Players may play the ball from it.

Attack line and front zone

The attack line is drawn 3 m back from the centre line on each side, and the front zone lies between the centre line and the rear edge of the attack line. The front zone is considered to extend past the side lines to the end of the free zone.

Also called: attack line
See also: Free zone, Spike

Service zone

The 9 m wide area behind each end line, marked at the sides by two short lines, from which the server serves.

Ball in and ball out

The ball is in if any part of it touches the court at its contact with the floor, the boundary lines included. It is out if it lands completely outside the lines, touches an object outside the court, the ceiling or a person out of play, touches the antennae, posts or net outside the side bands, or crosses the net plane outside the crossing space.

Also called: in, out

Scoring terms

Rally scoring

The system in which the team that wins a rally scores a point, whoever served. The FIVB calls it the Rally Point System.

Point

A team scores a point by landing the ball on the opponents' court, when the opponents commit a fault, or when the opponents receive a penalty.

Side out

When the receiving team wins a rally it scores a point and gains the right to serve. The rules do not use the name side out.

Rally

The sequence of playing actions from the service hit until the ball is out of play. A rally is completed when it results in the award of a point.

Fault

A playing action contrary to the rules, or another violation of them. The fault gives the opponents the point. If two faults happen one after the other, only the first counts.

Deciding set

The set played after a 2-2 tie indoors (fifth set, to 15) or a 1-1 tie on the beach (third set, to 15). The teams do a new toss, and change courts when the leading team reaches 8 points (indoors) or after every 5 points (beach).

Toss

Before the match the first referee tosses a coin with the captains. The winner chooses to serve or receive, or the side of the court. A new toss decides the first service and sides of a deciding set.

See also: Referee, Deciding set, Service

Serving terms

Service

The act that puts the ball into play. The server hits the ball with one hand or any part of the arm after tossing or releasing it, from the service zone behind the end line, and must hit it within 8 seconds of the referee's whistle (5 seconds on the beach). The rally begins when the first referee has authorised it.

Also called: serve
See also: Referee, Service zone, Rally

Ace

A serve that scores a point directly because the receiving team cannot return it. The rules do not use the name.

Service order

The order in which players serve, as recorded on the line-up sheet. When the serving team wins the rally, the same player serves again; when the receiving team wins it, the team rotates and the player who moves to the back-right position serves.

Playing terms and skills

Bump

A forearm pass: the ball is played with joined forearms, usually as the first touch after a serve or an attack. The rules do not name it.

Also called: pass, dig
See also: Spike

Set (the pass)

A pass played with the fingertips, usually the second touch, to put the ball up for a team-mate to attack. The rules call an overhand pass with the fingers an overhand finger pass.

Also called: setting
See also: Spike, Overhand finger pass

Spike

A hard attacking hit. In the rules every action that directs the ball to the opponents, except the service and the block, is an attack hit, and tipping is allowed only if the ball is cleanly hit, not caught or thrown.

Also called: attack, attack hit
See also: Service, Attack hit

Block

An action by players close to the net to intercept a ball from the opponents by reaching higher than the top of the net. Indoors only front-row players may block, and a block touch does not count as one of the team's three hits. On the beach a block touch does count as the first hit.

Dig

A defensive move to keep a hard-driven ball (like a spike) from hitting the floor, usually with the forearms.

Three hits

A team may hit the ball at most three times before returning it, not counting an indoor block touch. A fourth hit is the fault of four hits. A player may not hit the ball twice in a row, except at a block or at the team's first hit.

Also called: three touches
See also: Fault, Block touch

The ruleHow many touches does a team get in volleyball?

Rotation

When the receiving team gains the right to serve, its players move one position clockwise, so the front-right player moves to the back-right position to serve. The order is set by the starting line-up and kept for the set.

Attack hit

Any action that sends the ball towards the opponents, except a service or a block. It is completed when the ball crosses the vertical plane of the net or is touched by an opponent. A front-row player may attack at any height if contact is made in their own space.

Positions and rotation

Setter

The player responsible for setting up attacks, usually touching the ball second to set it up for a teammate to spike.

Outside hitter

A primary attacking player who typically hits from the left side of the court.

Also called: left-side hitter

Middle blocker

A player who specializes in blocking near the net's centre and quick attacks.

Also called: middle hitter

Libero

A specialist defensive player in a uniform of a contrasting colour, up to two per team. A libero may replace any back-row player but may not serve, block or attempt to block, and may not attack a ball that is entirely above the net. Libero replacements are unlimited and do not count as substitutions.

Opposite

A player positioned opposite the setter, often a strong attacker and blocker.

Also called: opposite hitter, right-side hitter
See also: Setter

Positions 1 to 6

The three front-row players stand in positions 4 (front-left), 3 (front-centre) and 2 (front-right). The back-row players are in 5 (back-left), 6 (back-centre) and 1 (back-right). The server stands in position 1.

Front row and back row

Front-row players may block and attack from anywhere. Back-row players may not block, and may attack only from behind the attack line or from the front zone when the ball is below the net.

Positional fault

At the moment the ball is hit by the server, a receiving player is not in the correct position relative to the others, judged by the feet. Each back-row player must be further from the net than the front-row player in front, and players must be in the right order side to side. The opponents get a point and the service.

Fouls and violations

Net contact

Contact with the net by a player between the antennae during the action of playing the ball is a fault. The action includes take-off, the hit or attempt, and landing. Touching the net outside the antennae, or the posts, is not a fault unless it interferes with play.

Also called: net violation, net touch
See also: Fault

Foot fault

A serving fault: at the moment of the service hit or the take-off for a jump serve, the server touches the court, the end line included, or the floor outside the service zone. After the hit the server may step or land outside the zone, or inside the court.

Double contact

A player hits the ball twice in succession, or the ball touches various parts of the body in succession. It is allowed at the team's first hit if it occurs in one action, and at a block.

Also called: double hit

Catch

A fault in which the ball is caught or thrown, so that it does not rebound from the hit. The rules do not use the name carry.

Also called: carry, lift, throw
See also: Fault

Rotational fault

Indoors, the service is not made in the rotational order. The opponents get a point and the service, the order is corrected, and the faulty team's points since the fault are cancelled. Standing in the wrong place is a positional fault, which is different. On the beach the same fault is a service order fault.

Also called: rotation fault, service order fault
See also: Fault, Service, Service order, Positional fault

Match flow

Time-out

A request for a pause of 30 seconds, made by the coach (or the captain if there is no coach) when the ball is out of play. A team has two per set indoors. On the beach a team has one per set, and a technical time-out is added in the first two sets.

Substitution

A player enters in place of another through the substitution zone. A team has six per set. A starting player may leave and re-enter once per set, only into the same position, and a substitute may enter once per set, only for the same starter.

Change of courts

The teams swap sides after each set (not the deciding set). In the deciding set indoors, they change when the leading team reaches 8 points. On the beach they switch every 7 points in sets 1 and 2, and every 5 in set 3.

Beach volleyball

Two-player team

A beach team is exactly two players, both always in play. One is the captain. There are no substitutes, and in FIVB events the players may not receive coaching during the match.

Also called: 2-a-side, two-a-side

Sand court

The beach court is levelled sand, free of anything that could cut or injure, and in FIVB events at least 40 cm deep. The court is 16 m by 8 m. Players play barefoot unless the first referee allows otherwise.

Service order (beach)

On the beach players have no fixed positions and there are no positional faults. The two players alternate serving: when a team wins the service back, the player who did not serve last serves. A wrong server is a service order fault.

Also called: beach service order
See also: Fault, Service, Service order, Rotational fault

I · Intermediate · 31 wordsNext: Intermediate words