# Talking Volleyball · Volleyball Level 1: Beginner

Volleyball · Level 1: Beginner · Insporta Book (https://book.insporta.app/volleyball/level-1/talking-volleyball/)

The words players and coaches use for serving, passing, setting, attacking, blocking and defending, for the team and the bench, the slang of the game and the stat sheet.

## Test 1: Serving words

- A service error is a serve that fails: into the net, out of the court or another fault. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Serve receive is the receiving team's job of passing the serve to the setter. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A short serve falls in front of the receivers, close to the net. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Tough serving takes risk to make the opponents' pass difficult. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A serve that touches the net and goes over is played on; only one that stays on the server's side is a fault. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Many servers bounce the ball and breathe the same way each time to stay calm and consistent. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The server jumps but hits the ball without spin, so it still floats and wobbles. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The underhand serve is gentlest; the jump topspin serve is the fastest of all. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Get the ball, prepare, wait for the whistle, then toss and hit. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The gap between two receivers is the seam; serving into it causes doubt about who takes it. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 2: Passing words

- A perfect pass reaches the setter's target spot, so every attack option is open. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A shank is a mishit pass that sprays off the arms, often out of the court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The first touch is usually a pass from a serve or a dig from an attack. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A free ball is an easy return without an attack, so the team gets ready to build its own attack. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A down ball is attacked from the ground, without a jump, so it comes over more slowly. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Off the net means the pass is a few metres back, which makes the set harder. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A tight pass arrives very close to the net, where the opponents' blockers can reach it. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- On target is best, a pass off target is playable, a shank usually loses the point. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A call, quick positioning, a pass to the setter and an attack. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A pass that goes straight over the net gives the opponents an easy ball. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 3: Setting words

- A quick goes just above the net to a middle hitter who is already in the air. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A bump set uses a forearm pass to set, when an overhead set is not possible. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Instead of setting, the setter sends the second touch over, often with a soft tip. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Setting from a jump makes the set quicker and lets the setter threaten to attack. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- When the pass is poor, the setter often sends a high, safe set to the outside. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A shoot set travels low and fast along the net to a hitter at the antenna. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Like a quarterback, the setter decides which hitter gets each ball. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Quick sets barely clear the net; shoot sets are flat; high balls go well above it. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The dump looks like a set until the last moment, then drops into open court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Setting backwards over the head to the right side is a back set. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 4: Attacking words

- A kill is an attack that ends the rally in the attacking team's favour. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The hitter aims at a blocker's hands so the ball deflects off them and out of the court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The hitter swings slowly and rolls the ball over the block with topspin into open court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Taking pace off the attack catches defenders who expect a hard hit. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A cross-court attack travels diagonally across the opponents' court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- In a pipe, a back-row player attacks from behind the attack line in the middle of the court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The middle hitter runs behind the setter and takes off from one foot, like a lay-up. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A tip is a touch, a roll shot a slow swing, a spike a full hit. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Aim at the outside hand, glance the ball off it and send it out. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A line shot goes straight down the side line, as path A does. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 5: Blocking words

- A stuff sends the attack straight back down for a point. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Good blockers press their hands over the net into the opponents' space. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The second blocker joins the first so the ball cannot pass between their hands. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Blockers watch the setter's body and the ball to judge where the set will go. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Blockers may touch it and the team still has three hits left to play. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A commit blocker jumps with a chosen hitter, often the middle, whatever the set. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Like a hitter's approach, a swing block uses a run and arm swing to jump higher. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Short moves use a step-close, longer ones a crossover, the longest a run. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A closed block sends the attack straight back down on the attackers' side. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A joust is a fight for the ball above the net between two opposing players. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 6: Defence words

- Base is where defenders wait before they read the attack and move. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Attacks aimed at the seam make two defenders hesitate. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- In a sprawl the defender stretches out flat on the floor to reach a low ball. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Collapsing lets a defender go straight down to play a ball that is hit at the feet. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- One defender stays close behind the block to pick up tips and roll shots. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- An out call warns the player not to touch a ball that will land out. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Hustle is effort: going after balls that look lost. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Leave base, read, be still at contact, then dig. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Cover keeps a blocked ball alive for another attack. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Team-mates cover the hitter, ready to dig a ball that comes back off the block. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 7: Team words

- Three players are in the front row and three in the back row. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- As the team rotates, it passes through six line-ups, called rotations. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The opposite stands opposite the setter in the line-up, usually attacking from the right. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Middles block in the centre and hit quick sets. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Outside hitters attack from the left side and also pass serves. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A DS is a back-row substitute who comes on to pass and defend. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The starting six are on court for the first serve of a set. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Positions run 1 back right, 2 front right, 3 front middle, 4 front left. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Squad, starting six, line-up sheet, then play. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Position 1 is back right, the spot the server rotates into. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 8: Bench and coaching words

- Momentum is the feeling of a team on a run, often broken by a time-out. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A sub replaces a player on court. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Calling balls and encouraging each other keeps a team organised. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A game plan sets out how to serve, block and attack against one opponent. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Scouting means watching and analysing opponents to prepare a plan. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A team can challenge a call and have it checked on video. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Assistants help with tactics, statistics and practice. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Request, huddle, instructions, back to play. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Scouting leads to a game plan that is shared before the match. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A short huddle with the coach during a set is a time-out. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 9: Nicknames of plays

- A six-pack is a spike that hits a defender in the face. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Each player thinks the other will take it, and the ball drops between them. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Several players stand around the ball as it falls, like people round a campfire. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A hitter who is roofed sees the attack come straight down off the block. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A kong is a block made with one arm, usually when the blocker is late. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A chicken wing pops the ball up off a bent arm when there is no time for a proper pass. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- An ugly win is a win in a poor performance, still worth the points. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Doubt between two players leaves the ball to fall. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A roof scores, a soft block keeps the ball alive, a miss lets it through. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The sky ball is a very high underhand serve, made famous on the beach. (Source: General volleyball reference)

## Test 10: Words from the stat sheet

- An assist is credited, mostly to the setter, for a set that a team-mate kills. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Hitting efficiency is (kills - errors) / attempts. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A player's points are kills plus stuff blocks plus aces. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- (10 - 2) / 20 = 0.400. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Reception figures show how many serves a player passed and how well. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- The setter sets most balls, so most assists go to the setter. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- When two or three players stuff a ball together, each gets a block assist. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- A higher figure means more kills and fewer errors per attempt. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Kills minus errors, then divided by the attempts. (Source: General volleyball reference)
- Teams use statisticians who log every touch for the coaches. (Source: General volleyball reference)

Sources: General volleyball references, FIVB (beach, snow), World ParaVolley (sitting), FIVB Coaches Manual; original questions authored, nothing reproduced. Numbered FIVB rules belong to the Rules category.

Take the tests: https://insporta.app/try?utm_source=book&utm_medium=referral