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Glossary

 

Ace When the ball is served to the other team, and it lands in court with no one touching it; can also be used to refer to a serve which is played by the receiving team, but in a way that it is not possible for them to get a second touch on the ball. A serve that is not passable and results immediately in a point.
Antenna The vertical rods (normally white and red) mounted near the edges of the net. The antennas are mounted directly above the sidelines and are not-in-play. Antennas are not usually used on outdoor nets.
Attack Also hit or spike. The offensive action of hitting the ball. The attempt by one team to terminate the play by hitting the ball to the floor on the opponent's side.
Attack Line A line 3m from the net that separates the front row players from the back row players.
Attacker Also "hitter" or "spiker." A player who attempts to hit a ball offensively with the purpose of terminating play in his or her team's favour.
Back Court The area from the endline to the attack line
Back Row Attack When a back row player attacks the ball by jumping from behind the 3m line before hitting the ball. If the back row player steps on or past the 3m line during take-off, the attack is illegal.
Ball Handling Error Also carry. Any time the official calls a double hit, a thrown ball or a lift (except on a serve reception or attack). For our purposes, this category also includes any blocking errors (when an official calls a blocker for a violation such as going into the net, centerline violation, reaching over the net, etc.).
Block A defensive play by one or more players meant to deflect a spiked ball back to the hitters court. It may be a combination of one, two or three players jumping in front of the opposing spiker and contacting the spiked ball with the hands.
Bump Also dig.A common term for forearm passing.
Center Line The boundary that runs directly under the net and divides the court into two equal halves.
Cross Court Shot An individual attack directed at an angle from one end of the offensive team's side of the net to the opposite sideline of the defensive team's court.
Crossing Space The zone above the net and between two antennae through which the ball must pass during a rally.
Deep Set Set to be hit away from the net to confuse or disrupt the timing of the blockers.
Dig To control the ball using the inside of the forearms.
Dink Also tip. A legal push of the ball around or over blockers.
Domed When a hitter attacks the ball above the net, bouncing it between the blockers arms off their head/forehead area into the air.
Donut (also called Campfire) The small round area of the court near the middle of the 3 meter line which is often the target of soft hits or dumps.
Double Block Two players working in unison to deflect an attacked ball at the net back to the hitters side.
Dump A soft hit usually executed by a front row setter to catch the defense off guard; many times executed with the left hand, sometimes with the right, aimed at the donut or area 4 on the court.
End Line A back boundary line of the court.
Facial When a hitter attacks the ball over the net and hits one of the opposing players in the face.
Fault A foul or error which results in the loss of the rally.
Float A non-spinning serve that is unpredictable because its path is perturbed by air currents above the court, similar to a knuckleball in baseball.
Floater A serve which does not spin or rotate and therefore moves in an erratic path.
Forearm Pass Also dig. Join your arms from the elbows to the wrists and strike the ball with the fleshy part of your forearms in an underhand motion.
Foul A violation of the rules.
Four Touches Where a team collectively plays the ball four times on one side of the court. The confusion with this rule mainly lies with the first touch. This is usually a block, but the player can sometimes be deemed to have played the ball and therefore it counts as one touch.
Free Ball A ball that will be returned by a pass rather than a spike. This is usually called aloud by the defense instructing players to move into serve receive positions.
Goofy Footer Originated as a surfing term; an attacker whose last step in the approach is the foot on the same side as their hitting arm; right hander takes their last step with their right foot, left hander with their left foot.
Ground To hit the ball to the ground, preferably on the other team's court.
Heater A hard-hit or spiked ball (slang)
Held Ball A ball that comes to rest during contact resulting in a foul.
Hit To jump and strike the ball with an overhand, forceful shot.
Hitter Also "spiker" or "attacker"
Hitting Percentage kills vs. attempts
Hold To let the ball settle into the hands briefly on a shot instead of releasing it immediately.
Isolation Play Designed to isolate the attacker on a specific defender, normally to exploit a weakness or give a hitter a chance to hit against a single block.
Joust When the ball is falling directly on top of the net, two opposing players jump and push against the ball, trying to push it onto the other's side. When 2 opposing players are simultaneously attempting to play a ball above the net.
Jump Serve A serve made famous by Karch Kiraly; the serving player tosses the ball 8-10' in the air and 4-10' into the court then uses an attack approach to jump and serve the ball. A serve that is started by the server tossing the ball into the air and jumping into and hitting the ball in its downward motion.
Kill When a team attacks the ball and the defending team is unable to play the ball successfully. An attack that results in an immediate point or side out.
Kong A one-handed block, named after King Kong's style of swatting biplanes in the original King Kong movie (slang).
Line The marks that serve as boundaries of a court.
Line Shot A ball spiked down an opponent's sideline, closest to the hitter and outside the block.
Lip A good dig (slang).
Match A series of sets to determine a winner.
Middle Back A defensive system that uses the middle back player to cover deep spikes.
Middle Up A defensive system that uses the middle back player to cover dinks or short shots.
Mintonette The original name of the game of volleyball, created by William Morgan.
Missile A spike or serve hit out of bounds (slang).
Multiple Offense A system of play using different types of sets other than just normal outside sets.
Offside Block Player at the net, which is on the side away from the opponent's attack.
Offside Hitter A right side attacker; also refers to a player hitting on the unnatural side - right handers hitting from the right, left handers hitting from the left.
Off-speed Hit Any ball spiked with less than maximum force but with spin.
One (Also called Quick) A type of middle hit when the middle jumps before the setter sets, with the ball being set directly to the middle's hand.
Outside Hitter A left-front or right-front attacker normally taking an approach which starts from outside the court
Overhand Pass A pass executed with both hands open, controlled by the fingers and thumbs, played just above the forehead.
Overhand Serve Serving the ball and striking it with the hand above the shoulder.
Overlap Refers to the positions of the players in the rotation prior to the contact of the ball when serving.
Pancake A one-handed defensive technique where the hand is extended and the palm is slid along the floor as the player dives or extension rolls, and timed so that the ball bounces off the back of the hand.
Pass see "Forearm Pass"
Penetrating Setter Where the back court setter takes the set in the front court instead of the front court setter to enable three hitters.
Penetration The act of reaching across and breaking the plane of the net during blocking.
Point of Service A serve that results in a point (an ace by NCAA standards) as the serve is not returnable due to a bad pass by the receiver, this number includes aces.
Power Alley A cross-court hit traveling away from the spiker to the farthest point of the court.
Power Tip A ball that is pushed or directed with force by an attacking team.
Power Volleyball A competitive style of volleyball started by the Japanese.
Quick A player approaching the setter for a quick inside hit
Quick Set A set (usually 2 above the net) in which the hitter is approaching the setter, and may even be in the air, before the setter delivers the ball. This type of set requires precise timing between the setter and hitter.
Rally The exchange of plays that decides each point.
Ready Position The flexed, yet comfortable, posture a player assumes before moving to contact the ball.
Reception Error A serve that a player should have been able to return, but results in an ace (and only in the case of an ace). If it is a "husband/wife" play (where the ball splits the two receivers), the receiving team is given the reception error instead of an individual.
Red Card A severe penalty in which an official displays a red card. The result of a red card may be a player is disqualified, the team loses the serve, or the team loses a point. A red card may be given with or without a prior yellow card as a warning; it is up to the officials discretion.
Reverse Set A set delivered behind the setters back, which is subsequently hit by an attacker. Sometimes known as a back set.
Roll When a player digs a ball below their knees, dives to the floor, and uses a fancy manoeuvre to get up. Some types of rolls are barrel and shoulder.
Roll Shot An attacker hits the set softly putting extreme topspin on the ball so that it will clear the block and drop quickly and directly over the block.
Roof A ball that when spiked is blocked by a defensive player such that the ball deflects straight to the floor on the attackers side.
Rotation The clockwise movement of players around the court and through the serving position following a side out.
Screen To impede the opponent's view of the ball during the serve.
Second A term used by players on the defense to warn their teammates that there is tandem and not to block the first player but the second.
Serve One of the six basic skills; used to put the ball into play. It is the only skill controlled exclusively by one player.
Server The player who puts the ball into play.
Service Error An unsuccessful serve in which one or more of the following occurs: 1) the ball hits the net or fails to clear the net, 2) the ball lands out of bounds, or 3) the server commits a foot fault.
Service Winner A point the serving team scores when this player has served the ball. The point can be an immediate (in the case of an ace) or delayed (a kill or opponent attack error after a long rally). Therefore, the sum of the team's service winners equals their score.
Set The tactical skill in which a ball is directed to a point where a player can spike it into the opponent's court. To control the ball using the fingertips.
Setter The player who has the 2nd of 3 contacts of the ball who "sets" the ball with an "Overhand Pass" for a teammate to hit. The setter normally runs the offense.
Shank When the backrow player passes a serve that does not go to the setter and that usually flys off into another court. The other team cannot return it.
Shoot A fast set to the outside hitter who is already in the air ready to receive the ball. Timing is everything!
Short When the serving team serves a ball that appears as though it will land inside or near the 3 metre line.
Shutout (also called Bagel/Goose-egg) When a team wins a game without allowing the opposite team to score any points. Much more rare since rally scoring has been adopted for most games, but the term is still used by players who played under side-out scoring.
Sideline A side boundary line on a court.
Side-Out Occurs when the receiving team successfully puts the ball away against the serving team, or when the serving team commits an unforced error, and the receiving team thus gains the right to serve. This is a term taken from the old rules where rally points did not exist and winning the serve did not gain a point but the right to serve.
Six Pack When an attacker hits a ball into an opponent's face. Came from the early days when the attacker would owe the hit player a six-pack as an apology.
Six Two A 6-player offense using 2 setters opposite one another in the rotation. Setter 1 becomes a hitter upon rotating into the front row as setter 2 rotates into the back row and becomes the setter.
Spade An ace (slang).
Spike Also hit or attack. A ball contacted with force by a player on the offensive team who intends to terminate the ball on the opponent's floor or off the opponent's blocker. To control the ball over the net using the hand and with force.
Strong-side Hitter A left side hitter; also refers to a player hitting on the natural side - right handers hitting from the left, left handers hitting from the right.
Stuff A ball that is deflected back to the attacking team's floor by the opponent's blockers. A slang term for "block."
Switch A term used by the defensive players to signify switching the man you were 'guarding' or blocking. This is used usually when the offensive team uses complicated plays that forces the defensive team to adjust.
Tip A softer or off-speed finesse attack, usually committed with more of the fingers and fingertips than the whole hand as used in an attack.
Tool An attack which is deflected off an opponent (usually during a block) and is unplayable resulting in a point and/or side out for the attacking team.
Turning In The act of an outside blocker turning his/her body into the court so as to ensure the blocked ball is deflected into the court and lands in-bounds.
Two Touch To touch the ball twice in an illegal manner. This is usually the result of a bad set, where the player is deemed to touch the ball twice rather than in one clean movement.
Underhand Serve A serve in which the ball is given a slight under-hand toss from about waist high and then struck with the opposite closed fist in an "underhand pitching" motion.
Volleyball Volleyball is a popular sport where teams separated by a high net hit a ball back and forth between the teams. Every team is allowed three hits to get the ball over the net to the other half. A point is scored if the ball hits the opponents' court, if the opponents commit a fault, or if they fail to return the ball properly.
Weak Side When a right-handed player is hitting from right-front position or when a left-handed player is hitting from the left-front position.
Wipe When a hitter pushes the ball off of the opposing block so it lands out of bounds
Yellow Card A warning from an official indicated by the display of a yellow card. Any player or coach who receives two yellow cards in a match is disqualified. A single yellow card does not result in loss of point or serve.