Volleyball Terms

Basics

Serve – the first contact on the ball, done behind the endline, that ultimately starts a play

Pass – can be either a forearm pass (bump) or an overhead pass (in which the motion is like setting)

Set – when a ball is put up in a certain spot for a hitter to take a hit

Hit – more popularly known as a “spike”, but also encompasses downballing (“spiking” from the ground, instead of jumping)

Setter – the player who is designated to set up hitters

Outside Hitter – the player who hits from the left front/left antenna part of the court

Right Side/Opposite – the player who hits from the right side (also known as the opposite end)/right antenna of the court

Middle – the player who normally hits from the center area of the net (but it’s a little more complicated than that); typically the best blocker on the team.

Libero – a player who strictly plays back row defense; the best passer on the team, no question; doesn’t count as a sub, and always, always, ALWAYS comes onto the court behind the three meter line; wears a different colored jersey from the rest of the team to distinguish when they are coming on and off the court

Defensive Specialist – a player who plays strictly back row defense, second to the libero in defensive skills, and is a normal sub (key point)

Tip – a soft touch or push of the ball with the finger pads, normally used to fake out an opposing block and drop the ball into an open area.

Block – to jump with hands pressed over the net when an opposing team’s hitter is swinging/taking a hit to prevent it from coming over to the other side of the net

Target Area – for passers, normally this is the spot between the middle and right side hitters where the setter will come to set.

Volleyball is normally played with sets to 25, win by 2 (meaning a team may not win 25-24; they would have to win 26-24 or 30-28, etc…).  At the club level, volleyball is normally best 2 out of 3 sets, although in American (USA) varsity volleyball, and at the international level, volleyball is best 3 out of 5 matches, with the last match in both forms of play being to 15 points, still win by two.

Note that if a player is back row, they are not allowed to jump inside the three-meter line to hit the ball; they may land inside the line after jumping, but must leave the ground back row.  Otherwise, the attack is counted as a foot-fault and is given to point is given to the other team.

Jargon

Tipping Line – a tip at any point of the sideline from which a hitter is taking a swing/trying to hit

Block Touch – when the player blocking manages to touch the ball, but does not completely stuff the ball

Stuff – also known as a roof, a block that drops back down to the floor on the side of the team whose hitter was taking a swing

Perfect Pass – a pass, either forearm or overhead, that is above the setter’s head and makes it to the target area.

Base Defense – when a player is back row, the position back row that they are supposed to defend every single play (ex: if a team decides that the libero should play middle back, then the libero will always switch into middle back regardless of where in the back row rotation they start).

Hitting Line – hitting down the sideline from which a hitter is jumping to take a swing/hit

Hitting Cross – not hitting line, normally shooting for the back corner or the part of the court between middle back and left back on the opposite side of the court

Hitting Sharp Cross – hitting at a sharp angle that results in the ball landing either just behind or inside the three meter (ten foot) line.

Dump – when the setter puts the ball over on the second contact instead of setting up a hitter (can be either from the ground or in the air, but is normally more effective in the air at higher levels)

One on One Opportunity – when a setter tricks the middle blocker on the other team into thinking the set was going to a different place, thereby resulting in only one blocker on whoever the setter chooses to set up for a hit.

Transitioning – can mean a number of things depending on whether a player is playing back row or front row; when front row, it means coming away from the net – either after blocking or to play defense inside the three meter line – to get ready to take an approach for a swing. When front row, it can also mean getting to where the other team's hitter is going to hit from to block  When back row, it means backing up from base defense to play farther back row to dig a hit.

Dig – passing up a hard driven ball (hit/spike)

Serving Order – the order, numbered 1-6, in which a player is supposed to serve.

Rotation – the way in which players maneuver themselves around the court before the ball is contacted on the serve so that they may play their optimal position without being out of proper serving order (for which they can lose a point to the other team).

Jump Setting – jumping before making contact to set, as a way of tricking the other team’s middle blocker into thinking the setter is going to dump instead of set, resulting in a one-on-one opportunity (note that jump setting does not always result in a one on one opportunity, as players keep track of when the setter is technically back-row and therefore cannot jump to dump the ball)

Float Serve – a serve where the ball is contacted extremely flat, and there is no follow through, so that the serve curves like a knuckleball in the air, making it slower but harder to pass than a topspin serve.

Topspin Serve – a serve where the ball is contacted as high as possible to put as much spin as possible, making it drop faster and ultimately more powerful than a float serve (though it is usually easier to pass).

Plays

*It is important to note that many plays can go by different names on different teams, even if it is ultimately the same play.  The way I have written them down below is based on my experience playing and coaching, and the plays may have different names for other players or coaches.

Slide – a middle attack that does not actually occur at the center of the net; the setter will set as if setting right side and the middle will take an approach similar to a layup in basketball, ultimately chasing the set and jumping off of the left leg to take a swing.

1 – a quick set to the middle. Contrary to popular belief, this is where a middle follows the setter based on the pass; therefore, if the setter is running away from the target area, but is still on the net, the middle will transition off, watch the pass, and follow the setter for the quick swing.

31 – a quick set three feet (about a meter) away from the middle area of the net, normally between the right side and middle blockers of the opposing team, where a middle hitter will rapidly approach and take a swing before the block has time to form.

4– a normal set to the outside

Shoot (set) – a quick set for the outside; an outside quick (like a 4, but lower and faster)

Shoot (attack) – where a person pushes the ball with two hands to a particular spot on the opposing team’s side of the court (normally deep corners)

32 – a set three feet (about a meter away) from the middle of the net, but at a normal height, where the outside hitter will come further into the court and take a swing.

5/Back 3 – a normal set to right side

A – a set right on top of the three meter (ten foot) line for the player playing left back to swing out of the back row

Pipe – a set right on the three meter (ten foot) line for the player playing middle back to swing out of back row

C – a set right on top of the three meter (ten foot) line for the player playing right back to swing out of the back row

BIC – short for Back Row Quick (not so clear on the abbreviation), a pipe set where the set is a little lower, forcing the hitter to take a faster approach and thereby making the play itself a “quick” out of the back row.

Cross Tandem – the play that Chanyeol and Wonshik carry out during the championship match, where Chanyeol goes for the slide and Wonshik comes around for the attack in the middle (note that the video shows the middle going for a 1, but it can also be performed with the middle going for a slide; also note that this is the right tandem attack, there is also a left tandem attack.

Hey y'all! Sorry this took so long, but I hope this answers any questions you may have about the more technical side of this fic haha. If you're still confused on a few things, please shoot me a message and I'll do my best to clarify.  I tried to include as many videos as possible and I highly recommend watching them all for visual reference; they're set to start at the particular attack/word I'm defining, but they are mostly longer videos that have some pretty good volleyball throughout so if you have time and or are bored, you should watch them fully. They're pretty badass, imo).

Also, I just wanna take this time to thank y'all so much for reading and showing love. It's been so great reading your comments.  I've been considering doing a [cough ty cough] sequel to this for more dumb&dumber TaeKai (also TaeKai because I am a sinner), but I figure I'll ask you guys if this is something you'd actually want, so just let me know what you think of the idea and I'll decide from there.

Again, thanks so much for reading and commenting and upvoting! Y'all are the best!

Con MUCHO Cariño,
K