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About
the sport - Volleyball
Your A-B-C of Dig, Set, Spike
Volleyball is a complex game of simple skills. A purely rebound
sport (you can't hold the ball), volleyball is a game of constant
motion. A team can touch the ball three times on its side of the
net. The usual pattern is a dig (an underarm pass made with the
forearms), a set (an overhead pass made with the hands) and a
spike (the overhead attacking shot). The ball is served into play.
Teams can also try to block the opponent's spike as it crosses
the net. A block into your own court counts as one of your three
touches in beach volleyball, but not in indoor volleyball.
Service
A serve begins each rally. A player must hit the ball with his
or her hand over the net to land inside the lines of the court.
Players may serve underarm or overarm. A popular serve is the
'jump' or 'spike' serve: the player jumps and serves the ball
while airborne. Each player gets only one chance to serve. A new
rule means the serve can now touch the net and continue into the
opponent's court. Before, a net touch on service ended the rally
and the point was awarded to the receiving team. When the serving
team loses a rally, it loses the right to serve. This is called
a "Side Out". The receiving team then rotates one position
on the court.
Dig
The 'dig' is a forearm pass that is used to control the ball and
pass it to the setter at the net. It is usually the first contact
by the team and an effective shot to use in defence, such as when
receiving a spike.
Set
The 'set' is an overhead pass used to change the direction of
the dig and put the ball in a good position for the spiker. It
is usually the team's second contact. Setting is the tactical
centre of volleyball. A setter must be good enough to keep the
big blockers from dominating the net. The setter must feed his
or her best hitters while also looking for opponent's blocking
weaknesses (such as a short player in the front line or a slow
centre blocker).
Spike
Crack! The 'spike' is when the ball is hit or smashed across the
net and into the opponents court. It is the most powerful shot
in volleyball - and the most effective way to win a rally.
Block
This is the first line of defence in volleyball. The objective
of the 'block' is to stop the spiked ball from crossing the net
or to channel the spike to defenders. The three front-court players
share blocking. The key to good blocking is penetration - the
best blockers reach well over the net and into the opponent's
court rather than reaching straight up.
Rotate!
There are six players on court in a volleyball team, who each
must rotate position (clockwise) every time their team wins back
service from the opposition. Only the three players at the net
positions can jump and spike or block near the net. The backcourt
players can only hit the ball over the net if they jump from behind
the attack line, also known as the three-metre line, which separates
the front and back part of the court. Each of the six players
on an indoor team rotates a position after winning back service
from the opponent. This is the key to the tactics of indoor volleyball
- you cannot simply keep your best blockers and spikers at the
net or your best defenders in backcourt. After serving from position
one, players rotate to position six (middle back), then position
five (left back), position four (left front), position three (middle
front) and position two (right front) before returning to serve.
A team must be in correct rotation order before the serve is put
into play. Once the ball is served, the players can move positions
but backcourt players cannot move to the net to block or spike.
They must make all attacking actions from behind the attack line.
The rotation rule explains why a setter often appears to be 'hiding'
behind his or her players before a point. The setter must be in
proper rotation order before sprinting to the net or a point is
given to the opposition.
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