LSC: Basic Skills of Volleyball Senior One

Basic Skills of Volleyball

Introduction

Volleyball is a ball game played by two teams by hitting the ball to and fro over the net using hands. Each team consists of six (6) players on court. The play area is 18 m in length and 9 m in width. The two teams are separated from each other by a raised net at the centre of court. The players of each team aim at grounding the ball in the other team’s part of the court over the net, a major way of accumulating points in order to win the game.

The volleyball Court

This game is played on a court illustrated

Improvisation for Volleyball

When you are to play volleyball, you need to have a ball, a net and some strong poles that you will hang the net on. All these can be got from the sports shops spread all over the country.

Nevertheless, you can also make the volleyball accessories from local materials in order to play the game.

Safety Precautions while Playing Volleyball

i) Ensure proper warm-up before playing.

ii) Perform only those skills and techniques as instructed by your coach.

iii) Be sure all equipment, especially shoes, is fitting properly before play.

iv) Remove all jewellery and metal hair fasteners and other body ornaments.

v) Be aware of your surroundings both home and away including but not limited to surface conditions or obstruction around the volleyball court.

vi) Notify the coach immediately if injured.

Basic Skills used in Volleyball

In order to play volleyball, you will need to be able to perform the following basic skills or techniques:

i) serving,

ii) service reception

iii) digging

iv) volleying

v) setting

Performing volleyball skills/techniques

Serving

There are two ways of performing a serve: using the under arm or the overhead methods.

Both methods require that you:

i) have a stable stance on the right-hand corner of the court.

ii) ensure that you are out of the backline of the court.

iii) place the ball in one hand.

iv) toss the ball and hit it with the other hand.

v) direct the ball to go over the net to the other court area.

vi) follow through and enter the court area.

In order to perform the overhead service:

• have a stable stance on the right-hand corner of the court.
• ensure that you are out of the backline of the court.
• place the ball in one hand.
• toss the ball high above the head.
• strike the ball with the other hand as shown in the figure below.
• direct the ball to go over the net to the other court area.
• follow through and enter the court area.

Together with your peers and under the guidance of the teacher, you will perform different techniques that will help you to perfect serving of the ball.

1. Serve reception: Dig Pass and Volley Pass

When the ball has been served in volleyball, the other player to whom the ball is directed has to receive that ball and pass it on to other teammates or back to the other side of the court. This is done by using either a dig pass or a volley pass. Players of both teams have to make sure that the ball does not land down in their part of the court.

You can practise the reception/passing techniques as follows:

A Dig Pass

This technique is used to receive and play low balls. Such balls could be from the opponent’s side or from a teammate.

How to perform a dig pass:

• put one hand up.
• lay the other hand up on top of it.
• then bend your hand/fingers so it looks as if you are holding water in your hand.
• put your thumbs next to each other, sitting on top.
• receive the ball on the flat part.

The different ways of placing the hands for reception or dig pass include the following:

i) Make a fist with your left-hand, while placing the knuckles to the right. Lay your thumb on top. Put your left-hand around the fist, knuckles to the left. Put that thumb on top right next to the other thumb.

ii) Put palm on palm and put the bottom hands thumb over top palm. With palms facing up, bend them back so they bring your arms straight and together. Using that flat surface on your arm, you can manoeuvre the ball more easily to where you need to be changing angle and direction.

iii) In whichever position, your arms need to be level with your shoulders, laterally jutting out from them at about 80 degrees from the floor.

Together with the teacher you will perform various drills to help you master the dig pass.

The Volley Pass

This is another technique in volleyball used to play and receive high balls.

How to Perform a Volley Pass

i) Make sure the ball is coming down towards your forehead.

ii) Get in position and extend your arms up above your head.

iii) Position your hands to fit the size of the coming ball.

iv) Position your feet and flex your knees slightly.

v) Then perform the volley pass.

You and your peers will be helped by the teacher to perfect the skill of volleying through

regular practise.

Basic Attack and Defence: Setting, Spiking and Blocking

For a team to win a game of volleyball, it must accumulate points. At the same time the team must ensure that the opposing team does not accumulate points. Therefore when a team accumulates points, it is considered to be on the attack while when the team limits the opposing team to accumulate points it is considered to be on the defence.

a) Setting

This is a technique similar to the volley pass. But here a player receives a teammate’s pass in order that the play may continue by passing the ball overhead to an attacker.

b) Spiking

This is the technique of striking the ball sharply over the net into the opponent’s court with the aim of getting a point. This comes after the ball had been set.

Performing volleyball basic attack and defence

How to Spike

i) Make a stride approach to take off position

ii) Take off with both legs and arch your back with the hitting arm swung backwards over the head.

iii) Hit the ball with one hand over the net into the opponent’s court and land on the balls of your feet.

Include many different drills with the guidance of your teacher to perfect your spike.

Blocking

This a technique is used to stop the ball from crossing the net as a result of an opponent’s attack. It is done by the three front court players close to the net occupying positions 2, 3 and 4. These players stop the ball from crossing into their own part of the court by jumping vertically upwards with their arms raised in the path of the incoming ball.

How to Block

a) Get into the ready position and stand with your feet shoulder-width apart.

b) Keep your arms high

c) Keep your palms facing the net

d) Stay a half arm’s length away from the net

Note: One, two or all the three front court players can be involved in the blocking of the ball.

It demands for a lot of practice if you are to master blocking. Together with your peers, the teacher will guide you in such practice drills.

Game situation

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Basic court playing positions and Rotation

The picture below shows the 6 volleyball players in their playing positions at the start of the game.

The game of volleyball is initiated with a serve and all players must be in their playing positions. If the team that was serving lose the right to serve, then the opposing team will take on the serve. This will require the players of that team to move into the next playing position clockwise before serving the ball. A condition called ROTATION as shown in Fig.108 below.

Note: Player in position 1 moves to the next playing position clockwise which is 6. This will

push clockwise all other players into the next playing position until the player who was in

position 2 ends up in position 1.

Initiating Play: Under Arm and Overhead Serve

We have already discussed the process of rotation in the game of volleyball. This only occurs when the game is in action. Game action is started with a serve. And every time a team scores a point or a fault is made, play is restarted with a serve.

The serve is performed by the player occupying position 1. This is the right-hand backcourt player. The serve is performed from outside the court and strictly behind the backline of the court. Here the serving player hits the ball with one hand over the net into the opponent’s part of the court.

Basic rules of volleyball

The game of volleyball is governed by international rules. These are set up by the international governing body of the game (FIVB). These rules are regularly amended to suit the situation of the present. Below are some of the basic rules of the game:

i)Server must serve from behind the end line until after contact.

ii) Ball may be served underhand or overhand.

iii) Ball must be clearly visible to opponents before the serve.

iv) Served ball may graze the net and drop to the other side for point.

v) Team will rotate each time they win the serve.

vi) Players shall rotate in a clockwise manner.

vii) There shall be 4 – 6 players on each side.

viii) Maximum of three hits per side is permitted.

ix) A player may not hit the ball twice in succession.

x) A player must not block or attack a serve.

xi) The net should not be touched during play.

xii) Players are not allowed to cross onto the opponent’s part of the court.