Basic Volleyball Moves for Beginners to Master

One of the most popular summer games played across beaches and indoor gyms worldwide is volleyball. Requiring expert teamwork, precision moves, strategy, and quick reactions, volleyball gives players a unique challenge every time they take the court. 

Volleyball is easy to pick up and play but increasingly difficult to master. Whether you’re playing with friends or trying to play in a more competitive space, you want to have a grasp of the fundamentals before your next game. Mastering some of the basic moves can help you prepare for higher levels of competition and unlock your potential. 

Now that you have a brand-new indoor volleyball net system, you want to be able to play the game effectively. We’ll break down some of the moves every volleyball player should have in their repertoire, how to utilize them during game situations, and tips to master them. The following are some of the moves that will help you during your next volleyball game.

Standing Float Serve

The standing float serve represents one of the most oft-used moves in volleyball. This move is often the first serve that players learn how to make when they first start playing the game. By mastering this serve, you offer the versatility to start on the backline and get the action started with the initial serve. 

Let’s break down how to execute the standing float serve — Stand with your non-hitting foot in front of the other foot. Hold the ball in front of you with your non-hitting hand. Take a step forward with your non-hitting foot, and at the same time, toss the ball up about two feet in the air in front of you. Then take a step with your hitting foot, and hit the ball with the heel of your hand, without jumping.

Jump Float

While the standing float serve gives you a baseline to start any match, you still want to have something in your back pocket to give your team an edge. A slightly more advanced technique provides the server with a better angle to attack the opposing team’s defense and potentially get a jump on scoring. 

Set with both hands on the ball and take a step with your non-hitting foot. Then toss the ball up in front of you about two feet in the air, take two more steps, leave the ground with your non-hitting foot (the second time you land on it), and hit the ball at its highest point.

Underhand Serve

Sometimes you need to ease yourself into the more advanced volleyball serving techniques. The easiest serve to learn and master for volleyball beginners is the underhand serve. Easy to learn and start the game off with, the underhand serve has been used by new players for years and will continue to act as an accessible entry point to serving. 

Here are the basics of this classic move for players looking to learn the ins and outs of the underhand serve: hold the ball with your non-hitting hand. Put your non-hitting foot in front of the other and then strike the ball with your hitting hand, dropping the ball slightly before contact is made.

Overhand Serve

A step up in difficulty from the underhand serve, the overhand remains best saved for players that have mastered the underhand serve and are looking for the next challenge. It’s a serve that relies on power, timing, and hand-eye coordination to pull off successfully. Patience is required for players looking to shift from the underhand serve to something more challenging. 

Hold the ball with your non-hitting hand straight out in front of you. Toss the ball up about 2 feet in the air, and hit the ball just after it starts to come back down to the ground with the heel of your hitting hand to create a float serve. 

The basic overhand serve does not require you to jump. You can jump when you do some serves, but first, get comfortable with the basic overhand serve. After you serve, it is a good idea to use the momentum of your spike to run to your position on defense.

Standing Topspin Serve

Now that you have mastered the basic serving techniques, you want to incorporate different spin forms to your strikes to give your team a competitive advantage. Skilled players can add topspin to their serves and make them slightly more unpredictable to track by the opposing team. These moves tend to prove more technical and require a grasp of the fundamentals before you dive headlong into breaking these moves out in-game. 

This is a good serve to master when trying to learn the jump topspin. Stand feet shoulder-width apart, hold the ball with your hitting hand, and toss it straight up without bending your elbow. Wait for the ball to come back down to you, and without jumping, hit the ball with your hitting hand.

Jump Topspin

The jump topspin serve is not basic but has quickly become a highly-utilized serve. Taking the basics learned when you mastered the standing topspin serve, the jump topspin gives you a more advanced move to use in-game.

Players run and jump before you strike the ball. Stand with your hitting foot forward and hold the ball with your hitting hand. Toss the ball up in the air just like you do in a Standing Top Spin Serve, but more out in front of you so that you can take two more quick steps, and then jump up and meet the ball in the air before hitting it with the heel of your hand.

Master the Basics and Get Your New Nets From Cobra Net Systems!

These moves are some of the basics that beginners can use to help advance them into the next stage of playing the wonderful game of volleyball. Now that you have mastered the basics, you can learn more advanced techniques and take your game to the next level. 

With that commitment to playing and evolving your game, you need to ensure that you have the tools to practice your new skills. Cobra Net Systems has provided our customers with the best long-lasting indoor and outdoor volleyball net systems since 1992. Browse our online inventory and find the volleyball net solution that works best for your needs today!