Glossary A–Z

A serve that lands untouched or is passed so poorly that the receiving team cannot mount an attack, winning the rally immediately for the serving team.

The percentage of a player's total serves that result directly in an ace, a common measure of serving aggressiveness and effectiveness.

A flexible rod mounted above each sideline on the net; a ball that crosses outside the antennae is ruled out even if it would have landed in bounds.

A back-row player may attack a ball above net height only by jumping from a takeoff behind the three-meter attack line.

Front-row players jump to stop an attack at the net; a block that is driven straight down for an immediate point is often called a roof or a stuff block.

Statistical credit given to a blocker who contributes to a block that ends in a point, typically when two or more blockers touch the same attack.

An underhand forearm pass, typically a team's first contact against a serve or a hard-driven attack.

The common shorthand for volleyball's default rally pattern: a forearm pass, an overhead set, and an attacking hit.

The tied score late in a set — such as 24-24 — after which play continues until one team leads by two points.

A defensive contact that keeps a hard-driven attack alive, most often played with a low forearm platform or, in an emergency, a pancake.

A rate stat measuring how often a defender successfully keeps an attacked ball in play relative to total defensive opportunities.

A fault where one player touches the ball twice in a row, except on a team's permitted first contact against a hard-driven ball.

One dedicated setter plays every rotation, giving the team three front-row attackers whenever the setter is in the back row.

A serve struck with no spin, which makes the ball wobble and dip unpredictably as it crosses the net, making it hard to pass cleanly.

A fault called when a team contacts the ball a fourth time without it crossing back over the net; a block does not count toward the three-touch limit.

A ball returned over the net without an aggressive attack, usually because the sending team could not set up a real attack — an opportunity for the receiving team's defense to reset to base positioning.

A more complete attacking metric than kill percentage, calculated as kills minus attacking errors divided by total attempts, to capture both power and consistency.

A high-power serve hit like an attack, with a running approach and a jump, trading some consistency for extra speed and a steeper angle.

A hybrid serve that adds an approach step or small jump to a standard float serve's spin-free contact, gaining pace while keeping the unpredictable float movement.

Any attacking hit — a spike, tip or roll shot — that lands for an immediate point, whether untouched or after deflecting off a blocker.

The percentage of a player's total attack attempts that result directly in a kill, a basic measure of attacking productivity.

A defense-only position that substitutes freely for back-row players but can never attack the ball above the net or block.

The scoring table's record of every libero replacement during a match, kept separately from a team's regular substitution count.

The point, in the final set a team needs to win, at which scoring the next rally ends the match outright.

A play where the first-contact pass is too far off target for a team's normal offensive pattern, forcing the setter and hitters to improvise.

A fault called when a player is not correctly positioned relative to their immediate rotational neighbors at the instant the ball is served.

A last-instant defensive save where a player slides a flat, open hand under a ball about to hit the floor, popping it back into play.

A legal back-row attack hit from behind the attack line at the middle of the court, adding a fourth attacking option beyond the three front-row hitters.

A low, fast set delivered so close to the setter's release that the hitter is already airborne when the ball leaves the setter's hands, aimed at beating the block.

The sequence of contacts, from the serve to the moment the ball is grounded or a fault is called, that decides a single point.

The modern scoring system, adopted by the FIVB in 1999, in which every rally produces a point for whichever team wins it.

Whenever a team wins the right to serve, its six players rotate one position clockwise before the next serve.

A precise, usually fingertip overhead touch that places the ball for a teammate's attack; a set that leads directly to a kill is recorded as an assist.

A surprise attack where the setter, instead of setting a teammate, tips or hits the ball over the net on the second contact.

The moment a team wins a rally on the opponent's serve, earning the right to serve next — the central mechanic of the older side-out scoring system, and still the term for changing service in rally scoring.

The scoring system used before 1999, under which winning a rally while receiving serve only earned the right to serve next, not a point.

Two players share setting duties, each setting only when rotated into the back row, so the team always has three front-row attackers.

A fast-tempo attack, usually run by a middle blocker, approached from a lateral angle rather than straight up, stretching the block wider along the net.

An attack struck with a full jump and arm swing, driving the ball sharply downward into the opponent's court.

A match won without losing a single set — for example, 3-0 in indoor volleyball or 2-0 in beach volleyball.