Volleyball Glossary

A beginner’s guide

The positions:

The hitters - The basic attack features the three front-row players as hitters - two outside hitters and one middle hitter.

Strongside hitter - The designation usually given to the outside hitter on the left side. It’s called the strong side because, most players being right-handed, the player has her best chance to hit hard cross-court or hard down the sideline, slightly across her body. It is much more difficult to hit hard down the line without hitting across your body.

Weakside hitter - Usually the outside hitter on the right side, where right-handers have more trouble hitting down the sideline. Most left-handed hitters will hit from the right side because it is their strong side, where the shot down the sideline is more of a weapon.

Middle blocker/middle hitter - Refers to the player in the middle of the front row. It is the primary blocking position, with the player expected to block in the middle or to either side, depending on the opponent’s set. On offense, the middle hitter can be a useful decoy, running fake hits to keep the opponent’s middle blocker from getting to the outside. When the middle hitter receives a set, it is usually a quicker, lower set in an attempt to surprise the defense.

Defensive specialist - Refers to a player used almost exclusively as a back-row player to concentrate on digging and passing serve.

Setter - At this level, the setter is usually one designated player. She can always act as the setter, regardless of where the rotation has her at the start of the play. When the rotation has her in the front row, she can also block or hit. When the rotation puts her in the back row, she is free to approach the net to make her set, but cannot attack or block.

Statistics

Ace - A serve that either lands in play without being touched or is played so poorly that the sideout or point is considered a direct result of the serve.

Attack percentage - Volleyball’s statistical equivalent to a baseball player’s batting average; or, in football, a quarterback’s efficiency rating. It attempts to measure how successful a hitter is in comparison to what is available. To derive the attack percentage, subtract the number of hitting errors from the number of kills, then divide by the number of attempts.

Like a baseball player’s average, .250 is considered moderately successful, .300 is pretty much all-star status and .400 or better as Hall of Fame material. For example, Nique Crimp of Long Beach State led the nation at .446 this season.

About the court

Antenna - The red-and-white striped pole that is attached to the top of the net at either side. When the ball passes across the net it must do so between the antennae. If the ball hits an antenna, or passes to the outside, it is out of play.

Lines - Like tennis, lines are in.

Service area - a recent rules change allows the server to serve from anywhere behind the back line. Previously, the service area was limited to a portion of the right side behind the back line.

Ten-foot line - Actually, it’s the three-meter line, but close enough. The area parallel to and 3 meters from the net is marked off on each side. Only front-row players can attack or block from in front of the line. Any player can attack (attempt a kill) from behind the line. A back-row attack can be a good surprise tactic and a good way to keep the defense from concentrating too much on blocking the front-row hitters. It also helps the offense when the rotation places its best hitters in the back row.

Understanding the officials

As in most any other sport, volleyball officials have hand signals that show what call they are making. The official on the ladder at the net is the leader and shows the call on every play.

Double hit - Indicated simply by raising two fingers.

Lift - The official shows one hand in front, palm facing upward.

Net violation - When a player touches the net, the violation is indicated simply by placing a hand along the top of the net.

Point - The same signal as sideout, but one finger raised in the air indicates a point has been scored.

Red card - Given by the official to a player or coach for flagrant misconduct, resulting in automatic ejection from the match.

Sideout - The official will point to the floor on the side of the court where the ball has hit the ground. With the other hand, palm up, he points to the side that will now serve.

Touch - When a ball is touched by a blocker and goes out of bounds, the ref makes a swiping motion, with the fingers of one hand swiping across the fingers of the other hand.

Yellow card - Given by the official to a player or coach as a warning of misconduct; ejection from the match occurs after accumulating two yellow cards.

, DataTimes