You land a hard serve. The ball goes straight to a well-positioned passer, the set is comfortable and the opponent attacks with its options organised. On the next attempt, you push harder and send it out.
Before trying to add more force again, look at the target. What did you want to cause in reception? Did the serve move the passer? Change the setter’s conditions? Or simply travel quickly to an area the opponent was already prepared to cover?
Serving needs execution and intention. It is not just hitting hard. You choose where to create difficulty, then look at what that ball produced in reception.
Where to start: serve types, control, choosing the target, training or the next action.
What are the main types of volleyball serve?
The names used in training mix the way the action is performed with the ball’s behaviour. A useful distinction is whether the serve is made with feet on the floor or in a jump, and whether the ball leaves with spin or little spin.
Underarm serve: a possible starting point
The underarm serve can help someone still learning to put the ball into play. Contact occurs below shoulder level, with the arm moving from below towards the front.
The initial aim is to build a controlled action that clears the net and reaches the court. If the player has to dismantle the whole movement to gain distance, the coach can adjust the task during learning. That adjustment to the drill does not change the permitted serving location in a match.
Do not treat this stage as punishment for someone who cannot yet serve overarm. It can let the player participate and understand direction, contact and target while developing other options.
Float serve: contact with little spin
A float serve aims for a ball with little spin that can vary in trajectory. It can be executed with feet on the floor or in a jump. Jumping alone does not turn a serve into a topspin jump serve.
Consistent contact matters before adding distance, direction or a more elaborate routine. USA Volleyball highlights this when teaching the jump float serve: controlling the meeting of hand and ball provides a foundation for varying the execution.
If the ball spins differently on every attempt, observe the toss and contact point. Without relatively repeatable preparation, it is hard to discover which adjustment produced the result.
Topspin jump serve: spin and airborne execution
The topspin jump serve usually combines a toss, approach, jump and attacking contact, with forward spin. It requires coordination between these stages.
A learner may hit one very powerful attempt but be unable to repeat the meeting with the ball. In that case, trying to copy an experienced player’s speed increases the challenge before the foundations of execution are organised.
The choice should not be based only on which serve looks most impressive. Look at what you can put into play, direct and repeat in the situation you are practising.
| Execution | What to observe first | Common assessment difficulty |
|---|---|---|
| Underarm | Enough contact and direction to clear the net | Measuring only distance and forgetting the target |
| Standing float | Toss and contact with little spin | Calling any weak serve a float serve |
| Jump float | Repeating the meeting with the ball during the jump | Lengthening the approach before controlling contact |
| Topspin jump serve | Coordination between toss, approach and striking the ball | Judging quality by one powerful serve |
Before increasing force, stabilise what comes before contact
Choose one execution and observe a few attempts without changing everything. Does the toss go to a similar area? Do you meet the ball at the planned moment? Does your body finish the movement with enough control to enter the court?
If the toss is too far forwards on one attempt and too far behind on the next, every serve becomes a different correction. You may think the problem is hand direction when you already started by trying to reach a ball outside your preparation.
Example: the float serve comes out differently each time
Imagine you have chosen the back court as your target. On one attempt, the toss is behind and you have to reach for the ball; on the next, it drifts forwards. Both balls come off spinning, but in different ways. Simply asking for a “cleaner hit” does not clarify what happened before contact.
Keep the target and reduce variations in preparation. Observe where the toss arrives and which part of the ball meets the hand. Compare attempts with similar preparation before changing direction or adding more speed. The criterion is repeating the contact with little spin, not landing one serve by chance.
If spin continues even with a more stable toss, observation shifts towards contact. If the meeting stays consistent and direction improves, add another depth and see whether control remains.
Use the target to notice the difference
Mark a broad area in the opponent’s back court. The target needs to be visible, but not so small that every attempt looks like failure. Observe whether serves cluster near it or scatter without a recognisable pattern.
Only then try a change: direction, depth or intensity. If you change all three at once, you lose the comparison.
Separate the drill from serving in a match
In a drill, the coach can reduce a difficulty to make contact understandable. In a match, you need to serve from the correct zone and respect the authorisation, order and execution time.
In a jump serve, pay particular attention to the take-off point. Landing further forwards is different from stepping on the end line as you take off. See the details in the volleyball rules guide.
A serve you control lets you choose. A serve you are only trying to land leaves little room to adjust.
How to choose where to serve
Start by observing the opponent’s formation. Where are the passers? Who will receive and then attack? Is there an area where responsibility between two players looks less clear?
These observations form hypotheses. The next serve helps check whether they make sense. A seam between passers may create doubt in one team and be handled very well by another.
Short and deep serves trigger different movements
A short serve can force a passer forwards. A deep serve can make them move backwards. The choice matters for its effect on the organisation, not for the name of the zone hit.
In Ricardinho and Fernanda’s work, serving varies in direction and depth and connects to defensive positioning. The serve does not end when the ball crosses the net. The opponent will respond, and you need to move into defence.
If the passer leaves reception and needs to attack, watch how much time they have to reorganise. But do not conclude that every short serve eliminates that hitter. A well-prepared team can solve the movement and keep the option.
Serving at a hitter does not guarantee taking them out of the game
There is a difference between targeting a player and actually limiting their involvement. They may receive well and remain available. They may also receive a difficult ball and the setter find another solution.
Ricardinho examines this problem from the other side in P4: if the opponent keeps targeting the outside hitter and they cannot receive and return to attack in that situation, the setter needs to adjust the options. Insisting on the same pattern just because it was the plan before the serve does not solve it.
For the server, the lesson is to observe the opponent’s adjustment. A target that worked early in the set may lose its effect after a change in reception.
How to assess whether the serve is helping
Record more than success and error. They matter, but do not show the full consequence of the ball that went in.
A simple training classification can separate: error; serve in play with comfortable reception; displaced reception with build-up still possible; and reception that leaves few alternatives. These are observation categories proposed for the task, not an official performance scale.
Use the same definition throughout the session. If each person calls a different ball a “disrupted pass”, the records stop being comparable.
Also consider your own team. Serving pressure that favours a particular blocking organisation needs to be agreed with those who will carry it out. The aim is not to collect aggressive attempts disconnected from defence.
Hitting the target is one piece of information. What the opponent can do afterwards is another.
A training sequence to test direction and effect
This is one possible structure for a coach to adapt, without a compulsory number of repetitions.
- Control without reception: choose a serve type and a broad area. Record where the ball arrives and whether preparation stays consistent.
- Target variation: keep the execution and change only direction or depth. Compare control between the situations.
- Adding passers: observe the reception produced. A ball on target may be comfortable; another close to it may demand more movement.
- Continuity: add the opponent’s set and attack, with the serving team organised to defend.
- Decision: let the server choose between two agreed alternatives and ask them to explain what they observed before choosing.
If execution breaks down completely at the third stage, return to a simpler condition. If you have control but the choice remains automatic, the next challenge may be reading the formation, not serving harder.
Served? Now take part in defence
After serving, you need to take on the defensive responsibility assigned to that rotation. The route depends on the team’s organisation; there is no universal order for everyone to run to the same square.
In Ricardinho and Fernanda’s work, the sequence can move from serving to positioning, defence and setting. If the setter digs, someone needs to take the second ball. It is in this context of continuity that Ricardinho uses the expression every player is a setter.
Practising only the contact and stopping to assess the serve can be useful at one stage. At another, you need to let the rally continue. That way you see whether you can execute, enter the court and take part in the opponent’s response. The volleyball training guide develops this transition from the action to the play.
FAQ — questions about serving in volleyball
Can the serve touch the net?
Yes, provided the ball crosses legally into the opponent’s court. Net contact does not require an automatic replay. If the ball does not cross, lands out or involves another fault, the outcome depends on that situation, not simply on brushing the tape.
Can I serve from anywhere behind the court?
Not anywhere: you must respect the service zone, behind the end line and within its side boundaries. You can vary your position within that zone. This changes the angle towards the targets, but does not remove the need to respect the line and boundaries at execution.
Is there an ideal error percentage for every player?
There is no single figure in this guide. Assessment depends on level, execution, difficulty created and strategy. Without tracking those conditions, copying another team’s rate produces an unhelpful target. First build your own record; then discuss with your coach which risk makes sense for that task and match.
Sources and references
- USA Volleyball — Five Keys to a Wicked Jump Float Serve: contact consistency and development of the jump float serve.
- FIVB — Official Rules 2025–2028: service zone and execution, particularly rules 1.4.2 and 12.
