Improve Volleyball Skills Using Drills Focusing on the 6 Basic Skills

To improve volleyball skills like passing, serving, setting, hitting, digging, and blocking, start by focusing on the fundamentals of each skill. Whether you are just starting out or pushing to the next level, start with the skill you want to improve most.

• Improve your passing skills
• Improve your serving skills
• Improve your setting skills
• Improve your hitting skills
• Improve your digging skills
• Improve your blocking skills

This page is for beginner to intermediate volleyball players who want to improve the six basic skills needed to make the team, earn more playing time, and compete with more confidence. It is especially helpful for middle school and high school athletes, but parents and coaches can also use it as a simple guide to the fundamentals.

These are the six most basic skills of volleyball a competitive middle or high school Vegas player needs to learn in order to make their high school team.

Let's start with serving...

Serving

What it is: Serving is the one skill in volleyball you perform completely on your own to start the rally and try to score a point. A good serve combines control, pace, and accuracy to put pressure on the other team right away.

Why it matters: Serving is your first opportunity to score without help from a teammate. A tough serve can force bad passes, disrupt the other team’s offense, and help your team score more points.

Common mistakes:

• Serving without a clear target
• Trying to hit too hard without enough control
• Inconsistent contact and ball placement from behind the service line

Tips to improve:

• Practice serving to all six zones so you can place the ball anywhere on the court
• Aim for specific targets like seams, sidelines, and deep corners
• Face your target and focus on pace plus precision instead of just power

Read the full serving guide

Learn important volleyball service rules and answers to basic let serve questions about what's legal when serving a ball from behind the service line.⁠

What's a "let" serve in volleyball?⁠

The old rules were that when a server served a ball which nicked or touched the top of the net...

If you want, you could place this right under the Serving section:

Smart Serving Targets

• Serve seams between passers
• Serve the sidelines
• Serve deep to outside hitters

Do not just serve the ball over the net and hope for the best. Practice serving with a clear target so you can put specific passers under pressure and make the other team uncomfortable.

Passing

What it is: Passing is the skill of receiving a serve or free ball and controlling it to your setter so your team can run an offense.

Why it matters: In high school and college volleyball, passing is one of the most important skills to learn because if you cannot pass consistently, it is much harder to stay on the court and help your team score.

Common mistakes:

• Breaking your arms apart during contact
• Jumping while passing instead of keeping your feet on the ground
• Waiting too long to move your feet to the ball

Tips to improve:

• Keep your thumbs pointed down to help keep your arms straight
• Keep your forearms together and angle your passing platform toward your target
• Move your feet early, get stopped, and stay low with your shoulders over your knees before contacting the ball

Read the full passing guide

Your forearms, commonly known as "your passing platform", should be angled towards the target you plan on passing the ball to. 

These three volleyball passing tips will help improve volleyball skills for passing and will make a different on how well you'll get the ball to the target

As a passer you want to avoid "jump bumping" instead if you move your midsection out of the way you can still pass the ball with your passing platform angled outside of your body line.

That's why it's important to get stopped then use the correct technique.

Don't be lazy just because it seems like an easy pass to make.

Fight to maintain good volleyball passing skill and technique. I'm guilty of committing this error when I know its an easy pass or free ball.

Especially with free balls you need to read where the ball is going to land and the quickly move your feet to that spot BEFORE the ball gets there. 

Remember to stay low and keep your shoulders over your knees as you do this...even though its an "easy free ball" doesn't mean you get to forget about using good passing technique and stand up or bend your elbows during this pass. 

You have to fight the temptation of breaking your arms apart and keep them together especially when you are passing on the move.

No matter how hard or easy the serve...keep your arms together when you pass a volleyball.

Setting

What it is: Setting is the skill of contacting the ball overhead with open hands and using your fingertips to place the ball to a teammate for an attack or, at times, over the net to catch the other team off guard.

Why it matters: A good set gives hitters better timing, better location, and a better chance to score. The more accurately you set the ball, the more consistent your team’s offense can become.

Common mistakes:

• Letting the ball get too low before contacting it
• Using stiff hands instead of soft fingertip control
• Sending inconsistent sets that are too high, too low, or off target

Tips to improve:

• Contact the ball overhead with open hands and spread fingers
• Practice setting the same type of ball repeatedly so your hitters can build timing
• Use simple ball control drills like self-setting and partner setting to improve consistency

Read the full setting guide

To set a volleyball means you contact the ball over your head using widespread open fingers to transfer the ball to a teammate in order to attack the ball or directly over the net to surprise the opposing team when attempting to score a point. 

Simple Setting Drills to Try

• Right hand jump set a two to yourself
• Left hand jump set a two to yourself
• Jump set a four set to your partner

Repeat the drill and focus on clean, controlled ball contact. You can even practice these ball control drills at home against a wall.

Repeat and have fun

• Think outside the box! Be creative with your ball control drills.

You can do this at home against a wall.

Hitting

What it is: Hitting, also called spiking, is the skill of attacking the ball with a powerful arm swing after using a three-step or four-step approach to jump and contact the ball at its highest point.

Why it matters: Hitting is one of the main ways players score points. The better your approach, timing, and ball contact, the more effective you can be at attacking open spaces and scoring against the other team.

Common mistakes:

• Using poor footwork on the spike approach
• Contacting the ball too low instead of reaching high
• Trying to hit straight through taller blockers instead of using smarter shot placement

Tips to improve:

• Practice a consistent three-step or four-step approach to build power and timing
• Work on contacting the ball at your highest reach with a strong, controlled arm swing
• Learn to hit to open spaces or off the block instead of always trying to hit straight down

Read the full hitting guide

Spiking the ball describes what happens when a volleyball player delivers a high speed attack using a powerful arm swing and a three or four step spike approach. 

These volleyball hitting spike approach tips explain the three step and four step spike approach techniques which create the power for your hitting attacks.⁠

The volleyball spike approach is a set number of steps, usually a three-step approach or a four-step approach that a player makes to gather the speed and gain forward momentum needed to get in the air to make contact with the ball at its highest point. ⁠ ⁠

When an airplane is ready for take off, it makes its approach down the runway to gather speed and velocity so that it can lift itself up in the air.⁠

Well, a player learns to do the same thing, before they can hit a ball and before they begin to initiate their volleyball spike technique.

One Hitting Tip for Shorter Players

If you are shorter than the blockers across the net, do not always try to hit straight through them. Learning how to hit off the block or place the ball to open areas can help you side out and score more points.

Simple Hitting Drill Idea

Set up a left side hitter on one side of the net and a right side blocker on the other. Have the coach toss from the setter's position. When the coach slaps the ball, the hitter transitions off the net and attacks down the line, focusing on smart contact and shot placement.

Hitting off the block is the focus of one of these hitting drills for volleyball players who're short but want to score points against taller blockers in the front row.
shorter hitters can use against taller blockers to sideout and score points.⁠

I'll set up a left side hitter on one side of the net who's competing against a right side blocker on the other side of the net. ⁠

Both players start at the net with the Coach in the setter's position ready to toss balls to the hitter who will start the drill. ⁠

Lets say the left side hitter starts first. ⁠

When Coach slaps the ball left side hitter transitions off the net and has been instructed to only hit the ball down the line.

Blocking

What it is: A volleyball block is the first opportunity at the net to defend a ball by attempting to keep an opposing hitter from hitting the ball into your court.

Why it matters: Blocking can help your team score points, slow down hard attacks, and make it easier for your back-row defenders to dig the ball. A well-timed block also takes away space from the hitter.

Common mistakes:

• Jumping too early before the hitter contacts the ball
• Keeping your hands straight up instead of pressing over the net
• Moving too slowly along the net to get in front of the attacker

Tips to improve:

• Track the setter and the hitter so you can improve your timing
• Press your hands over the net to seal more space
• Use quick footwork along the net so you can get stopped and jump in balance

Read the full blocking guide

A volleyball block is the first opportunity at the net to defend a ball by attempting to keep an opposing hitter from hitting the ball into your court. 

Digging

What it is: Digging is the skill back-row players use to keep the ball off the floor if it gets past the block. To dig a ball, a defender clasps the wrists together, points both thumbs down, and creates a platform with the forearms to redirect the ball back up in the air.

Why it matters: If your blockers cannot stop the attack at the net, your diggers need to keep the play alive. A good dig gives your team another chance to control the ball and score.

Common mistakes:

• Bending the elbows and losing a strong platform
• Letting the arms separate during contact
• Angling the platform in the wrong direction

Tips to improve:

• Keep both elbows straight by pointing your thumbs down
• Use your forearms as a flat platform to control hard-driven balls
• Angle the platform toward the area where you need the ball to go

Read the full digging guide

While its the blockers job to try and stop the ball at the net, its the responsibility of the players in the back row also known as diggers to keep the ball off the floor, if the ball happens to get past their block. 

To dig a ball while your team is in defense a back row player will clasp both wrists together placing one closed fist into the palm of the other hand and point both thumbs down to keep both elbows straight while creating a platform.

This platform becomes the flat surface used to redirect a hard hit spike or attack back up in the air angled toward the direction you need the ball to go while keeping it off the floor.   

How To Improve Volleyball Skills:
Where Do You Go From Here?

What do you need to do now? You have three options: 

1. Learn more about Serving
2. Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page  Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
3. Or visit the pages in the How to Play Volleyball section in the drop down menu at the top of the page to get started. 

If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.

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