Volleyball Serving Rules What Are The Rules When Serving A Volleyball? 

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

Learn important volleyball serving rules and answers to basic serving volleyball questions

The serve is the way the ball is launched over the net to start the rally after the ref has blown the whistle. 

Each official match must

• begin with a serve from one team on defense which
• is launched into the court of the opposing team who's receiving serve
• by a player in their service area behind the end line
• with the intent on starting the rally and possibly scoring a point

Throwing the ball over the net isn't allowed. 

Who's the server?

The server is

• the player on the team who won the right to serve based on the pre-match coin toss and who the coach has written on the lineup sheet to start in Zone 1
• the player who rotates from the right front position on the court  known as Zone 2 and goes to Zone 1 behind the service line after their team has won a rally, won the point and the right to serve

Volleyball Serving Rules: The serve is your first opportunity to score a point. The serve is the skill used to start a rally. The serve puts the ball in play once the referee blows the whistle.

If you are the server, then at the beginning of the rally, after the referee blows the whistle, you are the player standing behind the end line in the service zone, and within 8 seconds after the ref has blown the whistle, you serve the ball over the net.

If for any reason you don't complete the first serve and get a second chance to serve again...then you subsequently have five seonds to serve. 

Volleyball Serving Rules: The player who was in the right front position on the court rotates from the front row and takes the ball behind the end line in the service area zone. (Richard Yuan)

After your team wins the rally, you also win

• a point and
• the right to serve

The player who was in the right front position on the court rotates from the front row and takes the ball behind the end line in the service area zone.

The server can serve from anywhere in the service area. 

The service area boundaries are from sideline to sideline and extend behind the endlines on both ends of the court.  (See the red area in the diagram.)

Volleyball Serving Rules: The service area boundaries are from sideline to sideline and extend behind the endlines on both ends of the court. (See the red area in the diagram.)

• The server must be behind the service line until the ball has been contacted.

Follow me on Instagram @coach_apchap to improve your game even faster!

I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list. 

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The toss…for the Standing Float Serve . . . Your toss…has to be consistent. You have to learn to toss the same way, …the same height, putting the ball in the same spot…every single time. . . If you have a problem with your serve, one of the first places to look..is your toss. . . I have a formula that we use … . . …two feet up in the air and one foot in front of your front foot. . . Two feet up in the air …gives you time to rotate your hips and arm to the ball…. . . One foot in front of your front foot …gives you a specific target area to place your ball that’s in the path of your serving arm when you bring it around to contact the ball.. . . With this little formula you can check yourself ..to see if . . you are leaning over to one side to contact the ball or . . you are bringing your serving arm across your body to try and contact the ball . . If you are..then your toss is throwing you off balance. . . For the standing float serve you want to start in a balanced position and you want to finish in a balanced position. If your toss is making you do or add unnecessary body movements then you need to fix it. . . If your toss is in the right place then you should be contacting the ball ..in front of your serving shoulder with your elbow above the level of your ear.…and not outside of your body line. . . Here’s your homework..at home drill. . . Just practice your toss. Use this formula to start instilling the correct muscle memory for your toss. Today go out and do 50 tosses. Tomorrow do 60. Tuesday 70. Add 10 everyday until you do 100 tosses on your own at home. . . To get consistently better at tossing…you have to practice tossing. Just tossing. This will improve the consistency of your serve because now you know exactly where the ball will be when you contact it. . . Two feet up in the air, one foot in front of your front foot, in front of your serving arm. . . How do I know? Because I did this and it helped me improve my serve in high school and again in college. . . . Thanks Carm! . . . . . #vegasvolleyball #volleyballtraining #libero #liberolife #volleyball #volleyballplayer #vegasbabyvegas #volleyballcoach #vegaslocal #toss #serve

A post shared by Coach April (@coach_apchap) on Dec 4, 2018 at 3:05am PST

Your three options are: 

1. You can learn more about Serving by visiting the related links below.                            
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. 
4. Before leaving this page Say "Hi" to Miss Tattoo the Tiger wearing the #9 jersey below.  Miss Tattoo is the starting defensive and serving specialist for the All Beast VolleyBragSwag All Star team.

Meet Tatoo the Tiger, Serving Specialist on VolleyBragSwag's All Beast Team

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