For Fans
Brush Up on Your Volleyball Vocabulary
Ace - A serve put into play and uncontrolled by the opponents.
Attack- Directing the ball over the net into the opponent's court with the intent to score a point. Attacks occur primarily from spiking the ball but may also include tips and sometimes, bumps.
Back Row Attack - A back row player is allowed to attack the ball if both there feet are behind the 10' line when they jump and touch the ball before they land. Players who start out (When the ball is served) in the back row are not allowed to be in the front ten feet of the court (10' line) and jump above the horizontal plane of the net and put the ball into play in the opponents court.
Block - The prevention of the opposing team to place the ball into play on your side of the court. Most blocks are set when a spike is being attempted.
Bump - A method used to transfer the ball by having both arms extended, elbows straight and locked and hands together. Its a littel old-school, today its called a pass (or underhand pass).
Dig - A playable pass off the opponent's attack.
Free Ball - When a team is forced to bump or set the ball over the net. Players (On the other side of the court) yell this to try and set up for a quick attack. Usually means the blockers fall back and attempt to help the defenders to receive the ball.
Game - Also called a set. A game consists of points awarded to a team when they are able to win a rally. There is a single point awarded for every rally. The game is over when the first team reaches 25 pts and is ahead by at least 2 points. The only exception is that game five is only played to 15 points (Game three in JV and C team).
Kill - Generally refers to a spike that directly results in winning a rally.
Libero- "Le-bare-o" A defensive player distinguished from other players by a different colored jersey. Liberos cannot play the front row and are used as defensive/passing specialists.
Match - The full competition. The first team to win 3 games (in varsity or 2games in JV/C-team) is awarded the match. The minimum games that can be played is 3, the maximum is 5. There is no time limit in high school volleyball.
Point - A game consists of points awarded to a team when they are able to win a rally. There is a single point awarded to the winner of every rally.