Volleyball Jargon - General Terms

General Terms

• Ace : A serve which lands in the receiving team's court without being touched by the receiving team, or one that is touched by only one member of the receiving team, and is not passed legally back over the net.
• Assist : Usually the second of a teams three contacts, an assist is awarded for any set ball that results in a kill on the ensuing attack.
• Attack : Usually the third of a teams three contacts, an attack is any attempt by the offense to score a point against the defense (this does not include free balls or over-passes).
• Cut / Cut shot : attack with an extreme angle (nearly parallel to the net).
• Dig : A defensive contact following an opponent's attack resulting in a playable ball.
• Double contact / Double : A fault in which a player contacts the ball with two body parts consecutively.
• D.S. : The abbreviation for "defensive specialist", a position player similar to the libero.
• Dump : A surprise attack usually executed by a front row setter to catch the defense off guard; many times executed with the left hand, sometimes with the right, aimed at the donut or area 4 on the court.
• Five-One : Six player offensive system where a single designated setter sets regardless of court position. He or she is responsible for the second touch on every reception of serve, and ideally every defensive play.
• Free ball : A ball that is passed over the net because an attack wasn't possible.
• Four-Two : Six player offense where there are two designated setters and the front row setter sets.
• Joust : when the ball is falling directly on top of the net, two opposing players jump and push against the ball, trying to push it onto the other's side.
• Kill : successful, legal, point-scoring spike attack.
• Mis-hit : A hit in which a player swings but does not contact the ball as intended, giving it a different speed, direction, and spin than the player intended.
• On-Two : When the player making the second contact on the ball decides to play the ball over the net instead of setting up his or her team mate. Most often used in court volleyball by the setter, it is often called a 'setter dump' or a 'turn and burn', but on the beach it is colloquially referred to as an 'on-two'.
• One-Two-Two Coverage : Attack coverage system where one player covers directly under the block, two players cover 1-3 meters away, and two players cover 4-5 meters away.
• Pepper : A drill in which players hit a ball back and forth in a pass, set, spike, pass, set, spike, etc. pattern, without a net.
• Seam : When serving, the spot between passers; when attacking, the spot between blockers.
• Set : The setter, located in the center front, hits the ball high above the net so that a spiker can spike it across. The setter always takes the second hit, if possible.
• Shank : When a player unintentionally passes a ball in a wild manner, rendering it unplayable to his or her teammates.
• Shot : An offensive play in which a set ball, rather than being spiked hard, is directed to an open area of the court.
• Side out : When the team that served the ball loses the rally, causing the other team to serve the next point.
• Six-Two : Six player offense where there are two designated setters and the back row setter sets. Called six-two because there are two setters and six other players (two outsides, two middle hitters, and two right-side hitters)
• Six-back : Defensive system where the player in 'six' (the middle position in the back-court) plays deep in the court covering attacks through the seam in the block, attacks over top of the block, and attacks that go high off the block. With certain blocking schemes the player in 'six' might also be responsible for deep line roll shots.
• Six-up : Defensive system where the player in 'six' (the middle position in the back-court) plays up behind the block with the responsibility of defending against a tip attack.
• Six-zero : Six player offense where there are no designated positions. Instead, the designated setter is just the player in position 3 (or sometimes 2).
• Spike : When an offensive player attacks the ball with a one-arm motion done over the head, attempting to get a kill.
• Strong side : The left side of the court, so-called because it is usually the easier side for right-handed players to attack from.
• "The Gap" : A spike between area two and area three that the middle hits. It’s always the same distance from the setter no matter where the setter is positioned on the set.
• The "W" : A common serve receive formation at lower levels where 5 players prepare to pass with 1 designated setter. So named because from above, the 5 passers are assembled on the five points of a "W". (Alternatively, possibly a Serve Screening formation by the serving team, also named for resembling a W)
• Two-Three Coverage : Attack coverage system where two players cover 1-2 meters away from the block, and three players cover 2-4 meters away.
• Weak Side : The right side of the court, so-called because it is generally easier for right-handed players to attack from the left ('strong') side. Also known as the Opposite side.