Volleyball Serving Tips: Jump Serve

Master these three components of this serve for some additional power to attack your opponent.

Serving is one of the most important skills a player needs to have when they step onto the volleyball court.

There are several different serves a player can use. The jump serve is highly effective, as it puts power into the serve and attacks your opponent.

THREE MAIN COMPONENTS OF THE JUMP SERVE:

• Toss: You can toss with your left hand, your right hand or both hands. It’s up to you to find a toss that’s consistent from serve to serve.

• Approach: You can use a three- or four-step approach. You should use whichever approach makes you the most comfortable for your jump serve. The height of your toss may help dictate the number of steps you take.

• If you’re a right-handed hitter, you would step left, right, left for the three-step approach. For the four-step approach, you would go right, left, right, left. If you’re a left-handed hitter, you’ll take the opposite steps. On the three-step approach you would go right, left, right. For the four-step approach you would go left, right, left, right.

• Timing: It’s also important that you take your first step at the same time as you make your toss. This is going to lead you into the ball so that you can take an approach and jump very similar to if you were spiking from the back row. The height of your toss will dictate the time of your and jump:
  • The higher the toss, the more power you’ll typically get on your serve. But you’ll need to wait longer before making your jump.
  • The faster or lower you toss the ball, the quicker you need to move. A faster toss will also allow you to get your serve on the opposing team quicker.

   

Jump serving is a great way to cause problems in the passing game of the opposing team. It can take time to master your toss, approach and timing, so make sure to practice this skill regularly.

You’ll want to have multiple serves to use when you hit the volleyball court. By working on your short serve, you can expose weaknesses your opponents might have.