In volleyball, every rally starts with a serve. It’s not just the beginning of play—it’s an opportunity to take control, set the tone, and put the opponent on the defensive. Whether you’re a seasoned player or new to the game, mastering the art of serving is key to elevating your performance on the court.
Mastering the Serve: Precision over Power
Serving is one of the most impactful aspects of volleyball. It initiates every rally, sets the tone, and puts pressure on the opponent. A great serve is about more than hitting the ball hard: it’s about being smart—using control, precision, and a solid game plan. When a player steps up to the service line, their goal is to put their team in a strong position right away by:
- Scoring directly through aces or forcing the opponent into a poor pass,
- Limiting the opponent’s attack options by disrupting their offensive setup, or
- Targeting specific locations to put pressure on passers and create stress in the opponent’s system.
To pull this off, servers need to focus on three main factors: speed, placement, and whether the serve is floating or spinning. For float serves specifically, placement and the float effect are the two primary factors that make the serve difficult to handle. The float effect can be somewhat random, but the server has full control over where they place the ball. That’s what we’ll be focusing on here.
The 3 Dimensions of serve placement
When analyzing serve placement, we can break it down into three core elements: angle, depth, and trajectory.
Most players understand the building blocks of angle and depth, but trajectory is often overlooked. Let’s break down each part and explore how they can work together to make the serve more effective.
- Angle refers to the side-to-side direction of the serve—essentially, which passer or which seam (the space between two passers) you are aiming for. Imagine viewing the court from above; angle determines which part of the receiving formation the ball will reach. Are you aiming for the left-side passer? The seam between two passers? The angle is all about deciding where on the court you can put the most pressure on the receiving team.
- Depth describes how far forward or back the serve will land if left untouched—whether it’s a short serve landing just behind the attack line or a deep serve targeting the back row. Changing up the depth of your serve keeps passers on their toes, forcing them to adjust and making it hard for them to get comfortable. A well-timed short serve, for example, can force a front-row hitter to step out of position and disrupt the timing of an attack.
- Trajectory is the height and curvature of the ball’s flight path from the point of contact to the opponent’s side of the court. Picture trajectory as if you are observing the serve from the side. Is the serve flat and fast, just skimming over the net? Or is it a high, floating serve that drops steeply into the backcourt? Trajectory affects how much time the passer has to react, where they need to make contact, and how difficult it is for them to read the ball’s flight.
Trajectory: The Overlooked Advantage
While angle and depth are both crucial, the ability to manipulate the trajectory of a float serve can open up new tactical opportunities. By controlling the trajectory, you can:
- Reduce the passer’s reaction time by shortening the ball’s flight path, making it reach the target faster.
- Increase the serve velocity by flattening the ball’s trajectory, allowing for a higher velocity serve to land in
- Control the passer’s contact point by adjusting trajectory, forcing them into tough positions and increasing decision-making pressure.
The last point—controlling the passer’s point of contact—can be especially powerful when executed well. By adjusting the trajectory, you can target areas that are inherently difficult for a passer.
Putting the 3 Dimensions Together
Here are three examples of effective serving targets that incorporate angle, depth, and trajectory:
Just in front of a passer’s foot: Aiming just in front of the passer’s foot challenges their ability to read the serve trajectory and move to the ball, which often leads to a weaker pass.
In this example, Eshenko sends a depth-change serve just in front and outside of Russel’s right foot, causing Russel to misread the serve trajectory. See the full clip here.
Between the arm and hand zones: Targeting the area where the passer has to decide between using their arms or hands (the passer’s “grey zone”) can cause hesitation, making an error more likely. If the passer does make a quick decision, they still must make quick moves to compensate for the ball being higher or lower than the ideal position.
In this clip, Diez (the French libero) commits to using forearms early, and has to jump to adjust when Kentaro’s float serve travels into the libero’s grey zone. When a passer jumps it introduces more variability into the passing action, which means more passing errors. See the full clip here.
Passer conflict zones: Serving into spaces where two players might both hesitate—such as seams or near a middle blocker—can create confusion and result in poor communication and execution.
In this example, Tillie sends a hybrid float serve (tossing spin and hitting float) into the conflict zone between the position 1 passer (#14), middle (#10), and right side (#1). This decision crisis (of who will pass the ball) causes the #14 to move late and eliminates their ability to attack. See the full clip here.
How to Practice Serving Trajectory
Kerry MacDonald, former head coach of UBC and current Chief Sport Officer at Volleyball Canada, first introduced me to the concept of controlling serving trajectory in 2017. Imagine a hula-hoop above the net that you’re aiming to serve through, and a loonie on the floor as your target for where the ball should land. Doing so helped me picture not just where the ball should land but also the path it should take through the air.
Over time, I adapted this to incorporate two distinct targets: one above the net (like the hula-hoop) and one on the court (like the loonie). Eventually, I began thinking about the three-dimensional spot where I wanted the passer to contact the ball (i.e., a target that isn’t on the floor, but is rather attached to the passer). For example, did I want the passer to take the ball with their hands toward the inside of the court (like in the image below), or with their forearms by their outside foot? By consistently aiming for tough spots, I could disrupt the passer’s rhythm and make my serves much more effective.
Takeaways for Athletes
When practicing a float serve, it’s important to consider all three components—angle, depth, and trajectory. Start with simple goals: choose a spot on the court as a target, and then determine where the ball should pass over the net. Is the serve easy for passers to handle, or does it make them uncomfortable with its placement and unpredictability?
The key to improving a float serve lies in repeatability—not just hitting the same target on the court, but also consistently achieving the same trajectory over the net.
Takeaways for Coaches
Coaches should help players understand the importance of all three components of serve placement—angle, depth, and trajectory. Encourage athletes to experiment with different trajectories and observe how these changes impact the passers’ ability to handle the serve. Emphasize the value of setting specific, repeatable targets, both over the net and on the court, to build consistency. Providing visual aids like cones or markers for trajectory points can be highly beneficial for players as they develop these skills.
Your Turn
How do you incorporate trajectory into your serving strategy? Are you already considering these three dimensions—angle, depth, and trajectory—when you serve or coach your athletes? What other tactics have you found to be effective in challenging passers?
I’d love to hear your thoughts and experiences. Let’s discuss in the comments below!
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