Serving plays a critical role in winning volleyball. Accurate serves help dictate points, pinning the defense into certain areas of the court and limiting potential options. Many volleyball teams favor zone serving, which hits the ball to one of six specific zones of the court, with three equal zones in the front court and three in the back. Keeping a few simple tips in mind can help improve your zone serving.
Zones
Before anything else, you need to clearly identify the six serving zones. If you're preparing to serve, the back left corner of the opposite court is zone one. The rest of the zones number off in counterclockwise fashion. The front court consists of zones two, three and four, with zone two being on the far left, zone three in the middle and zone four on the far right. Zone five occupies the back right corner, while zone six takes the middle portion of the back row. All zone serving principles begin with understanding these zone locations, and coaches will often call plays according to zone number.
Scout
If you're serving, pay attention to the other team, scouting its strengths and weaknesses. Identify the weak passers and try to spot any problems in communication. Zone serving allows you to exploit those deficiencies. Always serve to the opposition's worst passers. One accurate serve to the correct zone can put the other team on its heels and result in easy points.
Zone 1
Hitting to zone one can cause a number of problems for the other team's setter. A pass out of the back left corner typically will force the setter to either turn to the ball or receive the pass from an awkward angle, resulting in fewer offensive options. Serving wide to the sideline also can force the passer to move, which should be the goal of all serves since moving passers can't place the ball as accurately as stationary passers.
Zone 2
Zone two, or the front left corner, also provides a good serving target, especially when the other team's setter is rotating down from the back row. The setter typically will move into zone two, meaning she must receive the serve and pass the ball, taking her out of orchestrating the offense. If the setter elects to wait and allow another player to come over to play the serve, it could present a communication problem and a possible ace.
Depth
Serving deep into the rear portions of zones one, six and five can place the defense in awkward positions. First, the passer must determine whether the ball will land in or out, possibly causing a moment of uncertainty that can cripple a rally before it begins. The deep serve also can take advantage of players sneaking forward form the back line, forcing them to retreat and pass the ball while backing up.
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