A good player will serve differently depending on the situation. The way you serve when you are losing 13-9 will be much different than when you are winning 12-3. Every serve has many characteristics:

	Location (zone) - where are you serving to
	Angle - where are you serving from
	Height - how high is the serve
	Power (velocity) - how fast is the serve
	Spin - what sort of spin does the serve have
	Distance - how far does the ball travel

Location is probably the most important element of the serve, despite the fact that most people think power is the most important. There are essentialy two reasons to serve to a certain location: (1) to force a bad pass by either serving to a bad passer t o a tough location, or (2) decrease the attacking teams' options. An example of the second reason is serving very short left, which makes it difficult to run quick plays in the middle.

Angle is a new element of the serve. Serve reception will be more difficult now that the server can serve from anywhere behind the end line. Most indoor players are not prepared to pass a hard serve down their right sideline.

Height can include the height of the ball at the moment of the serve (e.g., jump serve) and the height of the serve during flight. Generally, the lower the height, the harder it is to pass the serve.

Power is the speed of the serve. The faster the serve, the more difficult it is to pass (except floaters).

Spin can be top spin, no spin (floater), back spin, and side-spin. Floaters and side-spin serves can be deceptive because the ball does not follow a straight path.

Distance can be manipulated using all of the other factors, plus the server can merely step further back in the serving area. A nice hard floater can drop very quickly when served twenty feet behind the end line.

Power and location are inversely related. That is, the harder you serve, the more difficult it becomes to serve to a particular location. Power and spin are directly related, because the harder the serve, the more spin is necessary to keep the ball in-bou nds.

Generally, teams should have an aggressive serving strategy. This does not mean trying to get an ace every time, but serving to make reception difficult for the opponents. This will cause more service errors than a "just get it over the net" philosophy, b ut will also cause more reception errors, poor attacks, and free balls. All players should realize, however, that they need to serve a bit less aggressively when you are losing 14-7.

Another factor in your serving strategy is your own team's ability to side out. If you can side out at will, then you can try to get aces every time.

The serve is the one skill in volleyball which you execute without a previous play being made on the ball. No one else sets to you, passes to you, spikes at you, etc. This makes the toss a crucial component of the serve. When a player cannot serve the bal l over the net successfully using an overhand serve, the toss is usually the culprit.

It is extremely important to use a consistent toss. This way, your body is in a familiar position when you strike the ball. Practicing your toss is the only way to make it consistent.

Your serving cues (for a right-hander) are:

	Feet together or the right foot slightly forward
	Address the ball, facing the area of the court where you want to serve, with your weight on your right leg
	As you make the toss, you simultaneously step forward with your left foot, bring your serving arm back, and lean your upper body back
	As you strike the ball, your upper body moves forward and your weight is transferred from your right leg to your left leg

However, we really haven't mentioned the toss yet. Here are the important elements of the toss:

	Toss the ball approximately 4 feet over your head
	Toss the ball in front of your serving arm, and just slightly in front of your body
	Strike the ball when it is falling, not when it is rising

 

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