The serve is the act of putting the ball in play by a player from the service area. This statement, which once appeared in the USVBA rules, sounds simple, but actually it describes one of the most important plays in the game of volleyball. There are several reasons why the serve is so important.

First, the rules state that a team must be serving in order to score. A team with strong servers has an advantage in getting its offensive, or point-making system, under way and keeping it under way.

Second, when one is serving, he can to some degree force the opponents to play the ball as he wishes. This gives him the advantage of forcing the weaker men to pass the ball. Weak receivers often miss the ball entirely, commit an error or foul in playing the ball, or make a poor pass.

Third, by effectively using the screen and by effectively serving the ball, one has a definite opportunity to put his opponents off balance momentarily. The latter two reasons are closely related, as both can cripple the offense of the opponents. “The better teams try to hit a deceptive or hard serve that will nullify their opponents’ chances of getting a good pass, setup, and spike.” x

The serve then is more than the act of putting the ball in play. If used properly, the serve can be a powerful offensive factor. Harry Wilson, coach of the great Hollywood YMCA team, feels the serve is more important than the spike in the offensive system.2

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