Volleyball has evolved tremendously, which means that the game changes and improves over the years. The most evident change concerns the speed of serve, reaching more than 100 km/hour.
For this reason, different types of serve (i.e., jump topspin and jump float serve) have been investigated in the literature to better explain when and how to perform these serves in practice and game situations.
Players should select to use the serves they can perform best. Therefore, the authors suggest more investigation in Sports Sciences to examine methods of training that can enhance the technical performance of serves, thus, to create greater difficulty for serve-receivers (Moras et al., 2008; Buscà et al., 2012; García-de-Alcaraz, Ortega, & Palao, 2016).
A critical review of serves in volleyball explains that all serves if executed well are effective. However, a new type of service has been performed by some players at elite levels, as reported by Dr. Da Matta in his technical reports in the U23 world championship and the Men’s and Women’s World Championships in Poland and Italy.
In fact, although serving analysis catches the attention of many volleyball scholars, there is a lack in the Motor Learning literature on hybrid service. Therefore, in this article, we will discuss the main aspects of this type of serve as well as its variations in order to better understand its tactical applications in the game. Therefore, we will:
- Describe the foundation of the hybrid serving technique (Topspin-Floater and Floater-Topspin);
- Highlight some practical implications during hybrid serve practice.
- Explain and present thoughts about the different configurations of the reception system contributing to the evolution and decision making of the type of serve performed. If this…than do that!
Types of serve
The literature has been proficient to describe serving styles and tactical application has been explained through the types of serve, jump topspin and jump float (Moras et al., 2008; Buscà et al., 2012; García-de-Alcaraz, Ortega, & Palao, 2016). The jump top spin, power and drop, as well as, the jump float has been adopted to confront different configuration of reception systems.
