Introduction:

You must have commonly used the term ‘volley’ in pickleball if you are a regular pickler. A volley is denoted when you hit the ball out of the air before it bounces on the court. I was 12 when I learned to do volleys. My mom taught me and my siblings all the basics and tips for volleying the ball like a pro. I remember a nostalgic volleying-related memory, of our team reaching the semi-final rounds at the Southwest Florida Ladder League Spring Events in May 2018. My finesse in volleys, dinks, and ernes, and my partner’s expertise in stacking and ground strokes helped us in that league. 

With years of practice and consistency, I have gained the confidence to stay with the basics of pickleball like volleys. To become a good pickler, you must strengthen the Volley serves, athleticism, and rational thinking. Today, I want to share the basics to advanced details of a ‘Volley ’ in pickleball in this guide. So, let’s move ahead without wasting a minute and know about a-to-z about volleys!

 What Is Volley In Pickleball?

A volley serve is performed when you are at or near the non-volley zone or kitchen line. A volley shot is done with a forehand or backhand direction to return a ball hit hard and lower over the net. I prefer backhand volleys as it is easier to execute than forehand volleys. We have to return the upcoming ball with a lower trajectory. 

Normally, picklers hit the ball with a verticle paddle face using a blocking motion for a successful volley. Here is a pro tip I wanted to give to make the ball go deeper over the net without touching it. You can open the paddle face slightly and then hit the ball with a little more loft. Doing this helps the ball go deeper and your opponent finds it difficult to serve it. It opens you more chances of scoring the ball if your opponent misses such deep served volleys. 

Types Of Volley:

The type of volley changes according to the returning serve for the ball, the height of the ball in correspondence with the net, and your positioning in the court for volleying the ball. There are 5 major volley that you should use from time to time as per requirement:

• Block/ Drop/ Reset
• Punch
• Dink
• Roll

1. Block/ Drop Volley:

   • Block serve is also called a reset serve’. If your opponent attacks your court with powerful shots and you want to reset the rally at your pace, you can opt for a drop serve.In this serve, your arms and body will absorb the excess power from the opponent’s returned ball and you will use a hammer grip to hit the ball softly over the net. Drop serve adds control in the volleys.

2. Punch Volley:
   

   • This is the most common type of volley serve. In this serve, you hold the paddle perpendicular to the court surface and extend your arm from the elbow.
     You keep the wrist firm, open the perpendicularly placed paddle face slightly, and serve the ball with the paddle in a punching motion. Punch serves lands the ball in the opponent’s feet when hit lower or in the gap of the feet when hit at medium height. This makes it difficult for your opponent to return the punch serve and he might commit a fault.

3. Dink Volley:
   

   • In dink volley, you stand at the NVZ line of your c-side of the court and volley the dink shot in the kitchen area of your opponent’s court. You can push, block, or lift the ball before it hits the ground for a successful dink volley. This makes a quick serve and gives less time for your opponent to get prepared for his next serve.

4. Roll Volley:
   

   • Roll volleys are a type of topspin half-swinging volley serves. When your opponent is in his backcourt and you get to hit the ball from a point lower than net height, you can use a low-to-high swing path for a rolling volley. Doing this will keep your opponent at his baseline. This serve is performed for a returning drop shot or third shot drop from your opponent.

Tips To Improve Volley In Pickleball:

1. Master The Athletic Posture:
   

   • If you want to respond quickly to the returning ball with a sureshot volley serve, you must be fit enough to serve the ball with a proper athletic stance.
     Your feet and shoulders must have adequate space between them with a forward-facing, and your arms should be ready with a firm and open-faced paddle. Your knees and back should be slightly bent to balance the body posture and weight.
     Consistent practice of this athletic stance helps to respond to the returning ball quickly with finesse and control.

2. Opt For Hammer (Continental) Grip:
   

   • As the name indicates, you hold the paddle like a hammer in this grip making the paddle in the verticle direction. This grip allows you to stay ready to return the ball with a volley serve anytime with a quick backhand motion.
     Your paddle handling style, the grip type, paddle firmness, and the paddle face angle determine the quality of the volley serve in pickleball. This vertical hammer/ continental grip allows better dinks and blocking as well!
     If you are at the kitchen line, you can use a soft grip where your pinky, ring, and middle finger help to stabilize the paddle for a volley serve with less pressure. A tight grip results in more power for a volley serve.
     If you get away from the NVZ line, you can use a hard grip where your index finger and thumb add more power to the paddle to serve the ball.

3. Maintain Your Position At The NVZ Line:
   

   • Stand just behind the kitchen line to defend the upcoming ball without wasting time. A maintained position behind the NVZ line allows you to hit quickly so that your opponent does not get an opportunity to strategize. He even makes a fault if he misses the serve and you get the point.
     If you stand farther from the NVZ line for a volley exchange, it will give more time to the opponent to settle and determine the next serve strategy. And, doing this is not good for your performance.

4. Return a Volley Serve With Control:
   

   • If your opponent returns the serve with a deeper or lower volley, you should opt for a soft hand grip to serve the ball with control. Adding power to such a deeper returned volley may cause trouble to cross the net with the right angle.
     In my experience, in such cases, the opponent expects a powerful serve from you to return their lower volley. So that, your ball touches the net and a fault happens.
     But, to overcome such a tough situation, I suggest opting for a soft grip, opting for the drop volley serve on the ball for more control and less power, and adding a precise angle to the volley so that the ball crosses right above the net or out of bounds.

5. Rotate The Tip of Your Paddle For Fast Volley:
   

   • As mentioned above, You can perform forehand or backhand motions to volley the ball. If you are standing in the middle of the court and ready to serve the ball with a volley, keep your arms extended at one or two feet width. The paddle should be in your dominant hand.
     The line passing through the center of the net is at 12 o’clock from you when you are in the middle of the court  If you are right-handed, you can rotate the tip of the paddle at 10 to 11 o’clock. However, you can rotate the paddle head at 1 and 2 o’clock if you are a left-handed pickler.
     A backhand position is the quickest and easiest to perform in such situations. Staying at a point parallel to the center of the net allows you to easily shift between forehand or backhand motion for a volley serve.

6. Swing the Shoulders For Control:
   

   • Volley is a serve of control and finesse rather than power. That’s why you stay near the NVZ line for the volley serve. If you hit the ball very easily with less power, you may give your opponent a chance to take over the return serve. But, if you swing the shoulders with proper wrist support while serving the ball from the NVZ line, your paddle will create enough power to serve a competitive volley.

Final Thoughts:

Pickleball feels interesting when you learn the deep tactics and tricks for serves. Volleys are the most essential part of competitive pickleball rallies. Whether a dink or a drop, a good quality volley can easily fetch you points in a rally.

I hope this complete guide on the ‘Volley in Pickleball’ has given you the most required explanation on types of volleys, the best times to volley, tips to improve your volley serves, etc. Which kind of volleys do you prefer for a pickleball match? Do let me know in the comment section.

Till then, see you in the courts!