Volleyball 101: How to Pass a Volleyball (Plus Drills to Get Better)

Passing wins games, and is one of the first and most important volleyball skill all volleyball players should learn and master. Passing takes many years of practice to do it consistently.

What Is a Pass in Volleyball?

A pass is usually your team’s first contact after a serve or an opponent’s attack. Players often use a forearm pass, also called a bump, to control the ball and send it toward the setter.

In serve receive, the target is usually near the net, between the middle and right side positions. Your coach may choose a different target based on your team’s system. Setters often move to the right side of the court to take the second contact, which is why learning where your setter needs the ball matters.

A pass doesn’t have to be perfect. It does need to be controlled enough for the setter to reach it and give a hitter a chance to attack.

Why Is Passing So Important?

Passing starts your offense. When your team receives a serve, someone has to control that first ball before the setter can set and a hitter can swing. The same is true when your team digs an opponent’s attack.

When passes are consistently out of control, your team may have to send a free ball over the net instead of attacking. A free ball is an easy ball sent over without a hit, giving the other team time to set up its offense.

As players get older, serves become faster and harder to read. Strong serve receive helps your team stay in control, run its offense, and compete for the point.

How to Pass a Volleyball

1. Start in an athletic position

Keep your feet a little wider than shoulder-width apart, bend your knees, and lean slightly forward. Your weight should be on the balls of your feet so you can move in any direction. This is so important. If you play volleyball on your heels you will not be able to move and react!

Keep your arms relaxed and separate while you read the server or hitter. You’ll have more freedom to move if you wait to make your platform until you know where the ball is going.

2. Move Your Feet to the Ball

Try to get your body behind the ball before you pass. Take quick steps, then get balanced with your feet apart and your weight under control. Your feet get you into position; your platform directs the ball toward your target.

I tell beginners, “If you move one foot, move the other.” After your first step, bring your other foot into a stable stance before the ball reaches you whenever you have time. Passing while lunging or standing on one foot makes the ball much harder to control.

You won’t always have time to get perfectly behind the ball. When a serve or attack pulls you to the side, move as far as you can, keep your platform steady, and angle it toward your setter.

3. Make a flat platform

Bring your hands together, straighten your elbows, and hold your forearms side by side. The ball should contact the flat area of your forearms above your wrists, not your hands or elbows.

Keep your shoulders relaxed and your platform firm. If one arm is higher than the other, the ball is more likely to go off to the side.

4. Angle Your Platform Toward the Target

The angle of your platform helps determine where the ball goes. A platform tilted too far upward may send the ball high or behind you, while one tilted too far downward may produce a low, short pass.

Think of your forearms as a surface that redirects the ball toward your setter. Watch where your passes go and make small adjustments to your angle.

As serves and attacks become faster, simply getting your arms under the ball isn’t enough. Move your feet to get behind it whenever possible and make contact in front of your body. If the ball pulls you to one side, adjust your shoulders and platform together so the ball rebounds toward your target. Give the ball a direction—not just a surface to hit.

5. Hold your platform through contact

On a hard serve or attack, you often need to absorb the ball and let it rebound off your platform. On a softer ball, you may need a gentle lift from your legs. Avoid a big arm swing. Swinging makes it harder to control the height and direction of your pass.

A simple reminder is: Move, angle, hold.

Your legs play a big role in passing. Your legs help give the ball lift and distance; your platform directs where it goes. If your passes go high but keep falling short of the setter, try getting balanced under the ball and extending gently through your legs as you pass. Avoid trying to fix a short pass with a big arm swing, which can make it harder to control.

A simple video showing what your legs and hip do in passing.

Passing takes discipline. Until the movement becomes familiar, pay attention to your technique during every drill: move your feet, get balanced, make a flat platform, and hold your angle through contact. Repetition helps most when you repeat the right movement. If a pass goes somewhere you didn’t intend, pause, make one adjustment, and try again.

Common Passing Mistakes

Swinging at the ball. A large swing can send the ball too far or make the pass unpredictable. Set your angle early and use your legs when you need more lift.

Reaching instead of moving. If the ball contacts your platform far away from your body, control becomes harder. Move your feet first whenever possible.

Making your platform too early. Locking your arms together before the serve can slow you down. Read the ball, move, then bring your arms together.

Standing upright. Straight legs make it harder to react and get under the ball. Stay low enough that you can take a quick first step.

Watching your target instead of the ball. Know where you want to pass, but track the ball all the way to your platform.

Breaking your platform. If your elbows bend or your arms separate when the ball contacts them, the ball may rebound in an unexpected direction. Bring your forearms together and hold your platform steady through contact.

Failing to angle your platform. A flat platform alone isn’t enough; its angle helps direct the ball. If the ball keeps flying off to the side, check whether your platform is facing your target. Move your feet to get behind the ball when you can, then angle your platform so the pass stays in front of you and travels toward the setter.

Passing Drills for Beginners

You don’t need a full team to improve your passing. These drills help players work on their movement, platform angle, and control.

1. Knee Passing

This drill may seem simple, but it’s one I swear by. It helps players feel how moving their hips forward can support a pass without swinging their arms.

In a gym, have the passer start on the 10-foot line, facing a partner near the net. The passer kneels on one knee with the other foot planted in front for balance.

The partner tosses the ball slightly in front of the passer, far enough that they need to shift their hips forward to reach it. A toss directly to their platform misses the purpose of the drill. Keep the toss within a controlled reach so the passer can stay balanced.

The passer holds a flat, steady platform and moves their hips forward to pass back toward the partner. The focus is controlled body movement and platform angle—not an arm swing. This drill isolates that feeling; when players return to standing passes, they combine it with footwork and balance.

2. Catch and Throw Back

Start in your passing stance with your knees bent and your weight ready to move. Have a partner toss the ball, then move your feet to get behind it. Catch the ball out in front of your body, where you would normally make contact with your platform.

From that balanced position, gently extend through your legs and hips to toss the ball back toward your partner. Use the forward hip movement you practiced in knee passing, keeping the throw controlled instead of relying on a big arm swing.

Things to focus on:

• Move your feet to the ball instead of reaching for it.
• Bring both feet into a stable, balanced stance.
• Catch the ball in front of you, rather than close to your stomach.
• Use your legs and hips to help send the ball back.
• Square your body toward the target when you have time.

Once this movement feels comfortable, replace the catch and throw with a forearm pass.

3. Pass and Move

Have a partner toss one ball to your left and the next to your right. Move your feet, get balanced, and pass each ball back to the same target. Start slowly and increase the pace as your control improves.

Focus: Arrive with your feet before you make your platform.

4. Wall Passing

Stand a comfortable distance from a wall and pass the ball against it repeatedly. Try to keep the ball at a consistent height and return it to the same spot. If the ball sends you chasing across the room, pause and adjust your platform angle. Stay low and controlled.

Goal: Work toward 10, then 20 controlled passes in a row.

4. Partner Passing

Pass back and forth with a partner. Begin close together, then gradually move farther apart. Try to give your partner a ball they can pass without taking a big step.

Focus: Control matters more than how hard you can hit the ball.

5. Pass-Bounce-Pass

I love this drill because it teaches players body control, footwork, and balance. Pass the ball up to yourself, let it bounce once, then move your feet into position and pass it again. Continue the pattern: pass, bounce, pass.

Stay low and bring both feet into a balanced stance before each contact whenever possible. The goal is to keep the ball controlled and close enough that you can move behind it, rather than constantly reaching or chasing.

The bounce gives players time to reset and adjust. As the drill continues, they often begin to recognize how their platform angle and body movement affect where the ball goes.

I normally start practice with 100 passes in this drill, reminding players that every repetition should include purposeful footwork and good technique.

The Mental Side of Passing

Every passer shanks a ball sometimes. One mistake does not decide the next play. Recognize what happened, make one correction, and get ready for the next ball. Confidence grows when you learn to make an adjustment and keep competing.

Passing improves through repetition and communication. Call “mine” early, help teammates identify short or deep serves, and encourage each other after a tough ball. Calling the ball helps you commit to the play. If you call it, follow through and take it.

Be a teammate others can trust. When someone else calls the ball, give her room to play it and stay ready to help with the next contact. Trust grows as you follow through on your calls and allow your teammates to do the same. When everyone takes responsibility for her part, the whole team gets stronger.

The next time you practice, remember: read the ball, move your feet, set your angle, and hold your platform. Keep working, communicate with confidence, and celebrate the passes that give your team a chance to make the next play.