30 Must-Know Beach Volleyball Terms, Phrases and Slang

61 beach volleyball terms explained, from sideout, joust and pokey to sky ball, tomahawk and shank, plus the slang players use.

Two players, one net and a lot of sand produce their own vocabulary. What follows is beach volleyball terminology as it is actually used on the court: the words related to beach volleyball that get called between points, the words associated with the rules and the equipment, and the slang that only the doubles game has. The beach volleyball glossary further down repeats every term in one line if you just need the short version.

New to the game? Our guide to beach volleyball rules explains how a game works from start to finish, which makes most of the terms below fall into place.

👉 Think you know beach volleyball? Test yourself with our Beach Volleyball Quiz.

Must-Know Beach Volleyball Terms, Phrases and Slang:

1. Ace
2. Block
3. Bump
4. Dig
5. Floater
6. Joust
7. Kill
8. Overhand
9. Pokey
10. Rally
11. Set
12. Spike
13. Stuff
14. Underhand
15. Antenna
16. Court switch
17. Double contact
18. Foot fault
19. Hand signal
20. Line shot
21. Off the net
22. Overpass
23. Tomahawk
24. Serve Receive
25. Shank
26. Sideout
27. Sky Ball
28. Timeout
29. Wind Conditions
30. Wrap Shot

Beach Volleyball Glossary: Every Term A to Z

Terms A to D

Term	What It Means
Ace	A serve that lands in and is never touched, scoring the point outright.
Angle shot	An attack hit across the court on a diagonal rather than down the line.
Antenna	The flexible rod on each side of the net. The ball has to pass between the two to stay in play.
Block	Jumping at the net to stop an attack and send the ball back into the opponents’ court.
Blocker	In doubles, the player who takes the net on defense while the partner covers the court behind.
Bump	The forearm pass, usually the first contact after the serve. Also just called a pass.
Bump set	Setting a teammate with the forearms instead of the hands, common in wind.
Chicken wing	A dig played off a bent elbow or upper arm when there is no time to get the forearms under the ball.
Cobra	A shot played with stiff, straight fingertips to push the ball over the block, legal on the beach unlike the open-hand tip.
Court switch	Teams change ends at fixed point totals so wind and sun do not favor one side all match.
Cut shot	A sharply angled attack hit close to the net and away from the blocker.
Defender	The player who drops off the net to dig, working with the blocker as a two-person defense.
Dig	A defensive save on a hard-driven ball that keeps the rally alive.
Dink	A soft open-hand tip over the net, allowed indoors but a fault in beach volleyball.
Double contact	A fault where a player touches the ball twice in a row or contacts it unevenly with two body parts.
Doubles	The standard beach format: two players per side, no substitutions, no positional rotation.

Terms F to N

Term	What It Means
Floater	A serve struck without spin so the ball moves unpredictably through the air.
Foot fault	Stepping on or over the line while serving. The serve is lost.
Free ball	An easy ball sent over without an attack, giving the other team time to set up their offense.
Hand set	Setting with both hands overhead. Judged strictly on the beach, so many teams bump set instead.
Hand signal	The sign a blocker gives behind the back before the serve, showing which line will be taken away.
Husband and wife	A ball that drops between the two players because each thought the other would take it.
Joust	Two opposing players meeting the ball above the net and pushing against each other.
Jump float	A floater served with a jump, adding height and a steeper angle to a spinless serve.
Jump serve	A serve struck out of the air after a running approach, the hardest and riskiest serve.
Kill	An attack the opponents cannot return, ending the rally in a point.
Lift	A fault where the ball rests in the hands or is carried instead of being cleanly played.
Line shot	An attack hit straight down the sideline, usually when the blocker takes the angle away.
Match point	The point that would win the match for the leading team.
Net serve	A serve that touches the net and still lands on the other side. It is in play.
Net violation	Touching the net during a play. It costs the point.

Terms O to S

Term	What It Means
Off the net	A set placed away from the net, giving the hitter more room and the blockers less to read.
Option	Attacking the ball on the second contact instead of setting, to catch the defense off guard.
Overhand	Any contact made above the head with the hands, from serves to passes.
Overpass	A pass that carries over the net by mistake and hands the other team an easy attack.
Pancake	A dig made by sliding a flat hand under the ball on the sand so it bounces up off the back of the hand.
Peel	The blocker pulling off the net to defend instead of jumping, usually on a called signal.
Pokey	A soft shot poked over the net with the knuckles to drop the ball into open sand.
Pull	When the blocker leaves the net before the attack to play defense, so the team has two defenders back.
Rainbow shot	A high, arcing shot over the blocker that drops in deep behind them.
Rally	The whole exchange from serve to point, serve, pass, set and attack included.
Rally scoring	Every rally scores a point, no matter which team served.
Roof	A block that sends the ball straight down on the attacker’s side.
Sand socks	Thin neoprene socks worn when the sand is too hot to stand on.
Screen	An illegal attempt by the serving team to hide the server or the flight of the serve from the receivers.
Seam	The space between the two players, where serves and attacks often cause confusion.
Serve receive	Handling the opponents’ serve and turning it into an attack. The first job of every rally.
Set point	A rally that would win the set for the leading team.
Shank	A pass that comes off the arms badly and flies out of the play.
Short serve	A serve dropped just over the net to pull a player forward before the attack.
Sideout	The receiving team winning the rally, which gives them the serve.
Sky ball	A serve hit almost straight up so the receiver has to track it against the sun.
Spike	The hard downward attack, usually the third contact.
Stuff	A block that stops the attack dead and scores immediately.

Terms T to W

Term	What It Means
Timeout	A short break called by a team to regroup or break the other side’s run.
Tomahawk	A two-handed overhead defensive contact with the hands clasped together, used on hard-driven balls above the head.
Tool	Hitting the ball off the blocker’s hands and out of bounds on purpose.
Topspin serve	A serve struck with forward spin so it dives down inside the line.
Underhand	A serve struck from below with less speed but more control.
Wind conditions	The wind decides how teams serve, set and choose ends. Playing into it and with it are two different games.
Wrap shot	An attack steered around the blocker with a wrist-away motion.

What Is It Called When…? Beach Volleyball Terms by Situation

Know what happened but not the word for it? Find the situation on the left and the beach volleyball term on the right.

When…	It Is Called
The serve wins the point without being passed	Ace
Two opponents push the ball at the same time above the net	Joust
A player punches the ball over with the knuckles	Pokey
A player tips the ball with an open hand	Dink (a fault on the beach)
The serve is hit extremely high so it drops straight down	Sky ball
The receiving team wins the rally	Sideout
The block sends the ball straight back down for a point	Stuff
A pass flies off the arms out of play	Shank
A pass goes straight over the net to the opponents	Overpass
Two opposing players push for the ball and it lands out	Joust, fault of the team on the opposite side
A player hits the ball twice in a row	Double contact
The server steps on the end line	Foot fault
The blocker shows fingers behind the back before the serve	Hand signal
A defender plays a high ball with both hands clasped overhead	Tomahawk
The blocker drops back from the net to defend	Pull or peel
The ball drops between both players and nobody moves	Husband and wife
The second contact is attacked instead of set	Option
The teams change ends every 7 points	Court switch

#1 Ace

A serve that wins the point directly. Usually the ball lands untouched, but a serve the receiver only shanks out of play also counts as an ace in the statistics. On the beach, where only two players cover the whole court, a serve aimed at the seam between them is the classic way to get one.

In a sentence: “Serve the seam, they’ve been talking to each other on every ball.”

#2 Block

A player at the net reaches above it to stop the opponent’s attack. Unlike indoor volleyball, a block touch counts as one of the team’s three contacts on the beach, so after a touch at the net the team has only two left. Before each serve the blocker tells the partner with a hand signal whether they will block line or angle.

In a sentence: “She got a piece of it on the block and they only had two touches left.”

#3 Bump

A pass played off the forearms, with the hands clasped together and the arms straight. It is the standard way to receive serve on the beach because forearm contact is not judged for double contact the way a hand set is. A bump set is the same skill used for the second contact, common in windy conditions.

In a sentence: “Just bump it up high and give yourself time.”

#4 Dig

Keeping a hard-driven attack alive, usually with the forearms, often while diving into the sand. On the beach the defender who is not blocking is expected to dig almost everything, so the dig count is a key number for the defensive player of a team.

In a sentence: “What a dig, full extension into the sand and the ball is still up.”

#5 Floater

A serve hit with no spin, so the ball wobbles and moves unpredictably in the air, much like a knuckleball in baseball. It is struck with a firm, flat hand and a short follow through. Wind makes a floater even harder to read.

In a sentence: “He’s serving floaters into the wind and they’re all dropping short.”

#6 Joust

Two opposing players contact the ball above the net at the same moment and push against each other. Under the rules a joust is not a fault, play continues, and the team the ball ends up with gets three fresh contacts. If the ball goes out after a joust, the team on the opposite side is at fault.

In a sentence: “Big joust at the net and she muscles it over.”

#7 Kill

An attack that ends the rally because the opponents cannot return it. It does not have to be a hard spike: a well placed cut shot or pokey that drops in counts as a kill too. Kill percentage is the main number used to rate attackers.

In a sentence: “Nine kills from eleven swings in that set.”

#8 Overhand

Any contact made above the head with the hands, mainly the overhand set and the overhand serve. Beach referees judge hand sets far more strictly than indoor officials, so visible spin on the ball after a set is often called as a double contact.

In a sentence: “Her overhand set is clean enough that the ref never looks twice.”

#9 Pokey

A shot played with the knuckles of a bent hand, punching the ball over or past the block. It exists because an open-hand tip, the dink of indoor volleyball, is a fault on the beach. Players use the pokey to drop the ball deep or just behind the blocker.

In a sentence: “Everyone is expecting the hard swing and he pokes it right over the blocker’s hands.”

#10 Rally

The exchange from the serve until the ball hits the sand or a fault ends it. Under rally scoring every rally gives a point to someone. Sets go to 21 with a two-point lead, and a deciding third set goes to 15.

In a sentence: “That was a long rally, three digs on each side.”

#11 Set

The second contact, placing the ball for the partner to attack. On the beach it is often bumped rather than played with the hands, especially in wind, because a hand set with spin risks a double contact call. A hand set that goes over the net has to travel straight ahead, perpendicular to the setter’s shoulders.

In a sentence: “Give me a higher set, the wind is pushing everything toward the net.”

#12 Spike

The attacking shot hit hard and downward with an open hand, usually the third contact. On the beach it is called a hit or a swing as often as a spike. Because the opponents have just one defender behind the block, placement matters as much as power.

In a sentence: “He has a big spike but he keeps hitting it into the block.”

#13 Stuff

A block that sends the ball straight back down onto the attacker’s side for a point. Every stuff is a block, but most blocks are only touches that keep the ball in play. A stuff block is the loudest moment in any match.

In a sentence: “Stuffed! She read that line shot the whole way.”

#14 Underhand

A serve hit from below waist height with a swinging arm. It is the first serve beginners learn and is rare at a high level, with one exception: the sky ball, which is hit underhand with a lot of force to send the ball very high.

In a sentence: “If you keep missing the overhand, go underhand and just get it in.”

#15 Antenna

The flexible rod fixed to the net above each sideline, sticking up above the top of the net. The ball has to cross the net between the two antennas. A ball that touches an antenna is out.

In a sentence: “That one clipped the antenna, point to the other side.”

#16 Court switch

Teams change ends after every 7 points in the first two sets and after every 5 points in a deciding set. The frequent switch keeps sun and wind fair for both teams. Teams change without a break, so they use the moment to talk tactics on the walk.

In a sentence: “Switch at 14-13, and now they get the wind behind them.”

#17 Double contact

A fault where one player touches the ball twice in a row or the ball hits two parts of the body one after the other. On the beach the call is mostly made on hand sets. On a team’s first contact, a double touch is allowed as long as it happens in a single action, unless the ball is played overhand with the fingers.

In a sentence: “The set spun a little and the ref whistled a double.”

#18 Foot fault

A serving fault: the server steps on the end line or into the court before hitting the ball. Beach players can serve from anywhere behind the end line, between the extended sidelines. There is no centerline fault on the beach, so players may run under the net as long as they do not interfere with the opponents.

In a sentence: “Foot fault on the serve, she stepped on the line again.”

#19 Hand signal

Before each serve the blocker holds both hands behind the back to tell the partner the plan. Each hand stands for the attacker on that side: one finger usually means block the line, two fingers block the angle, a closed fist means no block, and an open hand means block the ball. Teams can use their own code.

In a sentence: “Watch the signals, he’s showing line on the left and no block on the right.”

#20 Line shot

An attack hit straight down the sideline, as opposed to crosscourt into the angle. Whether a team takes line or angle with the block decides where the defender stands, so hitting line against a line block is asking to be stuffed.

In a sentence: “They’re blocking angle all day, go line.”

#21 Off the net

A set placed a meter or two away from the net instead of tight to it. It gives the hitter more options and makes the block less effective. In wind, teams set off the net on purpose so the ball does not drift over.

In a sentence: “Keep the set off the net, the wind is blowing it toward their side.”

#22 Overpass

A pass or dig that goes straight over the net to the opponents, usually by accident. The player at the net on the other side can often attack it straight down, so an overpass is one of the cheapest points in the game.

In a sentence: “Overpass, and she hammers it straight down.”

#23 Tomahawk

A defensive technique where the player clasps both hands together above the head, thumbs pointing back, and plays a hard-driven ball with the outside of the hands. It is used for balls arriving at head height or above. Beach rules allow a brief overhand contact on a hard attack, which makes the tomahawk legal.

In a sentence: “No time to drop the arms, he takes it with a tomahawk.”

#24 Serve Receive

The first contact after the opponent’s serve, and the start of every sideout. Beach teams split the court into two halves and usually pass with the forearms. A good serve receive lands about three meters off the net between the two players.

In a sentence: “Their serve receive has been perfect, every pass is in the same spot.”

#25 Shank

A pass that comes off the arms at a bad angle and flies out of play or far from the partner. It happens most against floaters and in wind. Shanking a serve is the most common way an ace is scored on the beach.

In a sentence: “Floater into the wind and he shanks it into the stands.”

#26 Sideout

Winning a rally while receiving, which also wins the right to serve. Before rally scoring was introduced, a team could only score on its own serve, so a sideout just passed the serve over. Sideout percentage is the core statistic of the beach game.

In a sentence: “They have sided out on every ball this set.”

#27 Sky Ball

An underhand serve hit so high that it comes almost straight down from the sky. Sun, wind and the steep drop make it very hard to pass. It is best known from Brazilian beach players and works only outdoors.

In a sentence: “With the sun behind the server, the sky ball is almost unplayable.”

#28 Timeout

A 30-second break each team may call once per set. Teams use it to change tactics, dry their hands and stop a run of points by the other side. Coaching during play is restricted, so the timeout is when the plan gets fixed.

In a sentence: “Down 15-10, they burn their only timeout.”

#29 Wind Conditions

Beach volleyball is played outdoors, so wind shapes almost every decision. Players serve float into the wind, set lower and further off the net with the wind behind, and choose bump sets over hand sets. The side switches every 7 points exist partly so the wind evens out.

In a sentence: “With these wind conditions, nobody wants to set with their hands.”

#30 Wrap Shot

An attack where the hitter swings the arm around the ball to send it into the angle, away from where the body suggests. It is used when the block takes the line and the defender is hanging back. Done well, it looks like a line shot until the last moment.

In a sentence: “Line was blocked so she wrapped it into the angle.”

Beach Volleyball Slang Players and Fans Actually Use

Slang	What It Means
Pokey	A knuckle shot pushed over or past the block, the beach answer to the forbidden open-hand tip.
Sky ball	The towering underhand serve that drops almost vertically, hardest to pass in sun and wind.
Shank	A pass that sprays off the arms in a random direction, usually out of play.
Roof	A block so complete that the ball goes straight down on the attacker’s side.
Tool	To hit the ball off the blocker’s hands and out of bounds on purpose, which wins the point for the attacker.
Peel	When the blocker turns away from the net before the attack to play defense instead.
Cobra	A stiff-fingered poke that pushes the ball over the block, legal on the beach.
Pancake	A last-second save made by sliding a flat hand under the ball on the sand.
Husband and wife	A ball that falls between two players who both thought the other would take it.
Six pack	Getting hit in the face by a spike, usually while blocking or defending.
Free ball	An easy ball sent over without attacking, often shouted as a warning to the partner.
Chicken wing	A desperate dig off a bent elbow when the forearms cannot get there in time.
Rainbow	A high looping shot over the block that lands deep in the court.

Beach Volleyball Expressions and Sayings in Everyday English

• Mine!: The call a player makes to claim the ball, so the partner stays out of the way. With only two players on the court, a missing call is how husband and wife balls happen.
• Line! Angle!: Calls the defender shouts to the hitting partner in the air, saying which part of the court is open. Teams agree beforehand whether the call names the open shot or the shot that is covered.
• Free ball!: The call that warns the team an easy, unattacked ball is coming over, so the blocker can leave the net and both players set up to attack.

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