Volleyball Ball Control Drills for Skill Development
Improve passing, setting, and hitting with volleyball ball control drills designed to build accuracy, consistency, and confidence.
Volleyball ball control drills strengthen the core skills of passing, setting, and hitting by emphasizing accuracy, consistency, and quick decision-making. These drills challenge athletes to maintain control under pressure, improve touch on the ball, and develop the technique needed to execute plays effectively. By incorporating structured ball control exercises into training, coaches help players refine fundamentals, build confidence, and perform with precision in competitive match play.
Volleyball Ball Control Drills for Skill Development
Volleyball Passing Drill: Middle or Lateral Decision-Making
This volleyball passing drill improves serve receive, ball control, and decision-making between inside-the-body and lateral passing.
Volleyball Passing Drill: Perfect Passes Repetition
This volleyball passing drill builds consistency, ball control, and defensive posture by focusing on perfect passes through high-repetition training.
Volleyball Serving Drill: Bombs Away! Short Serve Challenge
This volleyball serving drill improves short serve accuracy while challenging defenders to react quickly and anticipate ball flight.
Volleyball Passing Drill: 3-Touch Lateral Passing
This volleyball passing drill develops ball control and movement by training players to pass from midline and lateral positions with proper footwork.
Volleyball Serve Receive Drill with Two Servers
This volleyball drill improves serve receive by challenging players to pass short serves consistently to a target while rotating positions.
Volleyball Passing Drill: Passing Out of the Net
This volleyball passing drill teaches players to read and control balls rebounding off the net, improving anticipation, reaction, and ball control.
Volleyball Defense Drill: 4-Corner Pit
This volleyball defensive drill improves quick reaction, aggressiveness, and movement as players chase balls directed into four court corners.
Volleyball Defense Drill: Touch Ten!
This volleyball defense drill builds aggressiveness and reading skills as defenders work to touch ten attacked balls before rotating out.
Volleyball Passing Drill: Pass and Move
This volleyball passing drill trains players to move laterally, square to the target, and pass under game-like movement pressure.
Volleyball Passing Drill: Pass and Weave
This volleyball passing drill develops ball control, lateral footwork, and passing accuracy while keeping players low and balanced in movement.
Volleyball Middle Hitter Drill: Run the Middle!
This volleyball drill trains middle hitters to attack out of serve receive while improving timing, passing accuracy, and setter-hitter connection.
Volleyball Serve Receive Drill: No Easy Points!
This volleyball serve receive drill emphasizes passing accuracy, offensive execution, and earning rotations through consistent swings under blocking pressure.
Volleyball Serve Receive Drill: Serve Receive Lines
This volleyball serve receive drill builds passing consistency as players practice receiving serves straight across the court and rotating quickly.
Volleyball Pepper Drill: Two-Way Pepper
This volleyball pepper drill develops ball control, communication, and awareness by alternating straight and cross-court down ball exchanges over the net.
Volleyball Pepper Drill: Cross-Court Pepper
This volleyball pepper drill develops ball control, passing, setting, and down ball accuracy through continuous cross-court exchanges with a partner.
Volleyball Ball Control Drill: 25 Contact Challenge
This volleyball ball control drill develops passing, setting, and hitting skills while emphasizing communication, teamwork, and consistency through a 25-contact challenge.
Volleyball Ball Control Drill: Back Row Attacks
This volleyball drill improves ball control and communication while training players to execute purposeful back row attacks to specific court zones.
Volleyball Blocking Drill: Net Decision
This volleyball blocking drill trains players to read the ball at the net and decide whether to block, attack an overpass, or step back and pass.
Volleyball Warm-Up Drill: Tag Team Warm-Up
This volleyball warm-up drill keeps large groups active by combining passing, setting, tipping, and teamwork with a tag-in rotation system.
Volleyball Warm-Up Drill: Back Row Running Warm-Up
This volleyball warm-up drill combines passing, setting, and back row attacking with constant movement, communication, and ball control.
Volleyball Offense vs. Defense Drill: Sideout or Lose
This volleyball drill emphasizes the importance of first-swing sideouts, encouraging aggressive offense and strong teamwork against live serves.
Volleyball Hitting Drill: Endurance Hitting
This volleyball hitting drill develops endurance, attacking against a block, and defensive passing through fast-paced, continuous rotations.
Volleyball Hitting Drill: Bucket Ball
This volleyball hitting drill trains hitters to disguise attacks and execute effective roll shots by targeting a ball cart or bucket for accuracy.
Volleyball Serving Drill: Short Serve Competition
This volleyball serving drill emphasizes accuracy and control by challenging players to serve short inside the 10-foot line through a competitive scoring game.
Volleyball Serving Drill: Jump Serve Up/Down
This volleyball serving drill trains jump serve technique, teaching players to adjust arm swing direction with “thumb up” or “thumb down” calls for targeted serving.
Volleyball Serving Drill: Individual Serving Relay
This volleyball serving drill improves accuracy and conditioning as players serve to zones, sprint to base positions, and return quickly in a relay-style competition.
Volleyball Down Ball Drill: Down Ball Challenge
This volleyball drill develops hitting and digging skills by challenging players to execute and defend down balls behind the 10-foot line.
Volleyball Partner Pass and Down Balls
This drill will practice using and controlling a down ball.
Volleyball Serving Around the World
This drill allows players to practice serving to all six zones of the court.
Volleyball: Passing Free Balls to Setter
This volleyball drill helps players understand proper movement for free ball transition, when passing to the setter.
Free Ball Transition and Catch
This drill teaches proper movement for free ball transitions.
Volleyball 24 Touches - Ball Control
This drill is to practice ball control as a warm up to hitting, while working on communication and teamwork between players.
Ball Control: Pass, Set, Downball
This volleyball drill teaches how to hit a down ball to a desired location as well as work on communication skills between players.
Volleyball Ball Control: Two person Four Square
This volleyball drill increases accuracy in down balls to desired locations while also increasing communication skills between players.
Volleyball Ball Control Elimination
This elimination drill teaches players how to pin point exactly where they want their hit to go.
Volleyball Back Row Attack: Ping Pong
This ball control drill is designed to teach the pass, set, hit tempo from behind the volleyball ten foot line.
Quick Setter Transitioning Drill
This fast paced drill is to teach the setter how to quickly transition to the net.
Serve Receive Transition to Hitting Drill
This is a great drill for players to work on serve receive and hitting at the same time.
Rapid Pass - Set Drill
This drill focuses on passing free balls to the setter, allowing the setter to make a good outside set to the hitter.
Net Save Drill
This drill is to teach the defender how to dig the ball out of the net on the return.
12 Ball Wash Drill
This drill teaches back row attacking and how to defend back row attacks.
4 x 2 Pepper Drill
This drill will help practice ball control using different types of contacts.
Set and Switch
This is a three person setting drill where the middle players switches directions.
Set and Spin
Simple ball control drill that focuses on setting technique.
3 Skill Pepper with Partner
Advanced pepper game where players pass and set to themselves before down balling it to their partner.
Setters vs. Passers Game
This is a game situation drill which allows setting only for one team and passing only for the other team.
Double the Number
This is a ball control drill that starts in partners and eventually ends with the whole team passing/setting together.
Warm-up with Wall
A warm-up time for each player to warm up arms and shoulders before practice begins and at the same time be working on basic skills and ball control.
Setting Game
This simple drill helps ALL players on a team develop the overhead pass or set.
3 and Over
This is a beginner drill for players to learn and understand the three touch rule.
Partner Setting and Overhead Passing Drill
This partner setting and overhead passing drill works on perfecting the overhead pass and setting in partners. In this drill, one player is working on their setting skills while the other player is only responsible for throwing the ball to the working player.
Partner Forearm Passing Drill
This partner forearm passing drill works on perfecting the forearm pass in partners. In this drill, one player is working while the other player is only responsible for throwing the ball to the working player.
Individual Setting Drill
This is a individual volleyball setting drill that focuses on setting ball control and overhead passes. This setting drill can be performed at home or during training.
Individual Forearm Passing Drill
This is a individual passing drill that is intended to focus on learning the forearm pass and ball control with the forearm. This is a drill that can be done at home or in the gym during training.
Line Setting Drill
This beginner setting drill will focus on the setter squaring their bodies up to their target. This is a great small group drill for beginners to work on setting with a partner.
Volleyball Passing Run Through and Short Pass
This is a great warm up drill that focuses on correct passing form when running cross court or short.
Serving to 21
This is a great serving drill to teach players to serve to a specific zone.
Circle Passing Drill
This is a basic warm up drill for players to learn ball control while passing.
2 Player Down Volleyball Passing Drill
This is a fun passing drill to teach players how to quickly move and pass a ball to a specified target.
3 Player Down Ball with Movement
This volleyball drill focuses on hitting a down ball to a specific area after a series of touches.
Volleyball Ball Control with Movement
This is a great drill to focus on ball control and movement on the court.
Long Distance Back Setting Drill
This setting drill will focus on the techniques surrounding back setting at long distances for accuracy and control.
Volleyball - 2 Player Pepper Drill Multiple Hits
This pepper drill is great for working on ball control as it works on a variety of contact types.
Volleyball Set and Switch Drill
This is a great volleyball setting drill that focuses solely on the overhead pass.
Volleyball Pass and Move with Simulated Blocks
This is a great passing drill that focuses on good passing technique as well as movement after the pass.
"W" Passing Drill
This is a great passing drill for beginners to learn to move to the ball and pass to the setter position.
Triangle Pepper Drill - Over the Net
This volleyball pepper drill will focus on the rhythm of passing, setting, and hitting over the net to a specific target.
Setting Drill - Setting After a Bad Pass
This volleyball setting drill focuses on bettering the ball after a bad pass.
Cross Court Setting Drill
This volleyball setting drill focuses on cross court setting and delivering a hittable set.
Line Hitting Drill
This volleyball hitting drill focuses on hitting down the line as well as getting into a passing rhythm setting up the shot down the line.
Setting Drill - Triangle
This setting drill will focus on setting and passing overhead from different angles on the net and passing back to these targets.
Over the Net Pepper Drill
This warm-up will focus on ball control of a ball coming over the net. This volleyball drill will focus on digging, setting, and returning a controlled ball to their partner on the other side of the net.
Volleyball Setting and Overhead Passing Warm-Up Dril
This volleyball warm-up drill develops setting and overhead passing skills while adding movement, teamwork, and game-like pressure.
Volleyball Drills by Age
Beginner DrillsMiddle School / Jr High Drills
High School Drills
College Drills