Games to Play With a Volleyball

Games for one ball and a wall, a pair, a practice or a whole camp, with or without a net.

Games to Play With a Volleyball

Show all 36
  1. Serve Your Way Back to the Line1. Everyone starts halfway between the net and the end line with a ball.2. Serve over the net on the coach's call.3. A serve that lands in the court earns one big step back for the next serve. A miss keeps you where you are.4. Everyone collects together between rounds. The first server to reach the end line wins.Drills: serving from farther back. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a net and a ball each.
  2. Winners' Side, Challengers Serve1. One team of three takes the winners' side of the net. The other teams line up behind the far end line.2. The first challengers serve underhand and play the rally out.3. A team scores only while it is on the winners' side. Challengers who win the rally walk round the post to take that side, and the other three join the back of the line.4. The first team to seven points wins.Drills: playing every rally to win. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 9 to 24. You need: a net and a ball.
  3. Bump, Set, Bump, Set1. Toss the ball to yourself and bump it straight up with your forearms.2. Play the next touch as a set with your fingertips, then a bump, then a set.3. Count each bump and set as one. A catch or a ball on the ground ends the run.4. With a partner, take turns and add both runs together.Drills: switching between a pass and a set. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 1 to 20. You need: a ball each.

Next step Team-building games for kids

How it works

These games to play with a volleyball start with one player and a wall and end with a whole camp across a net. The games over a net score extra for using all three touches.

Read the full guide

Three touches, and the games that reward them

A team may touch the ball up to three times before it has to cross the net, and no player may touch it twice in a row. Usually that is a bump, or forearm pass, then a set with the fingertips, then a hit. Three Touches Score Three pays a rally by the touches used, and Both Partners Touch It gives away any ball one player sends over alone.

  • In serving games, everyone collects on one call, so nobody walks under a ball in the air.

Questions and answers

What games can you play with a volleyball by yourself?

Four need one player and one ball: Wall Passes Above the Tape; Set, Sit, Stand; Bump, Set, Bump, Set; and Clap and Catch in Setter's Hands. Setter's Free Throws adds a basketball hoop.

What volleyball games can you play without a net?

Every game for one or two players, and others such as Quiet Hands and Seam Ball: Call It First. A rope on the ground does for One Bounce Allowed. Under More filters, choose No net needed to see them all.

What are good games to play at volleyball practice?

End with real rallies: Three Touches Score Three or Both Partners Touch It. Before that, Fill the Six Boxes and Serve to the Towels give every server a target, and Three, Two, One Passing scores each pass.

Which volleyball games work for beginners who cannot rally yet?

Start with Throw and Catch, Three Players Touch: every ball is caught, so beginners learn the three-touch pattern first. Catch the First Ball Only is the next step, and Big Ball, No Double Touches uses a beach ball.

What volleyball camp games and drills fill a session?

Station Scorecard: Pass, Set, Serve moves small groups through three scored drills. Then Up a Court, Down a Court gives every team a short game in every round, and Shadow Rally With No Ball teaches the calls with no ball at all.

More tools

Browse Acting and Drawing

All 36 games

Games for one or two players, no net 6

  • Bump, Set, Bump, Set 1. Toss the ball to yourself and bump it straight up with your forearms. 2. Play the next touch as a set with your fingertips, then a bump, then a set. 3. Count each bump and set as one. A catch or a ball on the ground ends the run. 4. With a partner, take turns and add both runs together. Drills: switching between a pass and a set. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 1 to 20. You need: a ball each.
  • Clap and Catch in Setter's Hands 1. Toss the ball high above your head. 2. Clap once, then catch it above your forehead with both hands open and fingers spread. 3. On the next toss clap twice, then three times. 4. See how many claps you can fit in before the catch. Drills: getting the hands up early for a set. Youngest player: age 5. Players: 1 to 20. You need: a ball each.
  • One Bounce Allowed 1. Lay a rope or draw a chalk line on the ground between two players. 2. Bump or set the ball back and forth over the line. 3. The ball may bounce once before each touch, and a player may not touch it twice in a row. 4. Count the touches in the rally and try to beat it. Take the bounce away when twenty is easy. Drills: getting under the ball. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 2 to 20. You need: a ball and a rope or chalk for each pair.
Show all 36 games (33 more)

Games for one or two players, no net, continued

  • Set, Sit, Stand 1. Set the ball straight up to yourself with your fingertips. 2. While it is in the air, drop to one knee, and set it again. 3. Sit all the way down, keep setting, then get back to your feet without a catch. 4. A full trip down and up scores a point. Play on grass or a gym floor, away from walls. Drills: setting under control. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 1 to 20. You need: a ball each.
  • Twenty in a Row With a Partner 1. Two players face each other a few steps apart. 2. One tosses, and from then on every touch is a bump or a set straight back to the partner. 3. Count out loud together. If the ball drops, start again from one. 4. At twenty, both take a big step back and go again. Drills: passing to a partner. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 2 to 20. You need: a ball for each pair.
  • Wall Passes Above the Tape 1. Stick a line of tape on a wall, above head height. 2. Toss the ball up and bump it against the wall above the tape with your forearms. 3. Keep it going without a catch, and count every pass that lands above the tape. 4. Write down your record. With a partner, take turns and try to beat each other's count. Drills: the forearm pass. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 1 to 12. You need: a ball, a wall and tape.

Passing games: the forearm pass 6

  • Angle It to the Called Cone 1. A passer faces a coach, with a catcher on a cone to the left and another on a cone to the right. 2. The coach calls Left or Right and tosses the ball. 3. The passer turns the forearms toward the called cone and bumps the ball to that catcher. 4. A ball the catcher catches scores two, and one that only goes the right way scores one. After five balls everyone moves round one place. Drills: aiming a pass. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a ball and two cones.
  • Pass Into the Basket 1. One player stands near the net holding a laundry basket, where a setter would stand. 2. A coach tosses the ball over the net to a line of passers, one at a time. 3. Each passer bumps the ball toward the basket, and the catcher may take one step to catch it. 4. Count the team's catches out of twenty tosses, then change the catcher. Drills: passing to the setter. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 3 to 15. You need: a net, balls and a laundry basket.
  • Say the Name, Then Pass 1. Five or six players stand in a circle with one ball. 2. Before you touch the ball, say the name of the player you are passing to. 3. Nobody touches it twice in a row, and the circle counts every pass. 4. A dropped ball or a pass with no name starts the count again. Try to beat the circle next to you. Drills: talking while passing. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a ball for each circle.
  • Seam Ball: Call It First 1. Two passers stand side by side, two steps apart. 2. A coach tosses the ball into the gap between them. 3. The pass scores only if one player called Mine before touching it and the other stepped back out of the way. 4. Ten balls a pair. A silent pass, however good, scores nothing. Drills: calling the ball. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 3 to 15. You need: a ball.
  • Shuffle Between the Cones 1. Set two cones three steps apart. A passer stands between them, and a partner with a ball faces the passer. 2. The partner tosses toward one cone, then the other, and the passer shuffles across to bump each ball back. 3. A pass the partner can catch without moving scores one. 4. Ten tosses, then swap. The higher score wins. Drills: moving the feet before passing. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 2 to 20. You need: a ball and two cones for each pair.
  • Three, Two, One Passing 1. A server sends easy underhand serves over the net to three passers. A target player stands at the net. 2. A pass the target catches without moving scores three. One step scores two. Any other ball kept in the air scores one. 3. Passers call Mine before every ball. 4. The three play to 21, then become the server and the target for the next three. Drills: receiving a serve. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 5 to 15. You need: a net and balls.

Setting games 5

  • Pass, Set, Catch Triangle 1. Three players make a triangle: a tosser, a passer a few steps away and a setter beside the tosser. 2. The tosser lobs the ball to the passer, who bumps it to the setter. 3. The setter sets it high to the tosser, who catches it above the head. 4. A caught set scores a point for the three. Move round one place after five balls. Drills: the first two touches. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 3 to 18. You need: a ball for every three players.
  • Quiet Hands 1. Partners stand a few steps apart and set the ball back and forth. 2. Everyone else stays silent and listens. 3. A set that makes no slap is a point for the pair. A noisy one sends their count back to zero. 4. The pair with the longest quiet run wins the round. Drills: soft fingertip contact. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 2 to 20. You need: a ball for each pair.
  • Rainbow Over the Rope 1. String a rope well above head height between two posts. 2. Partners stand on either side and set the ball over the rope. 3. A set that clears the rope and comes down where the partner can set it back without moving their feet scores one. 4. The first pair to fifteen wins. Drills: the height of a set. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a ball, a rope and two posts.
  • Sets Only Across the Net 1. Two short lines face each other across the net, a few steps back from it. 2. The first player sets the ball over to the first player opposite, then jogs to the back of their own line. 3. Everyone counts the sets out loud. 4. A bump saves the rally but adds nothing to the count. The group plays for its longest run. Drills: setting on the move. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a net and a ball.
  • Setter's Free Throws 1. Stand at the free-throw line of a basketball hoop with a volleyball. 2. Toss the ball to yourself and set it at the hoop with your fingertips. 3. A set that drops through scores two, and one that touches the rim scores one. 4. Ten sets each. With no hoop, a partner on a chair makes a ring with both arms. Drills: a high, soft set. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 1 to 15. You need: a ball and a basketball hoop.

Serving games 6

  • Catch My Serve 1. Partners stand on opposite sides of the net, the server behind a line they can serve from. 2. The server serves underhand to the partner. 3. If the partner catches the ball without taking more than two steps, the pair scores a point. 4. Swap after five serves. The first pair to ten wins. Drills: an accurate underhand serve. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a net and a ball for each pair.
  • Everyone In Once 1. The whole group lines up along the end line, and each player gets one serve. 2. A player whose serve lands in the court sits down behind the line. 3. Anyone who misses joins the line again for another turn. 4. The round ends when everyone is sitting. Count the serves it took and try to finish in fewer next practice. Drills: one serve that has to go in. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 4 to 30. You need: a net and balls.
  • Fill the Six Boxes 1. Chalk or tape the far court into six boxes and number them. 2. A team serves from the end line, one player after another. 3. The first serve to land in a box crosses that number off. 4. The team wins when all six are crossed off. Count the serves it took and beat it next time. Drills: serving to every part of the court. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 3 to 15. You need: a net, balls and chalk or tape.
  • Half-Court Serving Race 1. Lay a rope down the middle of the far court, from the net to the end line. 2. Two teams line up on the same end line. One serves into the left half and one into the right. 3. Players serve one after another, and a serve that lands in the team's own half scores a point. 4. The first team to fifteen wins. Nobody fetches a ball until the coach calls Collect. Drills: serving in with a team counting on it. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 4 to 20. You need: a net, balls and a rope.
  • Serve to the Towels 1. Lay three towels on the far side of the court: one short, one deep and one in a corner. 2. Servers line up along one end line and serve one ball each, underhand or overhand. 3. A serve that lands in the court scores one, and a serve that lands on a towel scores three. 4. Everyone collects together. The first server to ten wins. Drills: serving to a spot. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a net, balls and three towels.
  • Serve Your Way Back to the Line 1. Everyone starts halfway between the net and the end line with a ball. 2. Serve over the net on the coach's call. 3. A serve that lands in the court earns one big step back for the next serve. A miss keeps you where you are. 4. Everyone collects together between rounds. The first server to reach the end line wins. Drills: serving from farther back. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 2 to 16. You need: a net and a ball each.

Three-touch games over a net 6

  • Both Partners Touch It 1. Play two against two on a narrow court marked with cones, with an underhand serve. 2. A team may send the ball over only after both partners have touched it. 3. A ball sent over by one player alone is the other team's point. 4. Games go to eleven, then winners play winners. Drills: passing to a partner before the ball goes over. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 4 to 16. You need: a net, a ball and cones.
  • Catch the First Ball Only 1. Play four against four over the net. 2. The first touch on each side may be caught, then tossed up to a teammate. 3. The second and third touches have to be real ones: a set or a bump, then a hit or a bump over the net. 4. A side that sends the ball over in fewer than three touches gives the other team the point. The first team to fifteen wins. Drills: setting and hitting off a good first ball. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 6 to 24. You need: a net and a ball.
  • Thirty Crossings Together 1. Two teams face each other over the net and work as one group. 2. Each side has to use three touches, by three different players, before it sends the ball over. 3. Every time the ball crosses the net after three touches, the whole gym counts one. 4. A drop starts the count again. The goal is thirty crossings. Drills: three touches under control. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 6 to 24. You need: a net and a ball.
  • Three Touches Score Three 1. Play three against three with an underhand serve. 2. A team that wins a rally scores the number of touches it used on its last turn: one, two or three. 3. So a bump, a set and a hit over the net is worth three points, and a ball sent straight back is worth one. 4. The first team to 21 wins. Drills: using all three touches. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 6 to 18. You need: a net and a ball.
  • Throw and Catch, Three Players Touch 1. Two teams of three to six play over a net with a lightweight ball. 2. Nothing is hit: every ball is caught and thrown. 3. Three different players have to catch and throw the ball on a side before it goes over. 4. A ball that lands, or goes over too soon, is a point for the other team. The first team to fifteen wins. Drills: the three-touch pattern, before the skills are there. Youngest player: age 7. Players: 6 to 24. You need: a net and a lightweight ball.
  • Winners' Side, Challengers Serve 1. One team of three takes the winners' side of the net. The other teams line up behind the far end line. 2. The first challengers serve underhand and play the rally out. 3. A team scores only while it is on the winners' side. Challengers who win the rally walk round the post to take that side, and the other three join the back of the line. 4. The first team to seven points wins. Drills: playing every rally to win. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 9 to 24. You need: a net and a ball.

Youth volleyball camp games 7

  • Big Ball, No Double Touches 1. Split the whole camp between the two sides of the net, with no limit on players, and use a beach ball. 2. A side may take any number of touches, but nobody may touch the ball twice in a row. 3. Count each time the ball crosses the net. 4. After a drop, everyone moves one place to the right and the count starts again. Play for the camp record. Drills: volleyball touches for the youngest campers. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 8 to 50. You need: a net and a beach ball.
  • Four Courts, Two Crossed Ropes 1. Cross two ropes at head height to make four small courts, and put a team in each. 2. One team serves underhand into any other court. 3. A team may use up to three touches, then sends the ball over a rope into any court it likes. 4. When the ball lands in a court, or a team sends it out, that team takes a mark. After ten serves the team with the fewest marks wins. Drills: watching the ball and being ready from every side. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 8 to 24. You need: two ropes, four posts and a ball.
  • Rotation Race, Six Good Returns 1. A team of six stands on six chalked spots, three at the net and three behind. 2. A coach tosses a ball over the net to the team. 3. If the team sends it back over with three touches, everyone moves one spot clockwise. 4. Count the tosses it takes to bring every player back to their first spot. The next six try to do it in fewer. Drills: three touches and the rotation. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 6 to 24. You need: a net, a ball and chalk.
  • Shadow Rally With No Ball 1. Two teams take the court with no ball at all. 2. The coach calls a server by name, and that player acts out a serve. 3. The other team acts out the answer: one player calls Mine and bumps, one sets and one hits. Then the first team does the same. 4. The coach ends the rally by calling In or Out. A team that showed three touches and made its calls scores a point. Drills: the calls and the three-touch pattern. Youngest player: age 6. Players: 6 to 30. You need: a court or a line on the ground.
  • Station Scorecard: Pass, Set, Serve 1. Set up three stations: wall passes above a tape line, sets into a ball cart and serves into the court. 2. Small groups start at different stations and count their good tries out loud. 3. On the whistle each group writes down its number and moves on. 4. After all three, add up the card. Go round again and try to beat the group's own total. Drills: passing, setting and serving in one rotation. Youngest player: age 8. Players: 6 to 30. You need: a net, a wall, tape, a ball cart, balls and a card for each group.
  • Up a Court, Down a Court 1. Mark small courts in a row, enough for teams of two or three, and number them. 2. All the courts play short games to five points at the same time. 3. Winners move up one court, toward court one, and the other team moves down one. 4. After six rounds the team on court one takes a bow. Every team plays in every round. Drills: many short games against new teams. Youngest player: age 10. Players: 8 to 30. You need: nets or ropes, cones and a ball for each court.
  • Waves of Three Against the Coaches 1. The coaches and helpers take one side of the net, and campers line up in threes on the other. 2. A coach tosses an easy ball over to the first three. 3. The campers score when they use three touches and get the ball back over. The coaches score when it lands on the campers' side. 4. A new wave of three steps in after every ball. Campers win at fifteen, coaches at ten. Drills: three touches with a score on the line. Youngest player: age 9. Players: 6 to 30. You need: a net and balls.

How this list was compiled: Our suggestions, written for this site for a player with a ball, a coach running a youth practice or a camp leader. The wording is ours, and the youngest ages and player counts are our estimates. Rules differ from gym to gym, so treat each entry as one way to play. No game asks anyone to dive, no ball is hit at a player, serves are collected together and nobody is out for the rest of practice; no league, team or player is named, and nothing here is coaching, training or injury advice. The three touches a team may use, the rule that a player may not touch the ball twice in a row, the bump or forearm pass, the set, the spike and the underhand serve were checked on 2026-10-08 against https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volleyball. Licence: own work