Volleyball Crossword Puzzle Printable

Print a criss-cross volleyball crossword of court, position, skill, attack and rule words, with its answer key.

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Volleyball Crossword

Read each clue and write the answer in the squares that start at its number, one letter in each square.

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Answer key: Volleyball Crossword

1P2RALLYS3B4SE5RVEOA6SETC7VPAH8DOIT9KILLKIG10LIBEROEN11GYM

Across 2 RALLY · 4 SERVE · 6 SET · 9 KILL · 10 LIBERO · 11 GYM

Down 1 PASS · 3 BEACH · 5 ROTATION · 6 SPIKE · 7 VOLLEY · 8 DIG

Next step Print the soccer crosswordFind volleyball words in a word search

All 116 clues

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The Court and the Ball 23

  • Antenna Rod that rises from the net above each long edge of the court
  • Attack line Stripe on the floor 10 feet from the net
  • Back row An attacker from these 3 spots must take off behind the 3-meter stripe
  • Barefoot How most players go in the outdoor 2-against-2 game: no shoes are required
  • Beach Sandy shore that gives the 2-against-2 game its name
  • Bench Players who are not in the game sit here, beside the court
  • Bladder Air-holding bag at the heart of the ball
  • Ceiling An indoor hall needs 7 meters of clear height below this
  • End line Back edge of the court: every service starts from behind it
  • Free zone Open strip at least 3 meters wide around the court
  • Front row Only players in these 3 spots may leap and attack close to the net
  • Gym Indoor hall where the 6-against-6 game is played
  • Jersey Shirt: 1 back-row player wears a color unlike the rest
  • Knee pads Cushions worn on the legs for landing on a hard floor
  • Leather Real or synthetic, the cover of the ball is made of it
  • Nine Width of an indoor court in meters
  • Panels A classic ball is covered with 18 of these, nearly rectangular
  • Sand Ground of the outdoor 2-against-2 game
  • Sideline A rod on the net stands straight above each of these 2 edges
  • Square Shape of each half of an indoor court
  • Valve Small opening through which the air pressure of the ball is changed
  • Wind Outdoor sides swap ends so that this and the sun trouble both the same
  • Yellow Color that joined blue and white on the ball in 1998, ending the all-white ball

Players and Positions 18

  • Captain Player with the job of leading the other 5
  • Coach The adult who decides which 6 will begin the game
  • Doubles Another name for the 2-against-2 game
  • Libero Defender in a shirt of another color who never plays at the net
  • Lineup List of the players who start a game
  • Middle ___ blocker: guards the center of the net and joins a 2-player wall at either edge
  • Opposite ___ hitter: lines up across from the playmaker and can stand in as a second one
  • Outside ___ hitter: usually the most consistent attacker, who gets the ball most often
  • Partner In the 2-against-2 game, the one who flashes finger signals behind the back
  • Receiver Player who takes the first touch after a service
  • Referee Official who decides whether a ball was in
  • Rotation Turn of 1 spot that a side makes after winning the ball back
  • Setter Playmaker who takes the second touch and chooses the attacker
  • Six Number of players on each side of an indoor court
  • Specialist Defensive ___: a back-row player who comes in under the usual rules for changes
  • Starter Player named to open the game, not to wait as a reserve
  • Substitute Fresh player sent onto the floor during a stop in play
  • Two Number of players on a side in the outdoor game, where a side has no spare players

Serving, Passing and Setting 25

  • Approach Left, right, left for a right-handed hitter: the steps before takeoff
  • Bump Underarm hit off both arms pressed side by side
  • Dig Low save that keeps a hard attack off the floor
  • Dive Throw your body forward to save a ball, landing on your chest
  • Dump Trick by the playmaker: the ball goes straight over on the second touch
  • Fingertips They handle the ball in an overhead play
  • Float Service struck with no spin, so that its path is hard to read
  • Forearms Between hand and elbow: they meet the ball in an underarm play
  • Free ball Easy return, sent over softly because no attack was possible
  • Knuckleball Baseball pitch that a spinless service is likened to
  • Overhand Describes a ball handled above the head
  • Pancake Flat hand pushed along the floor under a ball that is about to land
  • Pass First touch after the service, aimed at the playmaker
  • Pepper Drill in which players send a ball back and forth with no net between them
  • Platform Name for the flat surface made by joined arms
  • Reception Another name for the first touch after the service
  • Serve To put the ball in play from behind the back line
  • Set Second touch: an overhead push that hangs the ball up for a hitter
  • Shank Slang for a first touch gone wildly astray
  • Sky ball Outdoor service struck so high that it comes down almost straight
  • Sprawl Low save with the hands on the ground and the body pushed forward
  • Topspin What a snap of the hand at contact gives the ball, so that it drops sooner
  • Toss Lift of the ball from the hand a moment before the service
  • Underhand Kind of service struck below the waist, easy to receive
  • Volley What a watcher saw the players do in 1896, which gave the sport its name

Attacks and Blocks 23

  • Apex Top of a hitter's leap, the ideal moment to meet the ball
  • Block Arms thrust up at the net as the attacker swings: the first barrier a hard hit meets
  • Bounce Slang for a very hard hit that goes steeply down and rebounds high
  • Cross-court Describes an attack sent at an angle, not along the edge
  • Cut shot Attack at so sharp an angle that it travels nearly parallel to the net
  • Defense What a side plays while it tries to keep an attack off its floor
  • Dink Another name for a light touch over the net in place of a hard hit
  • Joust A pair of rivals push on a ball that hangs just above the net
  • Kill Attack that is not returned, so it wins the point
  • Offense What a side is on while it has the ball and is trying to attack
  • Pipe Attack by the center player of the back 3
  • Quick Attack for which the hitter is in the air before the playmaker touches the ball
  • Roll shot Gentle attack struck from underneath, meant to loop above the blockers
  • Roof Stop at the net that sends the ball straight down on the attacker's own floor
  • Seam Space between neighboring defenders, a target for attacks and services
  • Slide Attack in which a hitter steps around the playmaker and swings from behind
  • Solo Word for a wall of just 1 blocker
  • Spike Leap, swing and smash the ball down past the net
  • Tip Gentle touch that drops the ball just past the net where nobody stands
  • Tool To win a point by glancing the ball off a blocker's arms and out of play
  • Transition Change of roles the moment a hard attack is saved
  • Triple Word for a wall of 3 blockers
  • Wipe Also called a swipe: the ball is pushed along the blockers' hands and out of bounds

Scoring, Rules and History 27

  • Ace Point won by the service alone
  • Badminton Racket sport from which the new game of 1895 was drawn
  • Basketball Sport, invented in 1891, to which the new game was a gentler alternative
  • Canada First country beyond the United States to take up the sport, in 1900
  • Catch A player may not do this to the ball and then throw it
  • Coin Flipped before play begins to decide which side starts with the ball
  • Eight Seconds allowed for a service before it becomes an error
  • Fault Touching the net or hitting the ball 2 times in a row, for example
  • Fifteen Points to which a deciding fifth game is played
  • Four One touch too many for a side
  • Hawaii Islands where the seaside form of the sport most likely began, in 1915
  • Holyoke Massachusetts city where the sport was invented in 1895
  • Let Service that brushes the net and still lands in: once an error, now legal
  • Match Best-of-5 contest that typically lasts about 90 minutes
  • Mintonette What the game was called in 1895, before a watcher suggested a new name
  • Netherlands Country where the seated form of the sport was invented in 1956
  • Rally It begins with a service and goes on until a point is won
  • Score "24 all" is a tied one
  • Seven In the 2-against-2 game, sides swap ends each time this many points are played
  • Side out Old name for winning back the right to start the point
  • Sitting ___ volleyball: the form in which players stay on the floor
  • Substitution Change of players: international rules allow 6 for each side in a game
  • Three Most touches a side may use before the ball must cross the net
  • Timeout Pause a side requests to rest and talk things over
  • Twenty-five Points needed to win a game indoors, with a lead of at least 2
  • Twenty-one Points needed to win a game in the outdoor 2-against-2 version
  • Twice A player may not touch the ball this many times in a row

How this list was compiled: Clues written for this site about the game itself, in five sets: the court and the ball, players and positions, serving, passing and setting, attacks and blocks, and scoring, rules and history. Rules and figures follow the international indoor game as English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0) and the rules pages of the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (fivb.com) give them, read in October 2026. No league, team, tournament or player is named. Licence: own work

How it works

This volleyball crossword puzzle, printable on Letter or A4, is a vocabulary crossword about the game itself. The first puzzle has 12 easy words, among them Serve, Spike, Dig, Set, Rotation and Libero.

Read the full guide

Five sets after the easy one

The Court and the Ball has Antenna, Free zone and Bladder. Players and Positions has Setter, Opposite and Doubles. Serving, Passing and Setting has Float, Pancake and Pepper. Attacks and Blocks has Roof, Joust and Pipe. Scoring, Rules and History has Side out, Mintonette and Holyoke.

The rules behind the clues

Rule clues follow the international indoor game: six players a side, three touches, a game to 25 points with a lead of two, a deciding fifth game to 15 and an attack line 3 meters from the net. The game on sand has clues of its own, from Doubles to Barefoot.

  • Hand out Players and Positions before tryouts, so that Setter, Libero and Opposite are not new words at the first practice.

Questions and answers

Is the volleyball crossword free to print with an answer key?

Yes, and no account is needed. The answer key prints last, on a sheet of its own, so the puzzle goes to the players and the key stays with you.

Is there a volleyball word search to go with the crossword?

Yes. This site has a volleyball word search with many of the same words, linked on this page. Print both for one lesson: find the words first, then solve the clues.

What grade is the volleyball crossword for?

Easy Volleyball Words suits elementary students in grades 3 to 5, with answers such as Bump, Ace and Rally. The five themed sets suit grades 5 and up and school teams. These bands are our judgment, not a published standard.

What does libero mean in volleyball?

Libero is Italian for free. The libero is a back-row defender in a jersey of another color who can replace any back-row player and may not block or attack the ball above the net.

How many players are on a volleyball team?

Six a side are on the court in the indoor game and two in beach volleyball. Six and Two are both answers in Players and Positions.

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