Rules
When a player hits a ball out of the backrow it is called a backrow atack. The player has to jump from behind the 10 foot line prior to coming into contact with the ball. A player can land, and usually does, within the ten foot line, close to the net. This is a good rule because it stops the best players on the team from attacking every ball in the front row. Therefore, there are always only 3 players eligible to hit ahead of the ten foot line in the course of the match.
Techniques
In a perfect world, the hitter should make contact with the ball at the top of his or her jump. When the contact is made, the arm of the hitter is extended fully above his or her head and it is somewhat forward, this allows for the highest possible contact to be made, while conserving the capability to give a strong strike. The hitter makes use of the wrist snap, arm swing and a fast forward contraction of the whole body (what this looks like is the pike position) to be able to hit the ball really hard. In the event that ball is hit hard and straight down, you might hear people calling it a 'bounce'. A player gets a kill when the opposing team cannot dig or return the ball.
In terms of how and where to hit the ball, here are some examples. In my opinion, there are only two places to hot a volleyball: down the line or a sharp, cross court spike. Most of the time these are the places to hit to get around the block. Hitting line means spiking the ball and trying to the sideline of the opponent's court (presuming you are hitting from the outside or rightside) and a cross court shot is when you take the sharpest angle while hitting the ball over the net. A dump, aka, dink or tip, is any time the player will, rather than spiking the ball, lightly contacting the ball, so that it hits the ground at an area of the court of the opposing team which is not covered by the opponents. My personal favorite is the swipe or tool. This is whenever an attacker essentially shoves the ball into the blockers hands, then throws the ball off of the block and out of bounds, ending in a touch call on the blocker. I always loved doing this to blockers.
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