The Attributes of Physics in Volleyball

Written By: Leonardo Lor

Introduction

As a player of the sport, Volleyball is a sport that has many mechanics and physics to it. Being a great Volleyball player not only requires displace, discipline, hard work, and confidence; but also requires the help of physics. Physics helps with every aspect of the sport, whether it is the power of a spike, the force applied from the player in order to jump to a sufficient height to outmatch other players, although it also applies to the sport when it comes to defending the play rather than initiating it. While many people just play the sport without thinking twice on how it can help them improve, they still rely on advice that helps increase their force and power through weightlifting or plyometrics. This article will go over how physics is applied in volleyball and perhaps give the reader an idea on how to use it to their advantage in their next volleyball match.

Newton’s Laws of Motion on Jumping, Blocking, and Spiking

Volleyball is a game where the player and its opponent must both jump, either to spike the ball or to block the player, in order to score a point. When it comes to applying Newton’s Laws of Motion to these actions, it is quickly realized that even the basics of physics are clearly demonstrated.

Newton’s First Law of Motion, the Law of Inertia, states that, “An object at rest will remain at rest unless acted on by an unbalanced force.” With this definition in mind we can assume that a volleyball will travel with the same speed and in the same direction unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Knowing this from my experience, when a setter sets the ball or tosses it up in the air for a serve, the ball will not change directions all of a sudden, rather it will fall due to gravity eventually giving it a predictable trajectory for the player to time their hits on it. This law is also applied when blocking in volleyball. Some players will forcefully reach over the net after the hitter has spiked the ball to make contact with the ball, applying force of their own. This in turn allows the ball to be stopped short of the net to end the play and secure the point effectively.

Newton’s Second Law of Motion, the Law of Acceleration, states that, “Acceleration is produced when a force acts on a mass. The greater the mass is, the greater the amount of force needed.” This law applies to the equation of force equal to Mass times Acceleration which is crucial to the player because the amount of force they produce is caused by their mass and their acceleration. From my own personal experience, due to mass and acceleration being inversely proportional, players with a larger mass will have a harder time accelerating and moving quickly, while players that have less mass will have an easier time accelerating which all comes down to spiking the ball to maximum force.

Lastly there is Newton’s Third Law, the Law of Action and Reaction, which states, “For every action there is an opposite and equal re-action.” This law enables players to jump off the floor depending on how much force they apply to the ground as the ground exerts a force back on them. From what I have seen, this is why players weight lift as it allows them to train to exert more force so that when they need to take off from the ground, they are able to exert more force on the ground to jump higher.

Rotational Torque, and Power When Spiking

When watching professional volleyball players, it is noticeable that they turn their bodies to the side. This is because the power of a player’s spike not only comes from the speed of their arm, but also the torque exerted from the player themself. When a player rotates their body, they also rotate their elbow and shoulder, which maximizes the amount of power exerted. Torque is the rotational force that is exerted from a player’s rotational movement. It is calculated by the equation, radius multiplied by the force of the object, where force must be perpendicular to the radius. This also explains why players spike the ball with their arm fully reached out and not too bent because it maximizes torque, and also allows the ball to travel at a downward angle.

Power is used to exert the maximum rate of energy into the ball when spiking and jumping. Power is measured by Work over Time, which can also be derived as Force times Displacement over Time. Whilst Power is measured using linear displacement, angular displacement can be used to calculate linear displacement. When it comes to jumping however, power is all about exerting the most force through a great range of movement in the shortest amount of time possible. From my own personal experience with playing with shorter players, when they block, they tend to squat really low. This increases their range of motion, allowing them to exert force over greater displacement within a given time interval.

Redirecting Velocity, Acceleration, and Momentum

Volleyball is a sport that requires the player to have great technique along with their own knowledge, as without this, a player will not succeed in the sport. Players are constantly having to adapt to in-game situations as one of these situations will require the player to redirect or cut their momentum and velocity. There are many examples but let’s say you have a setter who sets you the ball a little bit too much to the right. You would have to redirect your current motion to catch up to the ball and be able to time your spike with it.

Redirecting velocity is very simple physics, yet it is very important in volleyball as players are constantly changing the rate at which they gain displacement over a period of time depending on their court positioning. Velocity is needed to be redirected in different directions in Volleyball for extra room on the court, displacement to other teammates, or to cover a larger amount of displacement over a shorter period of time. Acceleration can also be redirected for similar moments as it is possible that you will need to increase your rate of velocity over a large displacement or decrease it over a short displacement within the court. No matter the situation a player must always be willing to use physics to their advantage to adapt.

Momentum redirection involves transferring a player’s current motion in another direction. Although this is best showcased for when players do their approach, which is a series of steps that are taken in order to increase the power of a player’s vertical jump. Just like other mechanics in volleyball it can be trained to make players faster and jump higher. Since momentum is calculated by the equation mass times velocity, increasing player’s horizontal velocity directly increases their horizontal momentum. This is where vertical force is attributed to an increase in momentum as Force is equivalent to the derivative of momentum which means that an increase in momentum will be a positive constant applied force, and decreasing momentum will be a negative applied force.

Conclusion

Physics is what allows volleyball, and any other sport, to be exciting by providing spectators athletic spectacles and great plays. Simple physics is all that a player needs to know in order to understand the game on a deeper level. Due to being a player myself, there have been great visual examples of such things. Whether a player plays on a team or just for fun, just know when they step on that court and promise to give it their all, they use physics along with their skills.

Source Cited

How Can I Spike Harder? - USA Volleyball. 17 Jan. 2021, https://usavolleyball.org/resource/how-can-i-spike-harder/

​"Volleyball and the Newton's Laws." Volleyball and Physics, Weebly, [No date of publication available], https://volleyballandphysics.weebly.com/newtons-laws.html.​

Burik, Mark. "High-Level Arm Swing Mechanics for Spiking a Volleyball (GAIN MORE POWER!)." Better at Beach, Better at Beach, 23 Dec. 2025, https://www.betteratbeach.com/blog/arm-swing-mechanics-spiking-volleyball-gain-more-power.