The 8 Most Common Volleyball Scoring Criteria at Tryouts

Volleyball tryouts involve a lot of moving parts, but the categories coaches actually score rarely vary as much as you’d think. Based on data from evaluations run across volleyball clubs and associations, these eight categories make up the most common volleyball scoring criteria coaches use to rank and compare players — covering every phase of the game from serve to dig.

Serving and Receiving

1. Serving

Serving evaluates a player’s consistency, accuracy, and power on their serve, along with their ability to place the ball strategically rather than just getting it over the net. At higher levels, coaches also look for serve variety — the ability to mix locations and serve types to put pressure on the opposing passers.

2. Service Receive

Service receive measures how well a player passes an incoming serve to a target, typically the setter. This is one of the most heavily weighted categories in many programs, since a clean first contact off a serve is often what determines whether a team can even run its offense on that point.

Ball Control Fundamentals

3. Passing

Passing more broadly covers a player’s overall ball control on any incoming ball, not just serves — digs, free balls, and general platform control. Consistent, accurate passing is often considered a foundational skill that every other phase of the game depends on.

4. Defense

Defense evaluates a player’s ability to read the opposing attack, react quickly, and dig hard-driven balls, along with court coverage and positioning. This category captures the scrappier, reactive side of the game that doesn’t always show up in stat lines but consistently shows up in wins.

Attacking Skills

5. Attacking

Attacking is a broader category that looks at a player’s overall offensive contribution — shot selection, court awareness, and the ability to score in different ways beyond just a hard-driven spike, including tips and off-speed shots.

6. Hitting

Hitting looks more specifically at approach timing, arm swing mechanics, and contact power on a full attack. While closely related to the broader attacking category, hitting focuses on the technical execution of the swing itself — footwork, timing, and the mechanics that produce a clean, powerful contact.

Setting

7. Setting

Setting evaluates a player’s ball placement, consistency, and decision-making in running the offense — including their ability to distribute to different hitters, adjust to a bad pass, and set up a hitter for the best possible attacking angle.

Net Defense

8. Blocking

Blocking measures a player’s timing, hand positioning, and footwork at the net, along with their ability to read a hitter’s approach and close seams alongside teammates. Strong blockers don’t just stop shots outright — they slow the ball down enough for the defense behind them to make a play.

Why These Eight Categories Matter

Together, these eight categories give coaches a full view of a player across every phase of volleyball — serving, passing, setting, attacking, and defending at the net and on the floor. Programs that evaluate consistently across all eight, rather than leaning heavily on just one or two flashy skills like hitting or serving, tend to build more balanced rosters and catch talent that might otherwise get overlooked.

TeamGenius helps volleyball clubs build consistent scoring rubrics around categories like these, so every evaluator is measuring players the same way across every station.

Visit teamgenius.com to learn more.

Frequently Asked Questions