If you like the game cornhole, you might want to try the volleyball version. It’s a 6 v 6 drill that focuses on serve-receive and incentivizes first-ball kills.
How important are first-ball kills?
“The sideout statistics we kept with the national team indicated our offense was greatly enhanced if we scored on the first swing rather than later in the point,” says Terry Liskevych, head coach of the USA women's team for three Olympics. “When you’re in system, it gives you so many more options to be successful, and by working on it a lot in practice, it reinforces the idea that getting good first-ball swings is a team effort – all three skills in the chain (pass, set, hit) are very important.”
Before we describe the drill, here's a tip on how hitters can improve their first-ball kill success by adjusting their hitting approach after passing.
How cornhole volleyball works
Two full teams play mini sets consisting of 8 serves, 4 for each side. Like cornhole, the serves alternate, so one team serves and, regardless of who wins the point, the other team serves next.
Points are awarded to the receiving team, not the serving team. You get 3 points for a first-ball kill and one point for scoring later in the rally. If the serving team wins the rally, it’s just called a “stop.” No points are awarded.
Since the object of the game is to practice serve-receive, the server gets a second chance after a miss. After a second miss, the coach “bowls” a free ball to the receiving team.
Scoring options
Once a mini set is finished, cancellation scoring is applied. For instance, if the score is 8-5, you subtract 5 points from the winning team’s score and make the total 3-0. Then, you begin the second mini set.
You can decide on a winning score for the entire drill based on how long you want the game to go. Regular cornhole is 21 points. That makes for a long volleyball drill, especially with cancellation scoring. If you don’t want to eat up too much practice time, try 11 points or even 7.
Switching rotations after a mini set is a good way to safeguard front-row players from jumping too much, says Western Washington coach Diane Flick-Williams, narrator in this video. For example, if the first set is played with Rotation 1, you might play the second set with Rotation 4.
For an alternative to the first-ball kill version of this game, start the rally with a free-ball and emphasize transition swings.
Here's another good first-ball kill drill. This one focuses on swings for left-side pin hitters.
