June 15, 2021 by Luis F. Dominguez Spanish Vocabulary 0 comments

All You Need to Know About Volleyball in Spanish

Do you like to play or watch volleyball and want to learn words about volleyball in Spanish? Good news! Today, I’m providing you with the ultimate guide to volleyball in Spanish.

Keep reading to learn about the origins of volleyball and discover plenty of Spanish volleyball terms. In this post, you’ll learn all about the court and equipment, the players and referees, game terms, and rules. Plus, we’ll explore some common phrases about volleyball in Spanish. So, let’s get straight to it and discover everything there’s to know about this spectacular sport in Spanish.

A Brief History of Volleyball

Originally known as “mintonette,” volleyball was invented by the physical director of Holyoke, Massachusetts’ Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA), William G. Morgan, in 1895. It wasn’t until 1916 that its first set of rules were published jointly by the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).

In the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo, volleyball was introduced as an Olympic sport for the first time and, since 1969, a World Cup championship is played every four years. Nowadays, the Federation Internationale de Volley Ball (FIVB) has 220 affiliated national federations, making this game one of the most popular team sports in the world.

Why You Should Learn Vocabulary About Volleyball in Spanish

It’s helpful to learn about volleyball in Spanish for two main reasons:

1. Because you’re a volleyball fan, you love the game, and you want to be able to talk about it in Spanish or any other language you may speak. You don’t want to be in Spanish-speaking countries wanting to play or watch your favorite game and not be able to communicate about it.

2. Because it’s part of your language learning process, which implies learning Spanish vocabulary about many different areas of life, including sports and even volleyball terms. In this sense, learning volleyball terms in Spanish expands your vocabulary, just as learning about basketball, golf, or music in Spanish does.

Volleyball in Spanish: Vocabulary Guide

If you want to play volleyball in Spanish, you need to learn the basic volleyball rules, the meaning of terms such as “volleyball court” or “volleyball setter,” and even some popular slang about this beautiful game.

Before going further, it’s important to mention that although the terms vóleibol, voleibol, and vólibol are accepted and used in Spanish, you may find many sites and documents in Spanish that refer to this game with its English name of “volleyball.” For clarity, I’m using el voleibol as the Spanish name of the sport throughout this article.

I’ve divided this vocabulary guide into four categories to make it more accessible and easy-to-learn for you: court and equipment; players and referees; the game and rules; and volleyball phrases. I think I’ve covered most areas of volleyball in Spanish, but if I’ve missed anything you can always let me know in a comment.

All About the Court and Equipment

Let’s start with physical items and facilities needed to play volleyball in Spanish. Find the volleyball term in Spanish in the right column, and what it means in English in the left column.

Spanish	English
la cancha	court
la red	net
la pelota, el balón	ball
la banca	bench
la mesa de anotaciones	referees’ desk
la línea lateral	side line
la línea de fondo	back line
la zona de ataque	attack zone
la zona zaguera	back zone
el poste	post
la tarjeta amarilla	yellow card
la tarjeta roja	red card
la zona del entrenador	coach’s area
la zona de sustitución	substitution area
el silbato	whistle
el partido, el juego	match

Volleyball Players and Referees

While it’s a fact that without a volleyball net, court, and ball you can’t play the game, it’s also true that the volleyball player is the heart and soul of the sport. Let’s learn a bit about the different players, positions, and referees involved in a volleyball match.

Spanish	English
el defensa	defender
el central	middle blocker
el atacante, el rematador	outside hitter
el colocador	setter
el recibidor	receiver
el pasador	passer
el líbero	libero
el opuesto	opposite
el delantero	forward player
el zaguero	back court player
el titular	starter
el suplente	substitute
el árbitro	referee
el árbitro auxiliar	assistant referee
el juez de línea	line judge
el árbitro de mesa	desk referee
el aficionado	fan

The Game and Rules

These are some of the most common volleyball terms and volleyball that you can use in a sentence in Spanish. Here, I’m also including a few beach volleyball terms.

Spanish	English
el set	set
el punto	point
el error	error
el servicio	serve
el ataque	atack
el bloqueo	block
el remate	spike
la levantada, la recepción	dig
la defensa	defense
la colocación	set
el pase	pass
la finta	fake
la falta	foul
la formación	formation
el equipo	team
la rotación	rotation
el desempate	tie break
la bola muerta	dead ball
el orden al saque	serve order
el uniforme	uniform

Volleyball-Related Phrases in Spanish

Finally, I want to include some important phrases about volleyball in Spanish for you to learn and practice at home.

Yo juego voleibol.
I play volleyball.

Me gusta jugar voleibol.
I like to play volleyball.

Mi deporte favorito es el voleibol.
My favorite sport is volleyball.

Ellos están jugando voleibol.
They are playing volleyball.

Voy a la práctica de voleibol.
I’m going to volleyball practice.

¿Quieres jugar voleibol?
Do you want to play volleyball?

Play Volleyball and Practice Your Spanish!

Volleyball is a beautiful game and talking about volleyball in Spanish should now be easier for you after going through all these specialized terms in Spanish. Remember to practice them at home or in real-life conversations with native Spanish speakers, so you can introduce them slowly into your Spanish vocabulary.

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Luis F. Dominguez

Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy

Luis F. Domínguez is a freelance writer and independent journalist interested in travel, languages, art, books, history, philosophy, politics and sports. He has written for Fodor’s, Yahoo!, Sports Illustrated, Telemundo, and Villa Experience, among other brands of print and digital media in Europe and North America.

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