• Volleyball games are intense, and practice drills should match that intensity.Ball in the air image by Roy L. from Fotolia.com
  
  Volleyball is a sport of intense quickness interspersed with short intervals of rest. Some of the most important volleyball drills seek to develop not only quickness, but stamina and conditioning, because in volleyball you need to be able to perform well even when you're tired.
  
  

20 Ball

• Start with a player on one side of the net and a coach on the other. The coach begins by rolling the ball under the net, anywhere on the court. The player must touch the volleyball. As soon as she has touched the ball, the coach rolls another ball somewhere else on the court that she also must touch. The player must complete this drill until she has touched 20 volleyballs. The coach can make this as simple or as difficult as she likes by varying the speed and direction of the ball. This drill works on conditioning as well as reaction time.
  
  

Blue Lip

• Place the entire team on one side of the net in a circle. The coach is at the net with a cart full of volleyballs. One player steps to the middle of the circle to take a turn as a defender. The coach hits, tips or throws the ball over the net. The defender plays the ball to the best of his ability. The surrounding players try to catch the balls that the defender hits without moving their feet. Each time they do so, the defender in the middle gets a point. The defender's turn ends when he reaches 15. Players take turns in the middle until each has had a turn.
  
  This drill works on conditioning and agility, developing a player's ability to play the ball from anywhere and at any angle. Relying on teammates to help you finish your turn can also help build team morale.
  
  

Consecutive Attacks

• Set up with one player hitting in the left front position and a setter in the right front position to toss the ball. The setter tosses the hitter a ball that she must hit in-bounds. If the hit goes out of bounds or the hitter does not make a full hitting approach with an overhand hit, it does not count.
  
  Tips, short shots and standing overhand hits do not count. The hitter must hit 10 balls correctly before her turn is up. This drill builds stamina to help you function well even when you are tired.