What does the volleyball term "topspin serve" mean?

Question

I think I know the basics of what it means but i need a dictionary-ish definition that is fairly short. thanks!!

Answer 1

A method of serving that puts a large amount of forward spin on the volleyball causing it to dive suddenly.

Answer 2

A topspin serve is a serve which has significant "topspin" so that it travels in the classic "topspin path:, (i.e dipping earlier than a non-topspin serve, so maybe catching the receiver up to a whole step too far back to dig properly) not a normal "symmetrical" parabola that a "flat" serve would typically follow.   Note if the spin is not significant, the dipping effect is negligible and you wouldn't class the serve as "topspin".  Because it dips more sharply, tennis players too use it to make a harder/faster serve have more chance of dipping INTO the relevant service area.

Topspin in all sports is defined as the top of the ball spinning down in the direction of travel, as if the ball was ROLLING along along the ground /think of it rolling through the air.  Because of this spin, the normal parabolic shaped path of objects flying through the air is skewed so that the latter part of the trajectory is compressed, ie it dips more sharply than expected of a normal serve. [ Back spin does the opposite e.g drop shot in tennis, the ball lifts to clear the net and doesn't carry as far as normally expected]

Answer 3

"Topspin" is a spin that has the ball's "top" spinning **forward**, causing the ball to go down faster.

If the ball's top is spinning backward towards the server, it is called backspin.