half volley
- noun
:
media volea
- He surprised everyone with a powerful half volley that soared over the net after the ball had just bounced.
Examples
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His crosses this season have more often than not gone straight to the opposition goalkeeper, but on this occasion it dropped perfectly in front of the onrushing Ince, whose half volley was unstoppable from 6 yards, and put us, incredibly, 4-0 up.
Blog text (21) -
...of the wicket, a wide half-volley.
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The Honduran's half-volley in the 81st minute was undeniably one of the biggest goals in Sounders history, once the timing and execution of it are taken into account.
Blog text (3) -
That miss came after Nagoya winger Yoshizumi Ogawa had fired his side into the lead with a well-taken half-volley, and on the balance of play, Grampus deserved all three points from what was a relatively one-sided encounter.
Blog text (17) -
During the match, she expertly executed a half volley just after the ball bounced, catching her opponent off guard.
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The player skillfully returned the serve with a half volley, hitting the ball immediately after it touched the court.
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound is partially compositional: 'half' modifies 'volley' to signal a reduced/partial form of a volley, so a learner who knows both words can infer that it refers to something like a 'partial' or 'near' volley. However, the precise technical meaning — striking the ball immediately after it bounces rather than before it touches the ground — depends on sport-specific knowledge and timing nuances, so it is not fully predictable from the parts alone.
Etymology
Half volley comes from tennis and the name links half and volley: it is not a full volley in the air but a shot made just after the ball hits the ground. The player strikes the ball immediately after the bounce, so the phrase means 'a shot played immediately after the bounce'.
