Volleyball Cheers and Chants for Every Moment (Free Printable Bench Card)

By Ryan Walker. Updated November 4, 2026: reorganized by game situation, rule references checked against the FIVB 2025-2028 rules, plus a free printable bench cheer card.

Three stuff blocks in a row on the same middle, and our setter’s eyes dropped to the floor. Then a kid on the bench started two claps and a stomp, and within two seconds the whole bench had it.

The best volleyball cheers are short, loud and tied to a moment, and they stay inside the bench conduct rules. Here are the ones that work, by situation:

• Ace: “A (stomp) C (stomp) E (stomp), ACE!” and one team clap
• Block: “ROOF!”, or “De-” / “NIED!” as call and response
• Kill: “Bump, set, spike it, that’s the way we like it!”
• Serve: “O-V-E-R, over the net, serve it, go [name]!”
• Side-out: “S-I-D-E-O-U-T, side out!” then clap clap and your team name
• Pre-match: “What time is it?” / “GAME TIME!”

Why two claps beat a four-line rhyme

We won that set 25-22. Nothing about that cheer was clever. It was two claps and a stomp. But it was done before our server reached the line, and it told six players on the court that the bench was still in it.

That’s the whole test for a volleyball cheer: can you finish it before the next serve? The gap is short. Once the referee whistles for service, the server has 8 seconds to serve under FIVB rules and 5 seconds in high school. In MLV, one of the US pro leagues, there’s also a 15-second clock between rallies. A cheer with three verses and choreography is still going when your libero needs to be locked in on serve receive.

So I coach benches to use short bursts: one phrase, one stomp pattern, done in three or four seconds. Everyone has time to breathe and reset before the whistle.

Ace cheers

An ace scores before the other team touches the ball, so celebrate the server without bleeding into their next routine.

• The ACE stomp: “A (stomp) C (stomp) E (stomp), ACE!” and one full-team clap. About four seconds. By the time it’s done, your server is back behind the line.
• Call and response: “We want another one!” (starter) / “Just like the other one!” (bench), then “ACE, ACE, ACE!” together.
• Short and loud: “You just got served!”
• For after the ace, not before the serve: “You better duck, you better hide, ’cause [name] is serving to your side!” It’s longer, so save it for after the point.

Block cheers

A stuff block is the most deflating play in volleyball for the team on the other side. Your bench should make the most of it.

• “ROOF!” One word, everyone at once, both arms up on the beat. If eight people hit the same syllable at the same moment, it sounds like the gym is coming down.
• “Shingle, shingle, ROOF!” The two-beat setup lets the bench sync before the payoff. Great when your middle is on a run.
• “De-” / “NIED!” Two syllables, starter and response. Nothing to memorize.
• “YOU SHALL NOT PASS!” Fans already know it, so they join in.
• “You try to get all in our space, we slam that ball back in your face!” Pair it with hands up and a push forward.

Kill cheers

Kills are the most common way to score, so this is the cheer your bench will use most. Keep it crisp.

• “Bump, set, spike it, that’s the way we like it!” The classic, and it maps to how the point was won.
• (clap clap) (stomp stomp) KILL! No words to learn. Works in any gym.
• “Ahhh… kill, kill, kill!” The long vowel lets the bench build so the word lands together.
• “Jump up and hit it, that’s the way we get the… POINT!” The pause before “point” is the hook. After two reps, nobody needs coaching.

Tip cheers

Tips catch everyone watching for a big swing, including your own bench. Having a tip cheer teaches players that smart plays get celebrated too, which matters for your defenders who rarely get the loud moments.

• “TIP! TIP! TIPPER!”
• “Tip, tip, hooray!”
• “Woooosh!” with a hand sweep across the body

Serving cheers

Serving cheers go before the serve, so keep them encouraging and finish them early. Never cheer through the server’s toss.

• “O-V-E-R, over the net, serve it, go [name]!” The most common serving cheer in high school gyms.
• “Serve it up, [name], serve it up!” then clap clap.
• “Uno, dos, tres, this next serve’s gonna be an ace!”

Side-out cheers

A side-out ends the other team’s serving run. It’s a momentum stop, and it deserves a cheer even when the point itself was ugly.

• “S-I-D-E-O-U-T, side out!” then clap clap and your team name.
• “Our ball!” Two words, everyone, the moment the referee signals.

Pre-match circle chants

Before the first serve, your team needs one sound. Not six players doing six different things.

• “What time is it?” (captain) / “GAME TIME!” (team). Three seconds. Works from middle school to college.
• “We want a victory, [team] victory!” Swap in your mascot so it becomes yours.

Whatever you use, end on one unified stomp or clap. No trailing off, no one still finishing the words. That last sound should still be in the gym while the other team walks to their spots.

Short 3-word chants

For the moments between, when you just need noise on the same beat: “Next ball, ours!” “Here we go!” “Big serve, [name]!” “Stay right here!” “One more time!”

Why the bench is a tactical asset

Most coaches think about their starting six. The good ones think about the bench too. Bench energy costs you nothing in substitutions, and it affects both teams.

When your bench erupts after a stuff block, your blockers feel backed up and go up again on the next ball. The hitter on the other side starts wondering if they’re reading the block wrong.

There’s a second effect most coaches never spell out. A loud, coordinated bench makes it harder for the other team to hear their own “mine” and seam calls. Teams in a loud gym end up relying more on pre-planned calls and hand signals, and that slows their decisions on balls in the seam.

What doesn’t work: scattered individual cheering, three different chants at once, or a bench that’s loud for 30 seconds and then goes silent after a bad rally. Silence after a lost point is the loudest thing in the gym.

When the gym is too loud for words

In a packed arena, your chants won’t reach the court. That’s why every team should have three silent bench signals: one finger up after an ace, both arms raised wide after a block, a fist pump down after a kill. Players already know these from watching games. Making them official just means the whole bench does the same thing at the same moment.

A setter who can’t hear anything can still look at the bench and see six players locked in. For big runs, pair the “ROOF” shout with both arms up on the same beat. Sound and motion together look more coordinated than either one alone.

The etiquette line

There’s a line, and officials will draw it for you if you don’t. Under FIVB Rule 21, unsporting behavior earns sanctions. A yellow card is a warning with no point attached. A red card gives the other team a point and the serve. Keep pushing and it can get worse from there. The FIVB 2025-2028 rulebook breakdown covers the full sanction scale.

Cheer for your team and the ball. “ACE! ACE! ACE!” after your serve lands celebrates the result. “Watch her hands!” yelled at the other team’s setter is targeting a player, and any good referee has heard it before. So is mocking a server mid-toss or timing your loudest chant to drown out the other setter’s calls.

Coach’s cue: a red card for bench conduct at 14-14 is a point your team didn’t earn and can’t get back. Cheer the ball, not the person.

Which cheer for which moment

This is the table I wish someone had given me as a young coach. Different moments call for different responses, not just louder or quieter ones.

The 24-22 row is the one coaches almost always get wrong. The bench wants to get loud before the big serve. The server needs quiet. Save the noise for after the point.

How to build your team’s chants

Most teams inherit cheers from older players. The ones that stick aren’t the cleverest. They’re the ones that are easy to do with your heart pounding in a loud gym.

• Short enough to finish in three or four seconds. If it takes longer, cut lines.
• One starter per chant. Call and response needs a leader. Pick one person, so nobody waits for someone else to go first.
• Claps and stomps beat words. They’re easier to sync, and new players can join in before they know the words.
• Practice it dry. Run your chants for five minutes at the end of practice twice a week until they’re automatic.
• Three chants is enough. One for aces, one for blocks and kills, one for pre-match. Teams that try a different chant for every play end up doing none of them well.

Volleyball cheer FAQs

Bench culture is a coaching decision. The teams I’ve coached against with the best bench energy weren’t the loudest. They were the most consistent. They had a response ready for every moment, and everyone knew their role.

Keep playing,
Ryan Walker