The fastest women’s volleyball serve: what FIVB’s 118.4 km/h figure establishes

FIVB’s technical report for the 2024 Volleyball Nations League lists the women’s fastest serve at 118.4 km/h—about 73.6 mph. That is an official published competition benchmark, but the comparison does not identify the server, opponent or match. It supports a speed answer, not a named all-time world-record holder. See the comparison on page 11 of the FIVB Technical and Data Report: VNL 2024.

What the 118.4 km/h figure establishes

The report says FIVB began collecting the fastest serves and highest spikes per match, and presents the current best figures for men and women. It also states that all matches in VNL 2024 were analyzed. Its scope is that indoor competition—not beach volleyball, NCAA competition or every women’s match ever played. Source: FIVB.

The comparison leaves three important questions unanswered:

• Who served it? It does not credit the 118.4 figure to an individual.
• What happened in the rally? It does not say whether the serve was an ace, a playable reception or a service error.
• Is it a ratified world record? It does not establish a worldwide record category or a record-certification procedure.

The accurate way to quote this source is: “FIVB lists 118.4 km/h as the women’s fastest-serve benchmark in its VNL 2024 report.” A competition maximum, a reported record and a ratified all-time record are different claims.

Don’t confuse a serve with a spike

A serve puts the ball into play at the start of a rally. FIVB calls the airborne version a “jump” or “spike” serve: a spike serve is still a serve, whereas an attacking spike during the rally is a different action. Source: FIVB’s game glossary.

For example, WorldOfVolley reported Tijana Bošković’s 110.3 km/h hit against Türkiye in the 2021 EuroVolley semifinal as a spike-speed record. That report is not evidence of a 110.3 km/h serve record. Source: WorldOfVolley, September 3, 2021.

Fastest serve does not mean best server

Serve speed measures how fast the ball travels; an ace measures a scoring outcome. At the 2025 Women’s World Championship, Melissa Vargas, Martyna Czyrniańska and Iman Ndiaye shared first place in the best-servers ranking with 10 aces each. That ranking counted aces, not maximum speed. Source: Volleyball World.

Consider a hypothetical indoor set tied at 20–20. A hard serve that lands untouched inside the opponent’s court gives the serving team a 21–20 lead and an ace. A same-speed serve hit out gives the receiving team a 21–20 lead. If the receiver keeps it playable, the speed alone tells you neither who wins the rally nor whether the server earns ace credit. Under FIVB rally scoring, every rally awards one point—not extra points for velocity. Source: FIVB.

To evaluate serving effectiveness, pair aces and errors with the total number of attempts and what happens after playable receptions. Our guide to aces versus service errors explains that comparison; what counts as an ace explains why a receiver’s touch does not necessarily prevent ace credit.