How to Use volley in a Sentence

volley

1 of 2 noun
  • The tank was hit by a volley of bullets.
  • She was overwhelmed by a volley of questions from the press.
  • The lawsuit is not even the most recent volley in the back-and-forth.
    Ben Brasch, Washington Post, 18 Sep. 2023
  • Williams then roared with delight after putting away an easy volley.
    Charlie Eccleshare, New York Times, 10 June 2026
  • This ultra-stretch quarter-zip pullover leaves room to move, volley, and slice.
    Nicole Kliest, Vogue, 24 Feb. 2025
  • The past 24 hours or so has seen a serve-and-volley game no-one saw coming.
    Lars Brandle, Billboard, 6 Jan. 2022
  • The curving lefty serve caromed away from her, and so did the charging volleys.
    Sally Jenkins, Anchorage Daily News, 3 July 2023
  • Notice how this is an artful volley around the table?
    Tom Smyth, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Still, the volleys show that both sides are budging from their opening offers.
    Bydavid Welch, Fortune, 14 Sep. 2023
  • And Nix, often with a smirk, will return the volley.
    Troy Renck, Denver Post, 30 Jan. 2026
  • When the next helicopter swooped in, the group released a volley of boos and thumbs-down.
    Zach Helfand, The New Yorker, 24 Jan. 2022
  • Rybakina did so down set point in the second set, and sent a volley wide.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 31 Jan. 2026
  • With a powerful first touch, David smashed a volley of his own into the net.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 24 June 2026
  • This is why serve-and-volley tennis was the rule at Wimbledon for decades.
    Gerald Marzorati, The New Yorker, 26 June 2022
  • Khachanov put the volley in the net, giving Shelton the second set.
    Lukas Weese, New York Times, 8 Aug. 2025
  • Passers-by and commuters heard the volley of gunshots during the morning rush hour.
    Yan Zhuang, New York Times, 19 July 2023
  • Eberechi Eze’s volley, below, was a beauty.
    Phil Hay, New York Times, 18 Mar. 2026
  • The post was greeted with a volley of derision and dismissal.
    Josh Morgenthau, Washington Post, 5 Aug. 2023
  • There would be a few more grins that morning, including one when Michelsen missed an easy volley.
    Matthew Futterman, New York Times, 26 Jan. 2026
  • Suárez found space in the box and drilled a volley in the 82nd minute to level the match at 2-2.
    CBS News, 5 Apr. 2026
  • That was when Nunez was hurt, a shrapnel wound above his right knee, during the second volley of shots.
    Brock Blasdell, The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2022
  • Giroud nearly broke the tie in the 77th, but Pickford was able to bat his volley away.
    Nancy Armour, USA TODAY, 10 Dec. 2022
  • Fanta was killed in the volley of shots, and her 12-year-old sister was among those wounded.
    NBC News, 21 Jan. 2022
  • Pound away relentlessly from the baseline or team with a partner and bang volleys at the net?
    Don Norcross, San Diego Union-Tribune, 25 Sep. 2023
  • Someone in a passing car had opened fire, spraying a volley of bullets toward the trees.
    Washington Post, 27 Nov. 2022
  • Show up in style with the cute Vuori volley skirt, which is currently on sale for $54.
    Kristine Thomason, Travel + Leisure, 28 Nov. 2025
  • Left unmarked just outside the penalty area, Félix sent a half-volley in on two bounces off the far post.
    ABC News, 31 Mar. 2026
  • The straight-leg volley, Basil Fawlty-style, was a big thing for ‘keepers back in the day.
    Stuart James, New York Times, 20 June 2026
  • Saliba turned after corralling a long pass in the air and served a volley up on a plate for David.
    Joshua Kloke, New York Times, 24 June 2026
  • Straight-line rockets, swerving bends, dipping volleys.
    Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 3 Dec. 2025

volley

2 of 2 verb
  • She volleyed the shot over the net.
  • Weah made a perfect cut and volleyed the ball with his right foot.
    Ronald Blum, BostonGlobe.com, 29 May 2018
  • Both were headed down to the edge of the box, and both were volleyed back in.
    Art De Roché, New York Times, 13 Sep. 2025
  • The striker volleyed a corner to keep the home side in the match.
    Jake Shapiro, The Denver Post, 5 July 2019
  • On each side of a high net, a team of three men volley the ball across the space.
    Mariana Martínez Barba, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2023
  • Williams volleyed the ball right into the center of the net.
    Christina Huang, San Antonio Express-News, 20 Mar. 2026
  • Varsho volleyed a two-run, game-tying blast over the center-field fence.
    Andy McCullough, New York Times, 25 Oct. 2025
  • Gauff leaned down and, with a delicate touch, drop-volleyed the ball over the net.
    Louisa Thomas, The New Yorker, 8 July 2019
  • Hazard then volleyed just over as Chelsea ended the half on a high.
    Kieran Canning, chicagotribune.com, 20 Feb. 2018
  • If you are attached, the two of you might volley for center stage.
    BostonGlobe.com, 13 July 2018
  • The championship standard isn’t volleyed about in vague terms.
    Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 7 Jan. 2026
  • There’s almost nobody other than two or three guys who serve and volley.
    Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2018
  • The ball bounced back out to Dyer, who volleyed the rebound into the goal.
    Matt Szabo, latimes.com, 21 Feb. 2018
  • Nearby her husband and a teenage son volleyed a ball back and forth with wooden paddles.
    Ryan Gillespie, OrlandoSentinel.com, 17 Sep. 2017
  • Those who don’t volley well have a weakness, one that can be exploited on grass.
    Tom Perrotta, WSJ, 9 July 2018
  • His heart rate was volleying up and down, Morales said, but his oxygen was good.
    Emily Alpert Reyes, Los Angeles Times, 6 Aug. 2023
  • The surfaces are more firm than those built in the past, when serving and volleying ruled the sport.
    Tom Perrotta, WSJ, 7 July 2017
  • Singleton crossed the ball into the box and Ramos volleyed it into the net.
    Bay Area News Group, The Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2019
  • The ball must bounce once more on the other side of the net before teams can run up to the kitchen line and begin volleying.
    Bethany Ao, Philly.com, 12 July 2018
  • At one point, Federer was on his knees at the net, volleying with Sock.
    Ann Killion, San Francisco Chronicle, 6 Mar. 2018
  • Senior Carissa Long even had a dig that volleyed over the net into an open corner for a point.
    Matt Szabo, Daily Pilot, 24 Aug. 2017
  • And yes, a few of you volleyed the concept back and said our Worst of Chicago issue was, well, the worst.
    Ryan Smith, Chicago Reader, 21 Dec. 2017
  • Rivero’s shot volleyed over the defensive wall, forcing Gonzalez to dive, but the ball was out of reach.
    Ivan Orozco, sandiegouniontribune.com, 2 May 2018
  • Just ten minutes later, Khairi was at it again, volleying in a cross from 12 yards out.
    SI.com, 19 June 2018
  • Ivacic double-palmed it away, and Cade Cowell tried to volley the rebound, but smashed it over the bar.
    oregonlive, 5 Aug. 2021
  • With the ball behind him, Giroud reached back with his left foot and volleyed the ball with his heel into the upper left corner of the net.
    Christopher Clarey, New York Times, 20 Dec. 2017
  • For the next two years, the two Democrats volleyed acrimony and accusations back and forth.
    Shane Goldmacher, New York Times, 3 Nov. 2017
  • His chipped through ball found Victor Moses, who volleyed straight at Mat Ryan from only five yards out.
    SI.com, 26 Dec. 2017
  • In the 10th minute, Rose Lavelle was left wide open and volleyed a shot past Alyssa Naeher.
    ABC News, 30 Apr. 2026
  • Katie catches on, asking about Coach, and Greg volleys back that Coach died in season three.
    Erin Qualey, Vulture, 23 Mar. 2026

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'volley.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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