“Bump, set, spike” is a volleyball axiom for setting up a powerful volleyball return. The saying has been cited in print since at least 1974, when it was the title of a book, Bump, Set, Spike: A Resource Package for the Instruction of Volleyball Skills.
 
“Bump, set, spike” has been printed on many gift items, such as posters and T-shirts.
 
   
Wikipedia: Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team’s court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since 1964. It is also the national Sport of Sri Lanka.
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A number of consistent techniques have evolved in volleyball, including spiking and blocking (because these plays are made above the top of the net, the vertical jump is an athletic skill emphasized in the sport) as well as passing, setting, and specialized player positions and offensive and defensive structures.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Bump, set, spike : a resource package for the instruction of volleyball skills
Author: Maria Da Costa; Douglas Baird; et al
Publisher: [Vanier City, Ont. : Canadian Volleyball Association], 1974.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
19 August 1977, Morning Star (Rockford, IL), “Volleyball: Net gain is fun” by Joyce Hall (Gannett News Service), Weekend, pg. 14, col. 2:
An unwritten rule in powerball refers to the “bump-set-spike” method of returning a serve.
 
Google Books
Women’s Gymnastics:
Coach, participant, spectator
By Mimi Murray
Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon
1979
Pg. 87:
A volleyball bump, set, and spike in sequence.
 
Google News Archive
29 January 1979, Modesto (CA) Bee, pg. B3, ol. 2:
Doubles bump, set, spike
The action was fast-paced and exciting at the doubles volleyball tournament in the Modesto Junior College gymnasium Sunday.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Bump, set, spike! : everybody’s volleyball book
Author: Joe Pedersen; Victor Loggins
Publisher: Chicago : Contemporary Books, ©1986.
Edition/Format:  Book : English
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Bump! set! spike! You can play volleyball
Author: Nick Fauchald; Ronnie Rooney
Publisher: Minneapolis, Minn. : Picture Window Books, ©2006.
Edition/Format:  Book : Juvenile audience : English
Summary: The Aces face the Spikers in a high-energy volleyball game while learning about serving, bumping, setting, and spiking.
 
OCLC WorldCat record
Bump, Set, Spike: An Analysis of Commentary and Camera Angles of Women’s Beach Volleyball During the 2004 Summer Olympics
Author: Kimberly Bissell; Andrea Duke
Publisher: Taylor & Francis
Edition/Format:  Article : EN
Publication: Journal of Promotion Management, 13, no. 1-2 (2007): 35-53
Database: ArticleFirst
 
YouTube
Bump, Set, Spike! Volleyball Vocabulary
Uploaded by ESLbasics on Dec 22, 2010
Andrea “bumps”, “sets”, and “spikes” in her explanation of these three volleyball vocabulary words.