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Erne
An Erne is an aggressive shot where a player jumps or runs around the outside of the kitchen to volley a ball near the net, legally taking it out of the air beside the non-volley zone.
Named after player Erne Perry, the move repositions the player outside the kitchen (or has them leap over its corner) so they can volley a dink near the net without violating the non-volley-zone rule. It surprises opponents and shortens their reaction time. The headword is a proper-noun term of art kept as-is across languages.
Example
Anticipating a crosscourt dink, a player darts around the kitchen corner and volleys an Erne winner down the line.
Related terms
- Kitchen (Non-Volley Zone)The kitchen is the 7-foot non-volley zone on each side of the net. You may not hit a volley (a ball out of the air) while standing in it — you must let the ball bounce first.
- DinkA dink is a soft, controlled shot hit from near the kitchen line that arcs just over the net and lands in the opponent’s kitchen, forcing them to hit up.
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