VOLLEYBALL – TEAM SPORT

The History of Volleyball

In 2016, the sport of Volleyball is over 120 years

old!

The sport originated in the United States, and is

now just achieving the type of popularity in the U.S. that
it has received on a global basis, where it ranks behind
only soccer among participation sports.

Today there are more than 46 million Americans

who play volleyball. There are 800 million players
worldwide who play volleyball at least once a week.

In 1895, William G. Morgan, an instructor at the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in
Holyoke, Mass., decided to blend elements of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball to create a game
for his classes of businessmen which would demand less physical contact than basketball. He created the
game of Volleyball (at that time called, Mintonette). Morgan borrowed the net from tennis, and raised it 6
feet 6 inches above the floor, just above the average man’s head.
During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the
ball back and forth over the net, and perhaps “volleyball” would be a more descriptive name for the sport.
On July 7, 1896 at Springfield College the first game of “volleyball” was played.

VOLLEYBALL COURT DIMENSION AND VENUE:

The volleyball court specifications require the court

to be 18 meters (60 feet) long and 9 meters (30
feet) wide.

The volleyball court has a centerline that divides

each teams side into a 9 by 9 meter area of court
space.

The volleyball net is one meter wide and is placed

in the center of the court running sideline to
sideline.

For men’s volleyball competition, the height of the

net measures 2.43 meters (about 7 feet, 11 5/8
inches) from the court ground at the center.

For women’s volleyball competition, the net is placed at the height of 2.24 meters (about 7 feet, 4 ¼
inches).

Volleyball Court Diagram

The volleyball court can be divided into areas

or zones. The following volleyball court diagram
shows volleyball court dimensions with the
zones of the court.

Volleyball Court Diagram

One of the main features of the volleyball court

is a 3 meter line parallel to the net on each side of the court.

This line is also referred to as the attack line or 10 foot line. This attack line divides the court into back
row and front row areas. The main purpose of the attack line is to mark where back row players can
attack the ball. There is an imaginary attack line extending outside the court across the free zone.

In volleyball, your team has 6 players on the court at any give time.

A team has 3 front row players and 3 back row players.

The court can be divided up into 6 areas or zones to
help players understand court positioning and volleyball
rotation.

High School Volleyball Line Up Sheet

The three positions or areas on the back row are…

 right back position (zone 1)

 middle back position (zone 6)
 left back position (zone 5)

The three positions or areas on the front row are…

 right front position (zone 2)

 middle front position (zone 3)
 left front position (zone 4)

VOLLEYBALL EQUIPMENT AND GEARS

Net

A net is used in beach volleyball game and the players always try to
shoot the ball above the net. The height of the beach volleyball net is
around 8 feet for men and 7 feet 4 inches for women. The height of the
net varies for teenagers. The net that is used for beach volley ball has
a length of 28 feet. Each end of the net is padded. In official
competitions the referee stand is usually attached with the net. The net
is also bordered on top and bottom with 4 inch wide canvas.

Ball

As the name of the sport is volleyball so a ball is the centre of the play.
The spherical ball used in beach volleyball is either made up of flexible
synthetic material or leather.The ball is striped with bright colours
which makes it look beautiful and attractive. The weight of the ball is
around 300 grams. The internal air in the ball is around 0.200 kg per
square centimetres. The circumference of the ball should not exceed
70 cm and should not be below 65 cm.

Knee Pads
Knee pads are very important for the players who are playing beach
volleyball. One of the major equipment in playing beach volleyball is
knee pads. They provide stability to the leg of the player which allows
him to play up to his potential.
One of the major advantages is that it prevents injury to a player. If a
player has an injury, then he can use knee caps to relax his knee.

Uniforms
The player belonging to same team or same country has same dress.
Players normally prefer to wear swimsuits while playing beach
volleyball.

Due to some unfavorable practices, some conservative parties have

raised their voices about it and the governing body federation
international de volleyball (FIVB) has changed some rules in ladies
dress. While playing beach volleyball on a nice and smooth sandy surface, players are advised to wear
sporting shoes for the safety of their foot.
Sunglasses and Sun Protection

As we have already mentioned that these matches are normally

held under the Sun in an open ground, the players are very keen on
protecting their body and specially their eyes. To protect their eyes,
they wear sunglasses.
But the glasses they put on their eyes should not have any power in
it. This is also a safety guideline for the players. To protect their body
from harsh sunlight, they use sun cream on their body.

VOLLEYBALL RULES OF THE GAMES:

 6 players on the floor at any one time - 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row
 Maximum of 3 hits per side
 Points are made on every serve for wining team of rally (rally-point scoring).
 Player may not hit the ball twice in succession. (A block is not considered a hit.)
 Ball may be played off the net during a volley and on a serve.
 A ball hitting a boundary line is in.
 A ball is out if it hits an antennae, the floor completely outside the court, any of the net or cables
outside the antennae, the referee stand or pole, the ceiling above a non-playable area.
 It is legal to contact the ball with any part of a player’s body.
 It is illegal to catch, hold or throw the ball.
 A player cannot block or attack a serve from on or inside the 10-foot line.
 After the serve, front-line players may switch positions at the net.
 Matches are made up of sets; the number depends on level of play. 3-set matches are 2 sets to
25 points and a third set to 15. Each set must be won by two points. The winner is the first team to
win 2 sets. 5-set matches are 4 sets to 25 points and fifth set to 15. The team must win by 2 unless
tournament rules dictate otherwise. The winner is the first team to win three sets.

Basic Volleyball Rule Violations

Rule violations that result in a point for the opponent

 When serving, the player steps on or across the service line as while making contact with the ball.
 Failure to serve the ball over the net successfully.
 Ball-handling errors. Contacting the ball illegally (double touching, lifting, carrying, throwing, etc.)
 Touching the net with any part of the body while the ball is in play.
 When blocking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, it’s illegal to contact the ball when
reaching over the net if both your opponent has not used 3 contacts AND they have a player there
to make a play on the ball.
 When attacking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, contacting the ball when reaching over
the net is a violation if the ball has not yet broken the vertical plane of the net.
 Crossing the court centerline with any part of your body is a violation. Exception: if it is the hand
or foot. In this case, the entire hand or entire foot must cross for it to be a violation.
 Serving out of rotation/order.
 Back-row player blocking (deflecting a ball coming from the opponent) when, at the moment of
contact, the back-row player is near the net and has part of his/her body above the top of the net.
This is an illegal block.
 Back-row player attacking a ball inside the front zone (the area inside the 3M/10-foot line) when,
at the moment of contact, the ball is completely above the net. This is an illegal attack