History of Volleyball

 Volleyball was originally invented by William Morgan in 1985. He was an athletic director at the Young Men
Christians Association (YMCA) and was trying to come up with a game that would be fun, like basketball, but less
taxing. Of course, the rules have changed some since then, but it quickly became a popular sport at the YMCA.
 The name volleyball came about when a man named Alfred Halstead noticed how the game had a volleying
nature. People started calling it volleyball and the name stuck.
 Volleyball was first played as an official Olympic sport in the 1964 Olympics. Japan won the first gold medal in
women's volleyball and the USSR won the first gold for men's volleyball.
 The objective of the game is to try to make the ball touch the ground on the opponent side. When the ball is hit by
a team, the members of other team hit it with their hands to prevent it from touching the ground and to send it to
another teammate or to the other side of the court across the net. Only three players from the team can strike the
ball successively before they send it to the other team.

Volleyball Equipment and Court

An indoor volleyball is typically white, but may have some other colors as well. It's round with 8 or
16 panels and is usually made of leather. The official indoor volleyball is 25.5 -26.5 inches in
circumference, weighs 9.2 - 9.9 ounces, and has 4.3-4.6 psi air pressure. A youth volley ball is
slightly smaller. Beach volleyballs are slightly bigger, weigh the same, but have much less air
pressure.

The volleyball court is 18 meters long and 9 meters wide. It is divided

in sides in the middle by the net. The net is 1-meter-wide and is set
up so that the top of the net is 7 feet 11 5/8 inches above the ground
(right around 8 feet). The only other key feature is a line that is drawn
on each side 3 meters from the net and parallel to the net. This line is
called the attack line. It defines the front row and back row areas.
How to Play Volleyball

 A volleyball game consists of two teams of six players each, separated by a net. The six volleyball court positions
are setter, middle blocker, outside hitter, opposite hitter, libero and serving specialist.
 To start, flip a coin to determine which team serves the ball first.
 Then the two teams will rally—or hit the ball back and forth over the net—until a fault occurs. There is a maximum
of three hits per side.
 The objective is to score points by sending the ball over the net, grounding it into the opponent’s court.
 Volleyball matches are made up of sets, typically three or five sets.
 Three-set matches are two sets to 25 points and a third set to 15 points. Each set must be won by two points. The
first team to win two sets is the winner of the match.
 Five-set matches are four sets to 25 points and a fifth set to 15 points. The team must win by two points unless
tournament rules dictate otherwise. The first team to win three sets is the winner.

Volleyball Rules

Here are the fundamental, must-know rules of a volleyball game:

 Only 6 players on the floor at any given time: 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row.
 Points are made on every serve for the winning team of the rally (rally-point scoring).
 Players 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, or 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.

Volleyball Rule Violations

Committing any of these volleyball rule violations results in a point for the opponent.

 Stepping on or across the service line when serving while making contact with the ball.
 Failure to serve the ball over the net successfully.
 Ball-handling errors and 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.
 Blocking a ball coming from the opponent’s court and contacting the ball when reaching over the net if your
opponent has not used 3 contacts AND has a player there to make a play on the ball.
 Attacking a ball coming from the opponent’s court and contacting the ball when reaching over the net when the
ball has not yet broken the vertical plane of the net.
 Crossing the court centerline with any part of your body, with the exception of a hand or foot. It is only considered
a violation if the entire hand or entire foot crosses the court centerline.
 Serving out of rotation or out of 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 their 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.

Reference: https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/basic-volleyball-rules-and-terminology/