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Volleyball is a popular team sport created in the United States and now played around the world. It is particularly popular in East Asia, including China and Japan, and in Brazil. The game is popular with both male and female participants of all ages.
Volleyball was invented on February 9, 1895 by William G. Morgan at a YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States. Originally called 'Mintonette', the game was Morgan's attempt to create a non-contact indoor team sport with a low risk of injury. After an observer noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match, the game quickly became known as volleyball.
An international federation, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was founded in 1947, and the first World Championships was held in 1952. Volleyball was added to the program of the Olympic Games in 1964, and has been part ever since. Beach Volleyball became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1986 and was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics.
The game is played on indoor courts 18 metres long and 9 metres wide, divided into two 9 x 9 metre "team courts" by a one-metre wide net placed such that its highest point is 2.43 metres above the ground in men's competition, and 2.24 metres for women's competition (these heights are varied for veterans and junior competitions). There is a line 3 metres from and parallel to the net in each team court termed the "attack line". The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone which is a minimum of 2 metres wide and which the players may enter and play within after the service of the ball. All lines denoting the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area and are therefore a part of the court or zone and a ball touching the line is considered in. An antenna is placed on each side of the net perpendicular to the sideline and is a vertical extension of the side boundary of the court. A ball passing over the net must pass completely between the antennae (or their theoretical extensions to the ceiling) without contacting them.
The ball, also called a volleyball, is made of leather or synthetic leather and inflated with compressed air. It is round, about the size of a soccer ball (football), but softer and lighter.
Each of the two teams consist of six players, three located in front of the attack line and three behind.
To get play started, a player from a team chosen by a coin toss (the server) throws the ball into the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court (the serve). The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the volleyball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net. These contacts usually consist first of the bump or pass so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the setter; second of the set (an over-hand pass using finger-tip action) by the setter so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards one or more players designated as the attacker and third by the attacker who spikes (jumping, raising one arm above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court) to return the ball over the net. The team with possession of the ball and that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on offense.
The team on defense attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court by having players at the net jump and reach above the top (and if possible, across the plane) of the net in order to block the attacked ball. If the ball is hit around, above or through the block, the defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a dig (a fore-arm pass of a hard-driven ball). After a successful dig, the team transitions to offense.
The game continues in this manner until the ball touches the court within the boundaries or until an error is made.
* Except if a player blocks (touches a ball sent over the net by the opposing team, while reaching above the top of the net) a ball that stays in the blocker's side of the net. In such an instance the blocker may play the ball another time without violating the rule against playing the ball twice in succession. Also, contacts as part of a block do not count against the three allowed touches.
When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a point, whether or not it served the ball. The team that won the point is awarded the right to serve for the next point and the players of the team rotate their position on the court in a clockwise manner. The game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are played over best of five sets and the final set is usually played to 15. Previously,
Before 2000, points could be scored only when a team had the service (side-out scoring) and all sets went up to only 15 points. In, 2000, this rule was changed to the current scoring (formerly known as rally scoring), primarily to make the length of the game more predictable and make the game more spectator- and television-friendly.
Players generally specialize in one of three positions: attacker/blocker, setter or defensive specialist. In 1998 the Libero player was introduced. Generally, tall players with the ability to jump high are selected as attackers/blockers, where they attempt to block or spike opponents initial hits and return the ball at high speed on steep trajectories so that the ball lands before the other team has time to react. Setters are responsible for coordinating the offense and taking the second contact in an attempt to place the ball in the air where an attacker can hit the ball into the opponent's court. Defensive specialists, especially the libero are responsible for receiving the attack (the dig) and are usually the players on the court with the quick reaction time and best passing skills. The Libero must wear a different colored jersey, cannot block, attempt to block or serve and has special rules for substitution.
Other rule changes enacted in 2000 included the introduction of the net serve which allows play to continue even if a served ball touches the net as long as it continues into the opponent's court. The libero was introduced as the sport's first rule-defined specialist position and allows shorter players to participate and compete in a sport dominated by height. The libero can be recognised by the fact that they must wear a different coloured jersey to the rest of their team. Also, the service area was expanded and now players may serve from anywhere behind the end line but still within the theoretical extension of the side-lines.
Until 1998, it was a foul if the ball contacted any part of the body below the waist. However, modern rules allow any part of the body to hit the ball, including the legs and feet. Kick volleyball, where the ball is primarily contacted with the feet, is a popular variant, particular in South American countries.
A newer variation of the game, beach volleyball, has evolved from the popular social games of volleyball played on many beaches around the world. This version, rather than played on indoor hard courts, is played on sand courts which may either be formed naturally or built specifically for the purpose. Instead of a team of six, each team consists of only two players, but otherwise the rules are almost identical with some exceptions including:
Sitting volleyball for locomotor-disabled individuals was first introduced in 1956 by the Dutch Sports Committee. International competition began in 1967, but it would be 1978 before the International Sports Organisation for the Disabled (ISOD) sanctioned the sport and sponsored an official international tournament in 1979 at Haarlem, Netherlands.
Players in this variation typically are amputees or paraplegics. The game is played on a smaller 10 x 6 meter court and with a .8 meter-wide net set to a height of 1.15 meters for men and 1.05 meters for women. When hitting or attacking the ball, players may not lift or raise the buttocks from the floor surface.
Men's sitting volleyball was introduced to the Paralympic Games in 1980 and has grown to be one of the more popular Paralympic sports due to the fast and exciting action. Women's sitting volleyball was added to the program for Athens 2004. The international governing body for the sport is The World Organisation Volleyball for Disabled (WOVD).
A variation of volleyball utilizing nine players and a slightly larger court originated in Asia in the 1920s when American missionaries introduced the game there in China. The variant became popular within the Chinese-American communities in large US cities (Chinatown) and continues with a rotating popular tournaments called the North American Chinese Invitational Tournament.
Most competitive volleyball is played with same-sex teams (exclusively so at the elite levels). Mixed teams for indoor play with both male and female players operate under co-ed rules requiring alternating male and female players in the rotation or service order. Additionally, at least one contact of a team's possible three contacts must be made by a female player. Based on this rule, strategically, the setter on a co-ed team is usually a female player.
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