Volleyball is an Olympic team sport by which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. Both team tries to score points by grounding a ball with the other team’s court under organized rules. It can also be played using a sand based court with two teams of two players, this is more commonly known as beach volleyball or outdoor volleyball.
The Rules of Volleyball
There is a long list of regulations in the game of volleyball but listed below are the basics you will need to know in order to play a complete game of volleyball. A player on one of the teams starts a ‘rally’ by serving the volleyball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, above the net, and in the receiving team’s court. The receiving team should not let the ball to be grounded within their court or the other team will gain a point. They may contact the volleyball as many as three times. Usually, the first 2 touches are to setup for an attack, which is an attempt to guide the ball back above the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court.
The rally continues, with the two teams allowed as many as three or less consecutive touches, until eventually either a team makes a kill, grounding the volleyball on the opponent’s court and winning the rally; or if a team commits a fault and loses the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the volleyball to begin the next rally. Here is a list of ways your team can lose a point:
- You can lose a point by causing the volleyball to touch the ground outside the opponents’ court or without first passing over the net
- If you accidentally catch and throw the volleyball you will lose a point
- If you make two consecutive contacts with the volleyball made by the same player you will lose a point
- If your team makes four consecutive contacts with the volleyball made by the same team it is a loss of a point.
- You can lose a point by touching the net during play.
The ball is normally played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push the ball with any part of the body.
A number of consistent strategies have evolved in volleyball, for example 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.
Brief History of Volleyball
On February 9, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts (USA), William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director, created a new game called Mintonette as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players. The game took some of its characteristics from tennis and handball. Another indoor sport, basketball, was catching on in the area, having been invented just ten miles (sixteen kilometers) away in the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, only four years before. Mintonette was designed to be an indoor sport less rough than basketball for older members of the YMCA, while still requiring a bit of athletic effort.
The first official ball used in volleyball is disputed; some sources say that Spalding created the first official ball in 1896, while others claim it was created in 1900.
The history of Olympic volleyball traces back to the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris, where volleyball was played as part of an American sports demonstration event.
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