Volleyball

    Volleyball is an Olympic team sport in which two teams of 6 active players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding the ball on the other team's court under organised rules.  Volleyball was invented in 1895 in Massachusetts (U.S.A.) by William G. Morgan.  A number of modifications have been introduced over the last 114 years. 
 
Court and Equipment:
The court area is 18m X 9m, divided into two 9m X 9m squares by a net placed over the centre line.  The height of the net varies according to age and gender (men 2.43m, women 2.24m - these heights vary for junior or veteran competitions).  The spiking line is drawn 3 metres away and parallel from the centre line on each side of the court.  This divides the court into the front court and back court.  All lines form part of the court and a ball hitting the line is considered as 'in'.  A free zone surrounds the court, this being a minimum of 3m wide.  Other equipment needed for a basic volleyball match are the poles to support the net, the net itself, and obviously the ball.  Volleyballs have to be spherical, made of leather or synthetic leather, and should have an approximate circumference of 66cms and a weight of 270g.
 
Game Play
Play proceeds as follows: a player on one of the teams begins a rally by attempting to serve the ball
(tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball touch their court; they may touch the ball as many as three times, typically using the first two touches to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from touching their court. The rally continues in the same manner, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either (1): a team obtains a ball by grounding the ball on the opponent's court, thus winning the rally; or (2): a team commits a fault, thus losing the rally. The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the ball to start the next rally.
 
A few of the most common faults include:
  • causing the ball to touch the ground outside the opponents' court or without first passing over the net;
  • catching and throwing the ball;
  • double hit: two consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same player;
  • four consecutive contacts with the ball made by the same team.
Scoring
The first team to score 25 points, with a two point advantage, wins a set.  Matches are best out of 5 sets, and if a fifth set is need, this is played until 15 points.  The rally point system is used, which means that any team can win points, even if it does not have the right to serve.
 
Skills
Service: This is the action that starts a rally. A player stays behind the service line and hits the ball over the net to the other side of the court.  Services can be underhand or overhand, top spins or floaters, jump serves or jump floaters, besides other variations.
Pass/Reception: This is the action of passing the ball coming from the other side of the net (normally after a service) to the place where the setter is.  Normally this is the first touch of the team, and it can be either an underarm or an overhand pass.
Set: This is usually the second touch of the team.  The setter's objective is to place the ball in the air so that it is attacked by another player into the opponents' court.  The setter is the player who co-ordinates the offensive movements of the team.
Attack: The attack is usually the third hit of the team, and its objective is to make it as hard as possible for the opponents to avoid letting the ball hit the court on their side.  There are various types of attacks, some of which are the spike (can be a line attack, cross-court, back court) and the tip (where the player does not hit the ball hard, but touches the ball lightly so that it lands behind the opponents' blockers).  Attacks can be done from any side of the net, and they vary in direction and speed.
Block: The block is the action of the front row players to stop an attack by jumping higher than the top of the net.  The number of players within the block varies from one to three, and a block can be either aimed at winning a point (offensive) or reducing the speed of the opponents' attack (defensive).
Dig: The dig is very similar to the pass, however it is normally used after a hard driven attack.  Normally players stay in a much lower position so that they have more time to touch the ball.
 
Other things to know:
  • When a team obtains the right to serve, the team rotates in a clockwise direction.  Each court is virtually divided into six areas: 1 (right back & serving position); 6 (centre back); 5 (left back); 4 (left front); 3 (centre front) and 2 (right front).
  • The ball is usually played with the hands or arms, but players can legally strike or push (short contact) the ball with any part of the body.
  • The Libero is a player who can play only in the back court and is a player specialised in defense.  The Libero has to wear a contrastingly coloured kit from the rest of the team.
  • Recent changes allow the served ball to hit the net whilst it is crossing from one side of the court to the other.  Also, the service can be given from any place as long as it is behind the base line and within the serving area.  Moreover, referees have been instructed to be more lenient when whistling double hit balls if the hit is the first one of the team.
  • The normal team formations in volleyball are either '4-2' or '5-1'.  This means either four attackers and two setters, which is normally used in Junior volleyball, or five attackers and one setter, which is the typical system used in volleyball competitions.
  • Other variations of volleyball are Beachvolley (a 2 vs 2 game which is played on sand), Park Volley (normally a 4 vs 4 game similar to volleyball but played on grass and outside), and U-Volley (a 6 vs 6 game similar to volley but with height limitations - 175cms for ladies and 185cms for men).