According to Athleticscholarships.net, William G. Morgan invented volleyball in 1895. Morgan meant volleyball as a combination of other sports, including baseball, tennis, basketball and handball. Volleyball includes the hitting of baseball and tennis with the jumping of basketball and the movement of all these sports. The first volleyball players used tennis nets to divide the sides.
Players
In indoor volleyball, six players play on each team at one time. Three players play from the front row and three for the back row. According to USOC.com, each team may designate two liberos, or defensive specialists, before the game. Liberos may substitute at any time during the game, but must play only in the back row. Players in the back row may not attack the ball from in front of the ten foot line. Liberos should wear a different color jersey than the rest of their team. The server, at the back-right, is No. 1. The position numbers increase in a counter-clockwise order. So the person in the back middle has position No. 6 or six away from serving.
Game Play
Winning two of three, or three of five, sets wins a volleyball match. Twenty-five points constitute a set. The winning team must be ahead by two to win. If they are not ahead by two, play continues until one of the teams leads by two. If a fifth set is required, USOC.com rules dictate the fifth set will be played to 15 instead of 25, but still win by two. To begin a point, one team executes a serve. A serve may be over or underhanded, but must be from behind the endline. At the moment of the serve, all players must be in their positional order. The players may move after the serve but they most stay in their front or back row alignment.
Scoring
A team scores when they hit the ball into the ground on the opponent's side of the net inbounds. To score, the ball must have traveled over the net. According to Volleyballadvisors.com, a ball is in if it touches any part of the line or inside the line. A team scores if its opponent hits the ball out of bounds. Out of bounds is defined as outside the lines on the court, into the antennae, outside of the antennae or outside of where the antennae would extend to the ceiling. A team scores if its opponent commits a violation. If the serving team scores the point, it gains a point and continues serving. If the receiving team scores the point, it gains a point and the teams rotate positionally, with the receiving team becoming the serving team.
Hitting the Ball
A team may not hit the ball more than three times in one possession. Blocks do not count as hits; it must be an active hit. An individual player may not hit the ball twice consecutively. Players from the back row may not attack the ball in front of the 10-foot line, and according to Volleyballadvisors.com, an attack occurs when the ball is completely above the net.
Violations
According to Volleyballadvisors.com, players may not attack, hold or throw a ball. Players may not touch the net while the point occurs. Back row players may not attack in the front row or block in the front. Back row players really should play balls below the net while the front row deals with the balls above the net.
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