Volleyball is an international sport that originated in the U.S. You play volleyball indoors on a court or outdoors on the sand. Beach volleyball usually has two people on each team, but it follows the basic rules of the original indoor court game. Volleyball is a recreational pastime for the general public, but competitive players are skilled and fit athletes who train year round to excel at their sport.
History
William G. Morgan invented the game of volleyball in 1895. He was an instructor at the YMCA or Young Men's Christian Association in Mount Holyoke, Massachusetts. He combined aspects of basketball, baseball, handball and tennis, borrowing the tennis net but placing it much higher than traditionally used. Volleyball spread in popularity around the world in the beginning of the 20th century, as more Americans ventured abroad and took news of the sport with them. First introduced as a demonstration sport in the 1924 Olympics, volleyball finally became an official Olympic sport in 1957 and had its debut in the 1964 Tokyo games.
Object And Scoring
The classic indoor game features two teams of six people each. Beach volley ball features two players on either side of the net. The goal of the game is to force the opposing team to allow the ball to drop on their side of the court. or to return the ball out of bounds. Players win points, then sets and finally, the match. The first team to reach 15 or 25 points wins a set. Rules vary according to the level of play. You must win by 2 points, so if the score is 24 to 24, the game continues until one team scores two consecutive points to win. The team that wins three sets wins the match.
Court And Rules
According to U.S.A. Volleyball, the national governing body for the sport in the United States, a standard court measures 59 feet by 29 feet, 6 inches, divided into two equal courts by a net strung between the two halves. Regulations require an open area at least 9 feet, 10 inches around the court to permit safe movement by the players. For national level competition, the volleyball net is 7 feet, 11 inches at its highest point for men, and is 7 feet, 4 inches for women. You try to make the opposing players miss the ball or make them hit the ball out of bounds. You gain a point when they fail to return the ball in bounds. The rules allow a team to touch the ball three times before hitting it back over the net, but a single person cannot touch the ball twice consecutively. A service is when one team starts the rally. The serve must stay within the court boundaries. If the serving team does not win the rally, the team transfers the ball over to the other side to let the opposing team serve.
Strokes And Techniques
Basic types of play include passing the ball, in which one player receives the incoming ball and knocks it with their arms to another player. No player can catch or hold the ball, but rather must punch or deflect the ball up or back. Another technique involves blocking in which a player quickly stops the path of the ball, deflecting it back in the direction from which it came. Spiking a ball involves hitting it from high up in the air forcefully downward, on to the opposing team's side. Spiking usually requires another team member to set up the player for the kill.
Teams And Gear
High schools feature indoor volleyball, and you can play volleyball in colleges as well. The U.S.A. Volleyball Association has information about joining at the local level and about how to get involved in the sport. According to U.S.A. regulations, volley balls are leather or synthetic material and measure between 25.6 inches to 26.4 inches in circumference, and weigh between 9 and 10 oz. You usually wear grip soles athletic shoes, breathable fabric jerseys and stretch shorts. Beach volleyball players go barefoot, and wear shorts or bathing suits, depending on venue and the weather.
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