VOLLEYBALL

History, Nature, and Development

• Birth Date – February 8, 1895
• Birth Place – Holyoke, Massachusetts (United States)
• Inventor – William G. Morgan

• February 8, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts USA, William G. Morgan, a Young Men’s Christian Association
(YMCA) physical education director began experimenting.

• Earlier, the game is called as MINTONETTE.

• Modeled the game as a blend of baseball, basketball, tennis, and handball

• Has a characteristic of tennis. The name is derived from the word “volley”, a term used in tennis which means
to hit the ball on fly.

• In the first rules written by William G. Morgan, any number of players can play the game.

• The first exhibition match was held in 1896 and was played at International YMCA Training School where
Alfred Halstead noticed the volleying nature of the game.

• The game quickly became known as volleyball, originally spelled as two words “Volley Ball”

Nature Of the Game

• Volleyball is played by two teams, each composed of six players, who uses their hands to volley a ball back
and forth over the net which is higher to their heads.

• The objective of this game is to bat the ball over the net with certain limitations, before it touches the ground
in such a way that the opponent cannot return it.

• It is started by a server who serves the ball over the net behind the baseline.

• Require not more than three passes among the players in each side before returning the ball.

• Failure to return the ball to the opponents within specific limits result in loss of serve or the scoring of a point
by a serving team.

Development Of the Game

• 1895 – the sport volleyball was created

• 1896 – Spalding created the first official ball in volleyball

• 1916 – the game was introduced in the Philippines. The Filipinos developed the “bomba” or kill, and called
the hitter a “bomberino”

• 1917 – the game was changed from 21-15 points

• 1919 – about 16,000 volleyball balls were distributed by the American Expeditionary Forces to their troops
and allies, which sparked the growth of volleyball in new countries.

• 1920 – “Three hits” rule and rule against hitting from the back row were established.

• 1947 – Fe’de’ration Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded.

• 1957 – volleyball was designated as a team sport by the International Olympic Committee (IOC)

• 1983 – the Association of Volleyball Professionals (AVP) was formed

• 1994 – the first internet site of volleyball was created, Volleyball World Wide

Facilities and Equipment

Playing Area

• Court: 18 meters by 9 meters and free from all obstructions.

• Boundary lines: sideline and end-line, 5 cm. in width

• Center line: line beneath the net, divides the court in 2 equal parts

• Attack line: Divides the front zone and back zone of each court.

• Front zone: marked out by the center line and the attack line which is drawn 3 meters away and parallel to
the center line.

• Back zone: is a 9m wide area behind each end line.

Volleyball Ball

• Made up of flexible leather and should be uniform and light in color.

• Its circumference is between 65cm and 67cm.

• Its weight must be in the range of 260-280 grams.

Net

• The net is 9.5 meters long and 1 meter deep. At the top of the net are white bound and down each side,
directly over each side line is a white vertical side band.

• Fastened outside in the side bands are two antennae measuring 1.8 meters long and 10mm in diameter,
made of fiberglass or similar material. Each antenna’s top 80cm extends above the net and is marked with
10cm stripes of contrasting color.

• Official height for men is 2.43 meters long and 2.24 meters for women

Team Composition
Outside/Left Side Hitters – attack from near the left antenna. The outside hitter is
usually the most consistent hitter on the team and gets the most sets. Outside hitters also
serve as backup setters. Their sets usually go to the right side of the antenna.

Opposite/Right Side Hitter – carry the defensive workload for a volleyball

team in the front row. Their primary responsibilities are to put up a well-formed
block against the opponents.

The Setter – have the task for orchestrating the offense of the team. They aim for
second touch and their main responsibility is to place the ball in the air where the
attackers can hit it to the opponents’ court.

Middle Blocker – players that can perform very fast attacks that usually take place
near the setter. They are specialized in blocking, since they must attempt to stop
equally fast plays from their opponents and then quickly set up a double block at the
sides of the court.
Libero – defensive players responsible for receiving the attack or serve. They are usually the player with the
quickest reaction and best passing skills. Libero means “free” as they have the ability to substitute for any player
on the court during each play. A libero wears a different color jersey than their teammates.

Terminologies

• SERVICE - the act of putting the ball in play

• ACE - a serve that results directly in a point

• ATTACK - the offensive team attempting to score

• BLOCK - a defensive play used to intercept a hard-driven spike

• DRIBBLING - when a player touches the ball more than once with whatever part of his body when no other
player has touched it meanwhile

• DIG - act of retrieving an attacked ball close to the floor and making a successful pass.

• FREE BALL - returning the ball to the opponent without the intent to get a kill

• JUMP SERVE - a top spin serve delivered by a player in midair

• KILL - an attack that results directly in a point or side out

• SIDE OUT - failure of the serving team to score

• ROTATION -the position/placement of players that should be retained when the ball is not yet served. When
the ball is served, the players can move anywhere.

• SET-UP - a pass that puts the ball in place for a hitter to attack

• PASS - to bat the ball to a teammate

• SET -equivalent to the word “game” as in the 25-point game

• SUBSTITUTION -allows one player to replace another player already on the court. Each team is allowed 15
substitutions per game. Each player has unlimited entries for substitution.

• DEAD BALL -ball is dead when the play stops with the whistle of the referee

• FOUL -a violation of the rules

• POINT -a score made by the serving team

• HOLDING -when the ball comes to rest momentarily in the hands or arms of the player. Scooping, lifting,
shoving, or following the ball are considered holding.

• DOUBLE FOUL -both teams committing a foul on the same play. In this case, the service is to be replaced.