Volleyball

1- Historical Introduction:

Volleyball (initially called Mintonette) was created on 9 February

1895 by YMCA sports coach William George Morgan in Holyoke.
William studied at the Springfield College of the YMCA, where he met
James Naismith (Inventor of Basketball in 1891).
Volleyball was originally created as a quieter alternative to basketball,
as if older people played, they required less intense play.

A year after its creation (1896), there was a YMCA conference in

which the sport was presented and triumphed. Alfred Halstead
proposed changing the name to “Volleyball” because the ball was
always played in the air.

2- Playing court:

a) Measurements:

The field is a rectangle of 18m long and 9m wide.

The net that runs through the middle of the field
separates the two teams. The game also takes
place outside (free zone), but the ball cannot touch
the ground or any other element that modifies the
trajectory of the ball.

The free zone must be at least 3m long, although in

international competitions it can increase to 5 m on
the side lines and 8 m on the back lines. The free
space on the court has a minimum height of 7m
(12.5m in international competitions).

At 3m away from the net, a line marks the attack

zone on each field; in this zone the actions of
defensive players are restricted. These lines exit
the field in the form of a dashed line.
 b) Main areas of the field:

FRONT ZONE
It is an area of ​3x9 m. There is one on each field and it is limited by the center line and the
line of attack.

BACK ZONE
It’s located behind the front zone and is divided in 3 areas:
- Back Row: Where back-row players usually position themselves.
- Service Reception Zone: Where players stand to receive the opponent's serve.
- Defensive Zone: Where players position themselves to defend against the
opponent's attacks.

SERVICE ZONE
The service zone is the space behind the baseline from where players will begin play. The
space in the service area will be different depending on the court. Players must serve from
within those marks.

VOLLEYBALL SUBSTITUTION ZONE

It’s limited by the extension of both attack lines up to the scorer's table.

LIBERO REPLACEMENT ZONE

It is part of the free zone on one side of the team's bench and is delineated by the extension
of the offensive line to the end line.

c) Graphic representation of a Volleyball court

3- Team:

a&b) Number of players and positions / Roles of each position

Each team consists of six players. 12 players in total.

There are a lot of roles for volley players.

Setters: Establish the team’s offensive system. They

have to place the ball in the air where their team’s
attackers can throw the ball on the opponent’s court to
score a point.

Liberos: Defensive players who are responsible for

receiving the attack. Libero means 'free' in Italian. They
receive this name because they have the ability to
substitute for any other player on the court.

Hitters:
- Middle hitters: They can person very quickly
attacks that normally take place near the setter.
They are specialized in blocking fast plays from their opponents and then set up a
double block at the sides of the court. Every team have two middle hitters

- Outside hitters: They attack near the left antenna. They are usually the most
consistent hitter on the team and get the most sets.

- Opposite hitters: The defensive workload for a volleyball team in the front row is
carried by them. They must put up a well-formed block against the opponents'
Outside hitters and serve as a backup setter. Sets to the opposite usually go to the
right side of the antennae. Opposite hitters are usually the most technical hitters.

4- Rules:

a) Ways to get points

Points in volleyball have an individual value of one point, therefore, every time a team
wins a play, a point is automatically added to the scoreboard.

Both the serve and the points for finishing or the points for errors by the opponent all
have a rating point, without exception.

The volleyball set is the one that is reached once a team reaches 25 points with a
margin of difference with the rival of 2 points.
 A volleyball match is played in the best of 5 sets, each one being achieved when 25
points are reached, leaving a margin of 2 points ahead of the opponent. If a team
wins the first 3 sets, they win the match.

On the other hand, if one team wins 2 sets and the other also wins 2 sets, the last set
is played, which will be played to 15 points; The first to reach that score with a margin
of 2 points difference with the rival wins the match.

A point is scored when the opposing team fails to control the ball or commits an
infraction:

● Players have to prevent the ball from touching the ground in their field.
● If the ball ends up outside the court of play.
● If a team exceeds the number of three touches allowed without having
passed the ball to the opposing field, or the same player touches the ball
twice in a row.
● If at the moment of service the players are positioned incorrectly.
● If the touch of the ball is incorrect and there is retention or support.
● The player cannot lean on or touch the net when playing the ball.
● The libero cannot participate in any way in the blocking and is restricted from
attacking.

b) Match duration

A match is formed by 3-5 sets. Volleyball matches are played in the best of five rounds they
receive. The moment one of the two teams accumulates three sets won, they win the match.
A team wins a set when it reaches or exceeds 25 points with two of advantage.

If the fifth half is necessary, the goal is lowered to 15 points, also with two advantage. This
set has a reduced duration, but anyway. The duration of volleyball matches is very variable,
ranging from one hour to even more than two and a half hours.

The fields are drawn before the match, as well as the starting serve. In each set there is a
change of field and the first serve is alternated. If the fifth set is necessary, decisive set, a
new draw is made and also a change of field is made when point 8 is reached by the first
team.

c) 10 basic rules of Volleyball

1. The player has to prevent the ball from reaching the ground.
2. If the ball leaves the field counts as a foul and takes out the opposing team.
3. Only a maximum of three touches per team can be given.
4. You have to rotate each point, each one in the next place.
5. Players cannot lean on the net when playing with the ball.
6. A player cannot give two touches.
7. The ball has to pass over the net to count as a point.
 8. If a team makes a point, it pulls out again.
9. A player can finish at any height.
10. If the serve is not executed well take out the opposing team.

5. Referee:

a) Attach 5 pictures of the referee's gestures and her meaning.

1- The initial position is always with the knees slightly bent (to facilitate the displacements).

2- One hand is extended and the other is placed under that hand. The thumbs are rolled
towards the middle of the hands. The forearms should form a flat surface, with which the ball
will be hit.
3,4 and 5- There are three fundamental positions:

High: Relatively raised position, feet up slightly apart, one in front of the other, and knees
slightly bent. It is the one that places the body with greater extension of the trunk and legs,
usable for passes and receptions above the waist.
Middle: Middle position. Knees and ankles are more flexed. The heel of the foot in the back
should be raised. The middle position is the most used and is used both in the waiting of a
ball and the moment of contact with the ball.
Low: Position relatively low. Legs are flexed and further separated. The heel is lifted from
the lower foot and the foot is supported by it tip. This position allows almost zero
displacement.

6. Modalities of Volleyball:

a) 2 main modalities of Volleyball (beach and normal)

There are 2 modalities in Volleyball: normal and beach.

● In normal volleyball, they play 6 people per team, in beach volleyball they play 2
players per team.

● In beach volleyball there is no rotation between the two players of each team and
they can be placed anywhere on their field at the time of the start of each point. In
normal mode, there is rotation between players before resuming play.

● Another difference is the size of the field, the beach mode, the field is smaller
because there are fewer people than in the normal mode. On the beach the
dimensions are 16 meters long by 8 meters wide.

7. Volleyball Tournaments:

a) European tournament

The European Volleyball Men’s Championship is the top volleyball competition at European
level in men’s category. It has been held since 1948, and is organized by the European
Volleyball Confederation in odd-numbered years.

A total of 24 countries participated in the 2023 championship:

Russia (including the former USSR) is the country with the most wins (22 in total).

b) World tournament

The Men’s Volleyball World Championship is one of the highest international volleyball
competitions contested by national men’s teams members of the International Volleyball
Federation (FIVB).
24 teams participate and rank the best teams in continental tournaments. It is held every 4
years.

The last men’s tournament was held in 2022, based in Poland and Slovenia, and the
following countries participated:

The country that has won the most World Championships is Russia (including its stage as
Soviet Union). The overall ranking is as follows:

c. Participation of the Spanish National Team.

I. In what championships have participated?

Olympic Games

Barcelona 1992: 8°
Sydney 2000: 9°
World League

1995: 7°
1996: 10°
1997: 9°
1998: 8°
1999: 5°
2000: 11°
2001: 9°
2002: 5°
2003: 5°
2004: 7°
2008: 13°
2014: 25°
2015: 25°
2016: 32º
2017: 26°

World Champion

1998: 8th
2002:13th
2010: 12th

European Championship

1981: 12°
1985: 12°
1987: 12°
1993: 11th position
2003: 8th position
2005: 4th position
2007: Champion
2009: 9th position
2017: 16th place
2019: 15th place
2021: 20th place

World Cup

1999: 6°
2007: 5°

European League

2005: 3rd place

2006: 7th place
2007: Champion
2009: 2° position
2010: 2° position
2011: 2° position
2012: 3rd place
2013: 6th place
2018: 9th place
2019: 5th place
2021: 7th place
2022: 7th place

II. Which was the best result of Spain in an international championship?

In 2007 Spain won the European Championship and also the European League.

8. History of Volleyball Spain.

a. Where was introduced? Why?

Volleyball arrived in Spain in 1920. It was played on Catalan beaches, influenced by

European countries. In Toledo the first volleyball rules were published in 1925, a translation
of the one used in Europe at the time.

b. Volleyball currently in Spain.

Until 1948 volleyball was not federated and was then included in the Handball Federation.

In 1950 volleyball got inside the Spanish Basketball Federation; in 1957 in rugby; and finally,
in 1959 the Spanish Volleyball Federation was created.

Foreign players, referees and coaches collaborated to a great extent in the diffusion of this
sport, especially in the 50s, 60s and 70s, so that this sport, little known in Spain, became
integrated into the practice and tastes of sports of the Spanish.

Since the Spanish beach volleyball team won the silver medal at the 2004 Summer
Olympics, this variety of volleyball is experiencing a moment of great popularity.
c. Mention 3 teams of the Valencian Community and 3 teams from the rest of
Spain.

● Valencian Community teams: Servigroup Benidorm, Voleibol Villena-Petrer and

Family Cash Xàtiva.

● Spanish teams: CV Guaguas, Unicaja Costa de Almería and Pamesa Teruel Voleibol.