VOLLEYBALL

HISTORY

Invented in 1895 by William J. Morgan who was the

PE director of the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts
He wanted many people to play in a small gym
during the Winter months
Thought to be appropriate for middle-age men who
found basketball too vigorous
Modeled the game after tennis and handball
Originally called “Mintonette”
Morgan raised a tennis net to 6 ft. 6 inches
 IMPOTANT DATES/ EVENTS

 In 1896 A.T. Halstead suggested that it be renamed “volley

ball”
 Remained a two-word name until 1951
 One word name appeared on the cover of a US Volley Ball
Association Publication
 Other highlights
 NCAA adopted YMCA rules in 1916
 First YMCA National Championships (1922)
 In 1947 the Federation Internationale de Volleyball was formed
as international governing body
 First world championships were held in 1959
 Adopted as an Olympic sport in 1964
Other highlights continued
 From 1964-1980 every Olympic even was won by
Japan or the Soviet Union (except men in 1976)
 International Volleyball Association formed in 1975
and dissolved in 1980
 The Association of Volleyball Professionals formed
in 1983
 Organized two-person beach volleyball
 1896, July 7th -  at Springfield College the first game of
"volleyball" was played.
 1907 Volleyball was presented at the Playground of America
convention as one of the most popular sports
 1916, in the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball
in a high trajectory to be struck by another player (the set and
spike) were introduced. The Filipinos developed the "bomba"
or kill, and called the hitter a "bomberino".
 1916 - The NCAA was invited by the YMCA to aid in editing the
rules and in promoting the sport. Volleyball was added to
school and college physical education and intramural
programs.
 1917, the game was changed from 21 to 15 points.
 1920, three hits per side and back row attack rules were
instituted.
 Late 1940s Forearm pass introduced to the game (as a
desperation play).  Most balls were played with overhand
pass.
 1957 - The International Olympic Committee (IOC) designated
volleyball as an Olympic team sport, to be included in the
1964 Olympic Games.
 1960's new techniques added to the game included - the soft
spike (dink), forearm pass (bump), blocking across the net,
and defensive diving and rolling.
 1998- The “Libero” was introduced internationally.
 1999- Rally-point rules introduced.
 COURT AND EQUIPMENT

Playing area
 18 m (59’) from end lines
 Divided by the center line, each half 9 m (29’ 6”)
 Attack lines are 3 m (10’)
Width of the court
 9 m (29’ 6”)
 Lines are considered inbounds
Service Zones
Free Zones
Net
 Made of mesh
 Minimum of 32’ long
 39” wide
 2” canvas band at the top
 Antennae
 Top of net
 Men 2.43 m (7’ 11 5/8”)
 Women 2.24 m (7’ 4 1/8”)
Ceiling, walls, court dividers, antennae,
backboards, etc.
 Are considered out of play
Ball
 Leather ball 65 cm (25 5/8”) in circumference
 Weighs 260-280 g (9-10 Oz)
 BASIC RULES

Matches are decided by 2/3 games

Begin with a coin toss
 Winner chooses to serve/receive or side of the
court they wish to play on
 Loser of the coin toss chooses remaining option
 Team swap court sides and initial serve for game 2
 Another coin toss used if there is a 3rd game
If there is a game 3, players switch sides of the
court after a team has 8 points
Players and rotation
 Six players per team
 Three are in front row
 Three are in back row
 Back row players may not enter the attack zone
 Players rotate one position clockwise following a
rally in which they win the right to serve
Serving
 The person who rotates to the right back position
serves
 Serve from the service zone, behind the end line
 Net serves are NOT permitted
 Faults include ball hitting antenna or landing
outside the court
Playing the ball
 Each team is entitled to a maximum of 3 strikes on
the ball
 A ball contacting a block does not count as one of the
three
 One player cannot hit the ball twice in succession

 Except a block
Playing the ball
 The ball may not come to rest (held ball; fault)
 Ball may be hit by any body part above the knee
 Cannot touch the ball if it is not on your side of the
net
 Backline players cannot touch the ball above the
level of the net when they are in the attack zone
Net play
 Players may not contact the net (fault)
 Attacker may cross net, as long as part of the ball
was on their side of the net when the ball was
struck
 Standing on the line is legal, stepping over the line
(or any other body part over the line) is illegal
 SCORING IN VOLLEYBALL

Scoring
 The serve starts play
 Objective is to keep the ball from touching one’s
own floor, without violating the rules
 Games 1 and 2 are side-out scoring, game 3 is rally
scoring
 Games are played to 15 points
 Must win by 2 points or the first team to score 17
in side-out scoring
 Must win by 2 points (no point cap) in rally
scoring
Side-out scoring
 A “side-out” is the termination of a teams right to serve
 Point is awarded only when serving team wins the rally
 Only the serving team may score a point, except in the deciding game
when rally-point scoring is used.
 When the receiving team wins a rally, it gains the right to serve (also
scoring a point in the deciding game), and its players rotate one position
clockwise.
 Rotation ensures that players play at both the net and the back zone of the
court.
 A team wins a game by scoring 15 points with a two-point advantage and
wins the match by winning the best of three or five games.
 In the event of a 16-16 tie, the team scoring the 17th point wins a non-
deciding game with only a one-point advantage.
 In a deciding game there is no point cap.
 Rally scoring .
 A point is awarded to whichever team wins the rally
 The team winning a rally scores a point (Rally Point System).
When the receiving team wins a rally, it gains a point and the
right to serve, and its players rotate one position clockwise.
 The best of three or best of five games will win matches. Each
non-deciding game will be won by the team that first scores 25
points with a minimum two-point advantage (no scoring cap).
 If there is a deciding game, it will be won by the team that first
scores 15 points with a minimum two-point advantage (no
scoring cap).
 TECHNIQUES

Serve
 Overhand (topspin)
 Overhand floater (no spin)
 Jump serve
 Underhand
 Forearm pass, bump, or dig
 UNDERHAND SERVE

☺Stand facing the net with the foot opposite the hitting hand
forward.
☺The ball is held at waist level.
☺The player leans forward as they swing their arm foreword
and contact the ball.
☺The hand holding the ball is dropped just before the contact.
☺The player hits underneath the ball with the heel of the hand.
☺The hitting arm follows through in the direction of the target.
 OVERHAND SERVE
ARM TOSS

With firm wrist, toss the ball 18 inches and in line

with the hitting shoulder.
 PASSING

 Start in ready position with feet slightly wider than shoulder width. Upper
body should be bent forward and the arms out ready.
 Move quickly to get behind the ball. Maintain low body position.
 Contact the ball on the forearms just above the wrists.
 Direct the ball by tilting arms toward target. (Turtle)
 Follow path of ball to its target .
 SETTING

 Start in the ready position facing the target.

 Form a triangle with thumbs and pointer fingers (hands
should not be touching)
 Place hands directly in front of the face close to the forehead.

 On contact, set by extending the arms and legs.

Common Mistakes
 Contacting the ball with the palms of the hands.
 Facing where the ball is coming from.
 SPIKING/ HITTING

Upper Body
 Pull the hitting arm back with the elbow and hand at shoulder height
or higher.
 The hand should be open and relaxed, with the palm facing away from
the ear.
 The elbow should swing forward and raise above the head.
 Arm and hand swing over the top as the heal of the hand contacts the
ball.
 Snap through the ball.
 Contact point is slightly in front of and as high as possible above the
hitting shoulder.

 APPROACH
 Right - Left finish. (for right handers)
 Left - Right finish. (for left handers)
 Three step or four step approach (both o.k.)
 Important to make the step a long and explosive one.
 JUMP
 Jump up (vertically) to meet ball.
 Contact the ball at the peak of your jump with a straight arm.
 Jump straight up and straight down. Do not touch the net.

Common Mistakes
 One foot jump
 Ball hit with fist instead of open hand
 "Tennis serve" arm action; one arm is swung forward and the other
is swung behind
 "Shot-put" arm action
 BLOCKING

 Arms extended and wrist locked and angled toward opponents

floor.
 Keep your shoulders square to the net.
 When you move along the net to block, plant so that you jump
straight up and down.
 Land in the same place from where you jump.
ROTATION
 ROTATIONAL POSITION

Rotational Position is the area on the court where

the player must be when the ball is served (from
either team). This is determined by the line-up at
the beginning of the game, which dictates the order
of servers for the entire game. A new line-up is
submitted for each game in a match, so positions
may be changed after each game. These rotational
positions are numbered on the court.
COURT LAYOUT
• 60 feet long
by 30 feet
wide.

• Net height;
Women’s
7’4”, Men’s
8’0”
 VOLLEYBALL TERMS

ACE - A serve that is not passable and results immediately in a point.

ANTENNA - The vertical rods (normally white and red) mounted near the edges of the
net. The antennas are mounted directly above the sidelines and are not-in-play.
Antennas are not usually used on outdoor nets.
APPROACH - Fast stride toward the net by a spiker before he jumps in the air.
ASSIST - Passing or setting the ball to a teammate who attacks the ball for a kill. This
stat is normally only logged for high school, college, and National/Olympic team
play.
ATTACK - The offensive action of hitting the ball. The attempt by one team to
terminate the play by hitting the ball to the floor on the opponent's side.
ATTACK BLOCK - Receiving players' aggressive attempt to block a spiked ball before it
crosses the net.
ATTACK ERROR - An unsuccessful attack which does one of the following: 1) the ball
lands out of bounds, 2) the ball goes into the net and terminates play or goes into
the net on the third hit, 3)the ball is blocked by the opposition for a point or
sideout, 4) the attacker is called for a center line violation, or 5) the attacker is
called for illegal contact (lift, double hit...) on the attack.
A T T A C K E R - A l s o "h i t t e r " o r " s p i k e r . " A p l a y e r w h o a t t e m p t s t o h i t a b a l l o f f e n s i v e l y
with the purpose of terminating play in his or her team's favor.
A T T A C K L I N E - A l i n e 3 m f r o m t h e n e t t h a t se p a ra t e s t h e f ro n t ro w p l a y e rs f ro m t h e
b a c k r o w p l a y e r s . C o m m o n l y re f e rred t o a s th e "1 0 -f o o t l i n e ."
BA C K C O U R T - T h e a r e a f r o m t h e e n d l i n e t o t h e a t t a c k l i n e .
BA C K S E T - A s e t d e l i v e re d b e h i n d th e se t te r’ s b a c k , w h i c h i s su b se q u e n t l y h i t b y
a n a t t a c k er .
BA C K RO W A T T A C K – W h e n a b a c k ro w p l a y er a t t a c k s th e b a l l b y j u m p i n g f ro m
b eh i n d th e 3 m l i n e b e f o r e h i t ti n g t h e b a l l . I f t h e b a c k ro w p l a y e r st e p s o n o r p a st
th e 3 m l i n e d u r i n g t a k e - o f f , t h e a t t a c k i s i l l e ga l .
BE A C H D I G - A n o p e n h a n d r ec e i v e o f t h e b a l l , a l so c a l l e d a " De e p D i sh "
BL O C K - A d e f e n s i v e p l a y b y o n e o r m o r e p l a y e rs m e a n t t o d ef l e c t a sp i k e d b a l l
b a c k t o th e h i t t er ’s c o u r t . I t m a y b e a c o m b i n a t i o n o f o n e , t w o o r t h re e p l a y ers
j u m p i n g i n f r o n t o f t h e o p p o si n g sp i k e r a n d c o n t a c t i n g t h e sp i k e d b a l l w i t h t h e
h a n d s.
BU M P – a c o m m o n t e r m f o r f o re a rm p a ssi n g .
BA L L HA N D L I N G E RR O R - A n y t i m e t h e o f f i c i a l c a l l s a d o u b l e h i t , a t h r o w n b a l l o r a
l i f t ( e xc e p t o n a s e r ve r ec e p t i o n o r a t ta c k ) . F o r o u r p u rp o se s, t h i s c a t e go ry a l s o
i n c l u d es a n y b l o c k i n g e r r o rs ( w h en a n o f f i c i a l c a l l s a b l o c k e r f o r a v i o l a t i o n s u c h
a s g o i n g i n t o t h e n e t , c e n t e rl i n e v i o l a t i o n , re a c h i n g o v er t h e n e t, e t c . ) .
BUMP PASS - The use of joined forearms to pass or set a bal l in an underhand
manner.
CAMPF IRE - A bal l that fa lls to the f loor in an area that 's surrounded by two,
t hree, f our or more pl ayers. At the i nst ant aft er the bal l hits the fl oor, it
appears as if the pl ayers are encircli ng and staring at a campfire.
CENTER LINE - The b oundary t ha t runs direc tly u nder t he net and di vides the
court i nt o t wo equal hal ves.
CLO SING THE BLO CK - The responsibi li ty of the assi st ing bl oc ker(s) to j oin the
primary blocker and create an i mpenetrable bl ock i n which a ball cannot f it
betw een t he t wo i ndiv idual bl ockers.
CR O SS CO UR T SHO T - An i ndiv idual at tack directed at a n angle f rom one end of
t he offensiv e team's side of the net t o t he opposite si del ine of the defensi ve
t eam' s court.
CUT SHOT - A sp ike from the hitt er' s strong side t hat trav el s at a sharp angl e
ac ross t he net
DECO Y - An offensiv e pl ay meant to disguise t he spiker who w il l receive the
set.
DEEP SET - Set to be hit away from the net to confuse or disrupt
the timing of the blockers.
DIG - Passing a spiked or rapidly hit ball. Slang for the art of
passing an attacked ball close to the floor.
DINK - A legal push of the ball around or over blockers.
DOUBLE BLOCK - Two players working in unison to deflect an
attacked ball at the net back to the hitter’s side.
DOUBLE HIT - Successive hits or contacts by the same player.
(Illegal)
DOUBLE QUICK - Two hitters approaching the setter for a quick
inside hit.
DOUBLES - A game with two players on each side, most
commonly played on a sand court.
FIVE-ONE – A 6-player offensive system that uses five hitters and one setter.
FIVE SET – A back set to the right front hitter.
FLARE – Inside-out path of an outside spiker who hid behind a quick hitter.
FLOATER - A serve which does not spin or rotate and therefore moves in an
erratic path. This is similar to a "knuckle ball" pitch in baseball.
FOREARM PASS - Join your arms from the elbows to the wrists and strike the
ball with the fleshy part of your forearms in an underhand motion.
FOUL - A violation of the rules.
FOUR SET - A set 1' from the sideline, and 1’ to 2' above the net.
FOUR-TWO - A 6-player offensive system using four hitters and two setters.
FREE BALL - A ball that will be returned by a pass rather than a spike. This
is usually called aloud by the defense instructing players to move into
serve receive positions.
HELD BALL - A ball that comes to rest during contact resulting in a foul.
HIT - To jump and strike the ball with an overhand, forceful shot.
HITTER - Also "spiker" or "attacker"
HITTING PERCENTAGE - kills vs. attempts
INSIDE SHOOT - A play set or a 33.
ISOLATION P LAY - De signed to isolate the attacker on a specific defender,
normally to e xploit a weakness or give a hitte r a chance to hit against a
single block.
JUNGLE BALL - Any volleyball game with people who don't really know how to
play volle yball. A common euphe mism for this type of game is "Picnic
Volleyball."
JUMP SERVE - A serve that is started by the server tossing the ball into the
air and jumping into and hitting the ball in its downward motion.
JOUST – When 2 opposing players are simultaneously attempting to play a
ball above the net.
KEY - To predict a team's next play by observation of patterns or habits.
KILL - An attack that re sults in an immediate point or side out.
LINE - The marks that serve as boundaries of a court.
LIN E S H OT - A ba ll s pik e d dow n a n o ppon e n t' s s ide li n e, cl os e st t o th e h it te r a n d
o u ts ide th e bl o ck .
LET S ER VE - A s e r ve th a t co n ta cts t h e n et . If th e ba l l dr ibble s o ve r , i t' s pla y a ble
ju st li k e a n y o th e r ba l l th a t con ta ct s th e n e t on th e w a y o ve r. If th e ba ll f ai ls
to cl ea r th e n e t, it w i ll beco me de a d w h e n i t eit h e r h its th e s e rv in g t ea m 's
co u rt , o r i s con t a cte d by a pl a ye r on th e s e rvin g te a m .
MIDDLE- BA C K - A defe n s i ve s ys te m th a t u s e s th e m iddle ba ck pl a ye r to co ve r
dee p s pik e s .
MIDDLE- UP - A de fe n s ive s y s te m th a t u s es t h e mi ddle ba ck pla y e r t o co ve r
din k s o r s h o rt s h ot s .
MIN TO N ETTE - Th e or i gin a l n a m e of th e ga me o f vo ll ey ba ll, cr ea t ed by W i lli a m
M or ga n .
MU LTIPLE O F F EN S E - A s ys te m of pla y u s in g dif fe re n t ty pe s o f se ts ot h er t h a n
ju st n o rm a l ou t s ide s et s.
OF F SIDE BLO C K - P la y er at t h e n et , w h ich i s o n t h e s ide a w a y f r om t he
o ppo n e nt ' s a tt a ck .
OF F -S PEED H IT - A n y ba ll s pi k ed w ith le s s th an ma x im u m f or ce bu t w it h s pin .
OUTSIDE HITTER – a left-front or right-front attacker normally taking an approach which
starts from outside the court
OVERHAND PASS - A pass executed with both hands open, controlled by the fingers and
thumbs, played just above the forehead.
OVERHAND SERVE - Serving the ball and striking it with the hand above the shoulder.
OVERLAP – refers to the positions of the players in the rotation prior to the contact of the
ball when serving.
PANCAKE - A one-handed defensive technique where the hand is extended and the palm is
slid along the floor as the player dives or extension rolls, and timed so that the ball
bounces off the back of the hand.
PASS – see "Forearm Pass"
PENETRATION – The act of reaching across and breaking the plane of the net during
blocking.
POINT OF SERVICE - A serve that results in a point (an ace by NCAA standards) as the serve
is not returnable due to a bad pass by the receiver, this number includes aces.
POWER ALLEY - A cross-court hit traveling away from the spiker to the farthest point of the
court.
POWER TIP – A ball that is pushed or directed with force by an attacking team.
POWER VOLLEYBALL - A competitive style of volleyball started by the Japanese.
QUICK – a player approaching the setter for a quick inside hit
QUICK SET – a set (usually 2’ above the net) in which the hitter is approaching the
setter, and may even be in the air, before the setter delivers the ball. This type of set
requires precise timing between the setter and hitter.
READY POSITION - The flexed, yet comfortable, posture a player assumes before moving
to contact the ball.
RECEPTION ERROR - A serve that a player should have been able to return, but results in
an ace (and only in the case of an ace). If it is a "husband/wife" play (where the ball
splits the two receivers), the receiving team is given the reception error instead of an
individual.
RED CARD – a severe penalty in which an official displays a red card. The result of a red
card may be a player is disqualified, the team loses the serve, or the team loses a
point. A red card may be given with or without a prior yellow card as a warning; it is up
to the official’s discretion.
ROLL - a certain way to pass a ball in which the digger, or passer lays out an arm, passes
the ball, and rolls over the shoulder (over the shoulder roll) or back (barrel roll) after
passing the ball. This is a quick way to return to action after the play.
ROOF - A ball that when spiked is blocked by a defensive player such that the ball
deflects straight to the floor on the attacker’s side.
ROTATION - The clockwise movement of players around the court and through the serving
position following a side out.
SERVE - One of the six basic skills; used to put the ball into play. It is the only skill
controlled exclusively by one player.
SERVER - The player who puts the ball into play.
SERVICE ERROR - An unsuccessful serve in which one or more of the following occurs:
1) the ball hits the net or fails to clear the net, 2) the ball lands out of bounds, or 3)
the server commits a foot fault.
SERVICE WINNER - A point the serving team scores when this player has served the
ball. The point can be an immediate (in the case of an ace) or delayed (a kill or
opponent attack error after a long rally). Therefore, the sum of the team's service
winners equals their score.
SET - The tactical skill in which a ball is directed to a point where a player can spike
it into the opponent's court.
SETTER – the player who has the 2nd of 3 contacts of the ball who "sets" the ball with
an "Overhand Pass" for a teammate to hit. The setter normally runs the offense.
SIDE OUT - Occurs when the receiving team successfully puts the ball away against
the serving team, or when the serving team commits an unforced error, and the
receiving team thus gains the right to serve.
SIX PACK – Occurs when a blocker gets hit in the head or face by a spiked ball.
SIX-TWO – A 6-player offense using 2 setters opposite one another in the rotation. Setter 1
becomes a hitter upon rotating into the front row as setter 2 rotates into the back row
and becomes the setter.
SPIKE - Also hit or attack. A ball contacted with force by a player on the offensive team who
intends to terminate the ball on the opponent's floor or off the opponent's blocker.
STRONG SIDE - When a right-handed hitter is hitting from the left-front position or when a
left-handed hitter is hitting from the right-front position.
STUFF - A ball that is deflected back to the attacking team's floor by the opponent's
blockers. A slang term for "block."
TURNING IN – the act of an outside blocker turning his/her body into the court so as to
ensure the blocked ball is deflected into the court and lands in-bounds.
UNDERHAND SERVE – a serve in which the ball is given a slight under-hand toss from about
waist high and then struck with the opposite closed fist in an "underhand pitching"
motion.
WEAK SIDE – When a right-handed player is hitting from right-front position or when a left-
handed player is hitting from the left-front position.
WIPE – when a hitter pushes the ball off of the opposing block so it lands out of bounds
YELLOW CARD – a warning from an official indicated by the display of a yellow card. Any
player or coach who receives two yellow cards in a match is disqualified. A single yellow
card does not result in loss of point or serve.
END