VOLLEYBALL:

History, Basics & Equipment

Module 7 : PE
VOLLEYBALL : History
From humble beginnings to global sport.

• History has it that William G Morgan - who invented the game of volleyball in 1895 - came up with the idea so
that people who found basketball’s ‘bumping’ or ‘jolting’ too strenuous could have an alternative physical activity
to fall back on.

• Mintonette, the original name of volleyball 

VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Ball

• The standard volleyball is made of leather or

synthetic leather, weighs between 9 and 10
ounces and has a circumference of 25.6 to 26.4
inches.
VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Net and Court

• The outdoor volleyball court measures 18 x 9 m,

surrounded by a free zone that is 2 meters wide
on all sides
VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Lines

• The playing court is marked by

two sidelines and two end lines. All
lines must be 2 inches wide and must
be created with a light color that is
easy to discern from the playing court.
VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Posts and Cables

• Posts should be round, smooth and padded,

to prevent injury to the players should they
dive or crash into them. Metal wires and cables
may need to be covered if it is determined that
they present a danger to the players.
VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Antenna and Side Bands

• Antenna are flexible rods that are 1.8 meters

long made of fiberglass, fastened at the outer
edge of each side band. Side bands are two
white bands attached vertically to the net and
placed above each sideline.
VOLLEYBALL: Equipment Used
Knee pads, Shoes, Clothing & Jewelry

• Knee pads should be sturdy enough to protect your

knees from falls, slides and dives, but flexible enough to
allow you to bend comfortably.
Skills You will Learn in
Playing Volleyball
Skill in Volleyball
1. Forearm Passing or Bumping

• Passing the ball is one of the most im-

portant skills, because it’s usually the first of
the three ball contacts the team makes. A good
pass will make it easier for the setter to
get a good setup to the hitter. A bad pass
makes it a lot harder to execute a good bump-
set-spike play.
Skills in Volleyball
2. Volleying

A volley can be used on your own side of the

court, or it can be used as an offensive way of get-
ting the ball back over the net. A set, on the other
hand, is generally a pass between players on the
same team. Setting the other team happens oc-
casionally as an error, but really, you want to try to
avoid setting up the other team to hit the ball back at
you!
Put your hands up over your head, with your in-
dex fingers almost touching your forehead and
your thumbs and index fingers shaping into almost a
diamond – that’s the starting point for an overhead
pass.
Skills in Volleyball
3. Setting

A set is a specialized type of volley. It’s usually the

second hit, and it's intended to se up one of your
teammates to attack the ball. So, it’s
basically, volleying the ball in a way that means
the attacker can hit the ball over the net.

A good set is actually about a foot away from the

net. This gives the hitter enough room to follow
through with their whole arm swing, and gives
them enough room to land without touching the
net.
Skills in Volleyball
4. Attacking

Hitting or spiking is when a player jumps up and

hits the ball with a one-armed overhead
swinging motion, contacting the ball squarely with
their slightly open hand. The intent of a
hit is pure power – jumping helps generate
more power and momentum. A skilled player also
aims the ball around the block and targets the area
of the opposing team’s playing area
that they think has the weakest defense
coverage.
Skills in Volleyball
5. Diving

Diving is basically crashing to the floor in an all-

out attempt to keep the ball from touching
the floor. Okay, it’s not about crashing to the
floor… using a good technique will not
only help you save your body some aches and
pains, but using some skill and coordination
means you have a better chance of actually
keeping the ball in play.
Skills in Volleyball
6. Blocking
Probably one of the most straight-forward
named skills, a block is a defensive play
when a player jumps at the net to block
the hit from coming onto their team’s side of
the net. The key secret to blocking is
timing.

Blocking is an important skill, because it is lit-

erally the first line of defense against the at-
tack coming over the net. Even if the
block doesn’t completely stop the attack, it has
a good chance of slowing down the
ball so that another player can dig it up.
Skills in Volleyball
7. Serving
A player can choose to serve over or
underhand. An underhand serve is often seen as
more of a beginner or recreational type of
serve; however, I’ve seen some aggressive
underhand serves. There are many different
techniques and strategies for each, so it’s
really about which the player prefers.

 The official rules give players 8 seconds to

serve the ball after the referee has blown the whis-
tle, but some rec leagues give players 5
seconds, so be sure to check the rules for the
league you’re playing in.