1600

In the late 16th century, a game involving volleying balls starts being played in England, probably with a "balloon" (a large inflated ball of strong double leather, struck to and fro by the arm defended by a bracer of wood - Oxford English Dictionary). A quote from 1626 notes, "Windblowne Balones... tossed this way and that way, sometyme with the foote, sometyme with the hand". This type of ball was also used for "foote-ball" on open fields.

1895

(only two years after the invention of basketball) William G. Morgan (1870-1942), a physical education instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA, decided to blend elements of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball to create a game for his classes of businessmen. The game was designed as a light recreational activity that would demand less physical contact than basketball. At this time, the game we now know as volleyball was called mintonette. Morgan borrowed the net from tennis, and raised it 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres, just above the height of an average man?s head) above the floor of a badminton court. Using the bladder out of a basketball for the ball, the game was played in innings like baseball. The object was to put the ball on the opponent?s floor whilst preventing the opponent from doing the same to you. There was neither limit to the number of players on a side nor any restrictions on the number of contacts. Later that year, Springfield College professor Alfred T. Halstead remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net and suggested that he change the name of the game to volley ball. He reasoned that in the world of athletics, a game called mintonette would get little attention. On July 7, 1896 at Springfield College, the first game of "volley ball" was played.

1900

Changes to volley ball rules: net height was raised to 7 feet 6 inches; the dribbling line was eliminated (initially, continuous air dribbling of the ball was permissible up to a restraining line 4 feet from the net); the length of game was changed to 21 points (in 1895, the length of games was nine innings, with three outs allowed per team per inning).

1912

Changes to volley ball rules: court size became 35 X 60 feet; the official ball was designated as 26 inches in circumference and was to weigh between 7 and 9 ounces; number of players on a side was established at six; teams were now required to rotate one position clockwise prior to serving.

1913

International volleyball competition had been initiated in 1913 in the first Far East Games, in Manila. During the early 1900s and continuing until after World War II, volleyball in Asia was played on a larger court, with a lower net, and nine players on a team. Participants played fixed positions instead of rotating clockwise after gaining service; they returned to their positions after their time to serve.

1916

Rules for volleyball in the USA were issued jointly by the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Changes to volley ball rules: game points were reduced from 21 to 15 points; two out of three games determined the winner of a match; the ball could be struck with the feet; the net height was raised to eight feet; the weight of the ball was changed to range from 8 to 10 ounces; each player rotated in order and served in turn; a serve that hit the net or any outside object was out of bounds; the ball could not come to rest in the hands; the ball could not be touched a second time unless another player had played it. Volleyball was introduced to Europe by U.S. troops in World War I, and national organizations were soon formed for a game that soon proved to have wide appeal for both sexes. In the Philippines, an offensive style of passing the ball in a high trajectory to be struck by another player (the set and spike) was introduced.

1918 1920

Volleyball originally had an unlimited number of players per team, but six-a-side volleyball was formally adopted in 1918. Three hits per side and back row attack rules were instituted for the hard-court game. Other rule changes were: the ball could be played by any part of the body above the waist; the court size was changed to 30 feet by 60 feet. There are unconfirmed whispers of men?s teams playing on the beach in Hawaii, but most accounts place beach volleyball?s origin in Santa Monica, California, where the first volleyball courts were put up on the beach at the Playground (Santa Monica). Families played 6 versus 6.

1922

Changes to volley ball rules: reaching over the net in any manner was prohibited; back position player was prohibited from spiking when playing a back position; the double foul was written in the rules; he centre-line was added as well as a scorer; it was necessary for one team to score two consecutive points to win if the score was tied at 14-14.

1923

Changes to volley ball rules: ceiling height minimum was to be 15 feet; six players constituted a team and 12, a squad; players wore numbers; the team receiving the serve rotated clockwise; the right back player served; if a player touched the opponents' court in completing a play it constituted a foul.

1924

The volley ball net specifications were written in detail: 3 feet wide, 4-inch square mesh of number 30 brown thread, canvas cover, top and bottom with 1/4 inch cable at top and 1/4 inch rope at the bottom.

1925

Changes to volley ball rules: the ball weight was changed to range from 9 to 10 ounces; an umpire was added; aplayer could not leave the court without the referee's permission; the ball had to cross the net over the sidelines; a team was permitted two time-outs per game; a 14-14 tied game was won by a team having a two-point advantage instead of 2 consecutive points.

1930

First two-man beach volleyball game was played in Santa Monica, California, USA. Beach volleyball appeared in Palavas, Lacanau and Royan (France), around Sofia (Bulgaria), Prague (Czechoslovakia), and Riga (Latvia).

1932 1935

Changes to volley ball rules: the centre-line was extended indefinitely; tape was put on the net over the sidelines; timeouts were limited to one minute; a player could not interchange positions or move outside their understood playing area. Changes to volley ball rules: crosses were placed on the floor defining player positions; all players were required to wear numbers on their uniforms; it became a foul to deliberately screen an opponent from the server; players could not leave their court unless the ball was on their side of the net (at this time, spikers would stand outside their court and wait till the ball was set to the outside of the court and come running in with a one-leg take-off spike). any touching of the net was a foul; a play was not complete unless a player resumed normal control on the floor; deliberate shouting and stomping the feet at an opponent was deemed unsportsmanlike.

1938 1942

Blocking was first included in the rules in 1938. Blocking was defined as impeding the ball at the net. A one or two-man block was permitted, providing the blockers played in adjacent positions. William G. Morgan, the creator of volleyball, died at the age of 68. His tombstone reads "Inventor of Volleyball". Changes to the volley ball rules: the ball could be played with any part of the body from the knees upward; the score of a forfeited game would be 15-0.

1944

1947
The Federation Internationale De Volleyball (FIVB) was founded by 14 National Federations (USA, France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Egypt, Italy, Netherlands, Belgium, Portugal, Romania, Turkey, Brazil, Uruguay and Yugoslavia) in Paris, France. Its mandate was to organise international competition and develop standardised volleyball rules worldwide.

1948
The rules were clarified and rewritten to aid in interpretation. Blocking was defined and the service area stipulated as being the right third of the back line. Other items clarified were: each player should be in his own area before the ball leaves the server's hands; points made from wrong server were cancelled; simultaneous hits by two players constituted one hit; time out for rest was one minute; time out for injury was five minutes; time out between games was three minutes.

1949
(The first men's World Championships were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia. The Soviet men defeated the Czech's 3-1. After 54 years, women got their first chance to play competitive volleyball.

1951
Rules were changed to allow the hands to pass over the net under certain conditions (for blocking).

1952

The first women??s world championships were held in Moscow. The Soviet Union team won the championship. The Administrative Committee of the USVBA changed the name "Volley Ball" to be one word, "Volleyball". Changes to volleyball rules: any player was allowed to block at the net; a 7-foot line drawn back and parallel to the net as a restraining line for back court players blocking at the net; the restriction was lifted on players leaving their position to perform any play except the back line spiker; a defensive player, when blocking, must indicate whether or not they touched the ball; the server was allowed to serve the ball from anywhere back of the service line; teams were allowed to warm up during time out for rest or for injury; the players were allowed to leave the court without the referee's permission; the coach, captain, or manager was allowed to call time out.

1953
Changes to volleyball rules: the rubber ball was ruled legal; a substitute was allowed to re-enter the game twice instead of once; players were allowed to use any part of the body to play the ball; the whole format of the rules was changed and each rule items was numbered from 1 to 75 under 8 major headings; errors and fouls were defined.

1955

The Asian Volleyball Conference was founded in Manila (? 1954).

1956

The Dutch Sports Committee introduce a new game called Sitting Volleyball, a combination of sitzball and volleyball for disabled athletes.

Changes to the volley ball rules: the players were allowed to stand anywhere in the court during the serve as long as they were in rotation order; teams automatically changed courts during the third game of a match when one team reached 8 points or 4 minutes of play-time expired.

1957 1959 1960

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) designated volleyball as an Olympic team sport, to be included in the 1964 Olympic Games. International University Sports Federation (FISU) held the first World University Games in Turin, Italy. Volleyball was one of the eight competitions held. Hirofum Diamatsu and his Nishibo Spinning Mills Club team compete as the Japanese National team. Using an adaptation of the judo shoulder roll, the women on the team were encouraged to go after any ball aggressively. The team was undefeated between 1960 and 1964 and dominated the 1964 Olympic games in Tokyo. In this same period, new techniques including the soft spike (dink) and blocking along the length of the net, were added to the game.

Changes to the volley ball rules: women's net height was lowered to 7 feet 4 inches; teams were to alternate the initial serve of each succeeding game in a match.

1964 1966

Volleyball was introduced as a medal sport to the Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan. The Japanese volleyball used in the 1964 Olympics, consisted of a rubber carcass with leather panelling. A similarly constructed ball is used today. With 89.5% of the nation watching on television, the Japanese women won the first Olympic gold medal. Renegades Volleyball Club was formed with a team of 7 men competing in what was then Division 1 of the Metropolitan Volleyball Association, the premier competition in Victoria at that time. The team was based at the Footscray YMCA and included four players who also represented the Victorian and Australian teams.

In August 1966, an invitation was extended by the Victorian Amateur Volleyball Association (VAVA) to play in the first State-wide event at Monash University. Geelong and Bendigo accepted the invitation with Melbourne represented by Sisu. For Bendigo players at least, this was the first exposure to "international rules", which prevented upward scoops with open hands, introduced an action called a "dig" and seemed to penalise most overhead actions using the fingers as "double hits".

The first Morwell volleyball tournament was held in December. The date of this annual competition has varied over the years, moving from December to August after State League finals and in 2003 to October due to Victorian Volleyball League dates changing.

1968

The Victorian Regional Council of YMCA??s proposed the first Victorian YMCA Championship in Warrnambool on 30th March, 1968, with an entry fee of $4.00 per team. Subsequent regional volleyball events were held in Ararat and Geelong. Renegades competes in the first Warrnambool volleyball tournament. An attempt was made to draw USVBA rules and International Rules together, causing several major changes to be made: definition of fouls changed to include ball-handling errors; ceiling minimum height was raised to 26 feet; lines depicting the 10-foot serving area were added to the court; the server was required to toss the ball into the air when initiating the serve; the spiking line was moved from 7 feet to 10 feet back from the net; blockers were allowed to reach across the net as long as they did not contact the ball until after the attacker had contacted it; one player from the rear could block but at no time could there be more than three players deployed in position to block; back line spikers were allowed to land in front of the spiking line as long as they left the ground behind it; the ball could not be played with any part of the body below the waist.