VOLLEYBALL

Volleyball is a game played with two teams of six players each. The
object of the game is to use skills such as the forearm pass, set, spike and block
to gain an advantage on the opponent by sending the ball to the floor on their
side of the court. A game is played to 25 points, however, the winning team
must win by two points. A high school volleyball match consists of winning two
out of three games.

HISTORY OF VOLLEYBALL

The game of volleyball, originally called “mintonette,” was invented in

1895 by William G. Morgan after the invention of basketball only four years
before.
Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA, designed the
game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball.
The first volleyball net, borrowed from tennis, was only 6’6″ high (though
you need to remember that the average American was shorter in the
nineteenth century).

The offensive style of setting and spiking was first demonstrated in the
Philippines in 1916. Over the years that followed, it became clear that standard
rules were needed for tournament play, and thus the USVBA (United States
Volleyball Association) was formed in 1928.
the first beach volleyball association appeared in California (1965), and
the professional players united under the auspices of the AVP (American
Volleyball Professionals) in 1983.
During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, American men and women took
gold and silver medals in indoor volleyball competitions. Four years later at the
Olympics in Korea, the men once again scored gold.
Starting in 1996, two-man beach volleyball was officially introduced to the
Olympics. Today, there are more than 800 million volleyball players worldwide,
46 million of them in the U.S.
 Timeline of Significant Volleyball Events

In 1900, a special ball was designed for the sport.

In 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.
In 1917, the game was changed from 21 to 15 points.
In 1920, three hits per side and back row attack rules were instituted.

In 1922, the first YMCA national championships were held in Brooklyn, NY.
Twenty-seven teams from 11 states were represented.

In 1928, it became clear that tournaments and rules were needed, so the
United States Volleyball Association (USVBA, now USA Volleyball) was formed.
The first U.S. Open was staged, as the field was open to non-YMCA squads.
In 1930, the first two-man beach game was played.
In 1934, national volleyball referees were approved and recognized.

In 1937, at the AAU convention in Boston, action was taken to recognize

the U.S. Volleyball Association as the official national governing body in the U.S.
In 1947, the Federation Internationale De Volley-Ball (FIVB) was founded.
In 1948, the first two-man beach tournament was held.
In 1949, the initial World Championships were held in Prague,
Czechoslovakia.
In 1964, volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo. Commented [MLE1]:

In 1965, the California Beach Volleyball Association (CBVA) was formed.

In 1974, the World Championships in Mexico were telecast in Japan.

In 1975, the U.S. National Women’s team began a year-round training

regime in Pasadena, Texas (moved to Colorado Springs in 1979, Coto de Caza
and Fountain Valley, CA, in 1980, and San Diego, CA, in 1985).
In 1974, the World Championships in Mexico were telecast in Japan.

In 1975, the U.S. National Women’s team began a year-round training

regime in Pasadena, Texas (moved to Colorado Springs in 1979, Coto de Caza
and Fountain Valley, CA, in 1980, and San Diego, CA, in 1985).

In 1986, the Women’s Professional Volleyball Association (WPVA) was

formed.
 In 1988, the U.S. men repeated the gold in the Olympics in Korea.
In 1990, the World League was created.
In 1995, the sport of volleyball was 100 years old
In 1996, two-person beach volleyball became an Olympic sport.

VOLLEYBALL TERMS

10-foot line or attack line - A line on the court 10 feet from the net, parallel with
the net. Players in the back row cannot attack the ball above the net while in
front of this line; however, if a player jumps from behind the line toward the net
and hits the ball before landing on the court in front of the line, the attack is
legal.

ACE - A serve that results directly in a point without further action by players on
the serving team. Typically, the ace can be detected due to an inability to
touch the served ball or a shanked pass by a player on the receiving team.
However, if the serve-receiving player passes the ball to another player and that
second player can make a play on it, but doesn't, this serve is not considered an
ace.

ANTENNA - The vertical rods along the outside edge of the net extending 32
inches above the net to indicate out-of-bounds along the sideline. Any ball that
touches the antenna is considered out.

ASSIST - Passing or setting the ball to a teammate who attacks the ball for a kill.
The typical assist is a set, but generally, any ball delivered by one player to a
second player to allow that second player to make a kill is an assist.

ATTACK - A broad term that can mean many different things. At a high level, this
term is used to describe the offensive scheme or pattern with which a team
attempts to score a point. At a lower level, this term refers to the attempt by a
player to score a point by hitting the ball in some manner.

Attack Attempt - The attempt by a player to terminate a play by hitting the ball
to the floor on the opponent's side.

BACK SET - A set made when the player who is setting the ball has his/her back
toward the hitter. Normally the setter back sets but occasionally, a player other
than the setter decides to get fancy and back sets to the designated hitter. It
looks more difficult than it really is. Many players master back setting at an early
age.

BACK ROW ATTACK - Typically, a player who has rotated to the back row jumps
behind the 3-meter line to hit the ball. When done by a flashy player who puts
some heat on the ball, the play is visually spectacular. However, regardless of
whether a player takes off, any play involving a back row player attacking the
ball is considered a back row attack. When accomplished by a short defensive
specialist, the crowd goes wild with delight.

BLOCK - The first line of defense where one or more players successfully
terminate a rally or play in their favor by stopping the ball from traveling over the
net. Typically, the blocking player(s) jump in front of the opposing hitter at the
net to make contact with the ball in such a way that the ball lands inbounds on
the opposing hitter's court or hits the opposing hitter before falling out of bounds.
See ROOF.

Blocking Error - A violation that consists of touching the net, crossing the center
line, blocking a set or any other violation which occurs while making a block
attempt.

BUMP - The use of the forearm to pass or set the ball in an underhand manner.

CARRY - An illegal maneuver in which a player makes an underhand contact

with the ball where the duration of the contact last for more than the maximum
amount of time. Needless to say, this is a very subjective call.

CENTER LINE - The boundary that runs under the net and divides the court into
two equal playing areas.

DIG - The act of successfully receiving a ball. Almost always, the dig refers to the
act of recovering an attacked ball close to the court floor. Some of the best
diggers in collegiate volleyball include Nalani Yamashita (Hawaii), Stacy Sykora
(Texas A&M), Jaimi Gregory (Stanford), and usually, any of Kathy Gregory's UCSB
teams.

DINK or DUMP - A pinpoint and aggressive push of the ball over the net. 99% of
the time, this play is made by the setter. Usually performed by the setter, who
delivers the ball into the opponent's court on the second contact.

DOUBLE BLOCK - Two players working in unison to intercept a ball at the net.
DOUBLE HIT/Contact - Successive hits by the same player. (Illegal)

DOUBLES - A game with two players on a side

Focus - To concentrate attention or effort. To direct toward a common center or

objective.

FOOT FAULT - The illegal act of placing a foot on or inside the end line prior to
the serve. Like tennis, the server's foot must always be located behind the end
line until the server serves the ball.

Forearm Pass - Contacting the ball with the forearms in order to deliver the ball
to the setter in an underhanded manner.

FOUL - A violation of the rules that was called by a referee. If the referees don't
call it, you get away with it. No different from any other sport.

FOUR-TWO - An offensive system using four hitters and two setters. The setters set
from the front row.

FREE BALL - A ball that is delivered over the net to the opposing team in a non-
threatening manner because the ball was hit more like a pass rather than a
spike. When this occurs, players on the opposing team normally and collectively
yell "free!" while moving backwards away from the net to receive the free ball
and set up a transition offensive play. Usually, but not always, the receiving
team moves into its serve receive positions.

HELD BALL (carry) - A ball that comes to rest for more than the maximum
allowable time period during contact resulting in a foul. Again, this is a
subjective call.

HIT - To offensively strike the ball in an effort to terminate the rally for a sideout or
point. The hit can be either an overhand or underhand shot so long as the hit is
made to terminate the rally.

HITTING PERCENTAGE - A statistical category calculated by subtracting the

number of errors from the number of kills and dividing this result by the number of
kill attempts. For example, a player who records 7 kills, 2 errors, and 10 kill
attempts has a hitting percentage of 0.500 (Hitting Percentage = (kills - errors)/kill
attempts). Typically, a setter's performance has a high correlation to a team's
hitting percentage.
JUMP SERVE - One of the most feared serves in all of volleyball when executed
consistently, the jump serve involves the server tossing the ball up and making
contact with the ball as it falls by jumping up in the air. The resulting served ball
usually has more power, arc, and spin than the normal serve. However, it is a
risky serve for the serving team as most players cannot execute it perfectly.
Some of the best jump servers in college volleyball include Logan Tom (Stanford)
and Brittany Hochevar (Long Beach State).

KILL - A succesfful attack that terminates a play or rally resulting in an immediate

point or side out by the team making the kill.

LET SERVE - A legal serve attempt where the ball makes contact with the net
while still managing to go over on the serve receiving team's side of the court.

LIBERO - A player who can be substituted into a game freely in the back row for
defensive purposes, i.e., digging, passing. Required to wear a striking and
different color jersey, the libero is prohibited from serving or attacking the ball.

LINE SHOT - In contrast to a cross-court shot, a line shot refers to a hit attempt
where the ball is directed along an opponent's sideline closest to the hitter and
usually outside the block.

Line Judge - Officials located at the corners of the court; each linesman is
responsible for ruling if the ball is legally in play along the lines for which or she is
responsible.

OVERHEAD PASS - A ball-handling skill using both hands simultaneously to

contact the ball above the head and direct it to the intended target.

PANCAKE DIG - a spectacular dig that should not be tried at home without the
supervision of a trained professional, unless you are Kerri Walsh. As the ball falls
toward the floor (as gravity dictates), a player literally dives head first toward the
ball by stretching at least one arm to place his/her palm on or near the floor
and under the ball to prevent the ball from touching the floor. The hand is as flat
as a pancake on the floor. Clear enough?

PASS - The act of receiving and delivering the ball to the setter. Technically, a
pass is made by joining the arms from the elbows to the wrists and making
contact with the ball on the forearms in an underhand motion to direct the ball
to the setter. The pass is considered the most important fundamental element of
volleyball.
READY POSITION - The flexed, yet comfortable, posture a player assumes before
moving to the point of contact.

Red Card - A more severe sanction given by the up-referee.

RALLY POINT SCORE (or RPS) - Simply put, every play will result in a point
regardless of who served. Rally score has been used in international play for
years but the United States high school and collegiate games were played with
the conventional side-out scoring system.

ROOF - A colloquial term that is used to describe a successful block attempt.

See BLOCK.

ROTATION - The collective clockwise movement of players on a team around

their side of the court following a side out. Each rotation determines the identity
of the server.

SCREENING - The illegal act of obstructing the view of the opposing team by
preventing them from visually seeing the server with players on the server's team
at the time of the serve. Typically, players on the server's team gather together
in close proximity to create a "wall" or "screen" so that the opposing team
cannot determine how, when, and where the server will serve. The players on
the server's team must be separated from each other by at least 1 meter.

SERVE - The act by one player to put the ball into play. The serving player is
usually identified by the current rotation. When serving, the player must be
located in a designated area behind the back line.
SETTER (S) - The position on a team who is considered the leader and
"quarterback" (to use an overused analogy) who is normally responsible for
delivering the ball to one of the other players for an attack attempt. In the past,
setters were usually shorter and were not expected to contribute to blocking
and the team's offensive production. Recently, the trend is to train athletic taller
players so that they can also block and attack the ball when necessary. Some
of the greatest setters in the history of the game include Debbie Green (USC,
1976-77), Lisa Sharpley (Stanford, 1994-97), Robyn Ah Mow (Hawaii, 1993-96),
and Misty May (Long Beach State, 1995-98).

SIDEOUT - In contrast to the rally point scoring system, the sideout scoring system
mandates that the only time a team scores a point is when the play ends in the
serving team's favor. Also, the term refers to a situation where a play ends in the
serve receiving team's favor so that the serve receiving team now earns the
right to serve the next play.
Tandem - A combination in which one player attacks immediately behind
another.

TEN-FOOT LINE (or 3-METER LINE) - The two lines that are parallel to the CENTER
LINE. Each line is located approximately 10 feet (or 3 meters) from the center line
on both sides of the court. This line specifies the boundary between the front row
and the back row on each side of the court.
UNDERHAND SERVE - Although most players serve overhand for greater power,
the underhand serve was successfully employed by the Japanese teams.
Arguably, the underhand serve is a more conservative, "safer," and accurate
serve than the overhand serve.

Up Referee - The main referee. He/she stands up on a stand.

USAV - United States Volleyball (formerly USVBA) http://www.usavolleyball.org/

USPV - United States Professional Volleyball

Yellow Card - Warning given by the up-referee.

ETIQUETTE AND SAFETY

1. Players must be aware of hazards in the playing area. Volleyball

standards/poles, teammates, walls, and balls all pose the possibility of serious
injury.

2. Players should roll the ball under the net, rather than throw it over the net to
the other team.

3. Players should attempt to alert other players when a ball has rolled onto
another court so that a player does not accidentally land or step on the ball.

4. Players should avoid net violations or crossing the centerline as this can cause
injury.
5. Players should announce his/her team’s score and then the opponent’s score
clearly and loudly before each serve. In the absence of an official, players
should call the ball “in” or “out,” and call net violations in the interest of fair play.
6. Place volleyballs back in the bin/holder at the end of the game.

CARE OF EQUIPMENT
1. Players should never kick or sit on the volleyballs.
2. The volleyball nets should not be pulled on and players should not stand on
the supporting poles.