Volley Ball
Volley ball is a game played with a light ball and a high net. The ball is hit, with the hand, back and fourth over the net without letting the ball touch the ground. It is a game between two teams of players, each team occupying a court on one side of the net.
The game of volley ball can be considered from two main aspects. The first is the informal recreative game which can be played any where by men and women, young or old.
History of Volley Ball
Created on February 9, 1895, in Holyoke (Massachusetts) by William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director. Then it was known as Mintonette, The first rules were written down by William G. Morgan. He called for a net 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres) high; a 25 × 50 foot (7.6 × 15.2 meter) court; and any number of players. Alfred Halstead, an observer, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896 played at the Springfield YMCA, the game quickly became known as volleyball (originally spelled as two words volley ball). The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded in 1947. The first World Championships were held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women. Volleyball was added to the program of the Olympic Games in 1964. Beach volleyball became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1986. Beach volleyball was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The first country to adopt volleyball outside the United States was Canada in 1900.
Court
The playing surface shall be 18 meters long and 9 meter wide including outer edge of lines. In each court a line (attach line) shall be drawn across the court 3 meter from, and parallel to the centre line.
Two lines 15 cm by 5 cm and 3 meter apart shall be drawn at the back of the end line so as to permit service from any where between them and the end line. The service area shall be a minimum of 2 metres in depth. The surface of the playing area may be ash, earth grass or wood.
Height of the Net
The height of the net at the centre shall be 2.43 meter for men and 2.24 meter for women.
Net: the net shall be 1 meter deep and 9.50 meter long.
Ball: the ball shall be spherical, made either of a supple leather case, lace less, inside which is a rubber bladder, or it can be rubber cased, for harder wear at practice sections, circumferences: 65-67 cm. weight: 260-280 gram.
Team and Players
The number of players shall be six, what ever the circumstances. A team with less than six players automatically forfeits the game. Substitution is allowed and this is dealt with under a separate rule.
Skills
Competitive teams master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, attack, block and dig. Each of these skills comprises a number of specific techniques that have been introduced over the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball.
A man making a jump serves.
A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His or her main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside the court after being touched by an opponent.
In contemporary volleyball, many types of serves are employed:
Women making a forearm pass or bump.
Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve, or any form of attack. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reaches the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.
The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms or platform, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips, like a set, above the head. Either form (joined forearm or overhand pass) are acceptable in professional and beach volleyball; however there are much tighter regulations on the overhand pass in beach volleyball.
Set
The set is usually the second contact that a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team, and is the player who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball.
As with passing, one may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set. Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball, the bump is used only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips or in beach volleyball where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent. In the case of a set, one also speaks of a front or back set, meaning whether the ball is passed in the direction the setter is facing or behind the setter. There is also a jump set that is used when the ball is too close to the net. In this case the setter usually jumps off his or her right foot straight up to avoid going into the net. The setter usually stands about ⅔ of the way from the left to the right of the net and faces the left (the larger portion of net that he or she can see).
Sometimes a setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform an attack and tries to play it directly onto the opponent's court. This movement is called a "dump". The most common dumps are to 'throw' the ball behind the setter or in front of the setter to zones 2 and 4. More experienced setters toss the ball into the deep corners or spike the ball on the second hit.
Attack
Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques:
3 players performing a block
Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack.
A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive. A well-executed offensive block is performed by jumping and reaching to penetrate with one's arms and hands over the net and into the opponent's area. It requires anticipating the direction the ball will go once the attack takes place. It may also require calculating the best foot work to executing the "perfect" block.
The jump should be timed so as to intercept the ball's trajectory prior to it crossing over the net. Palms are held deflected downward about 45-60 degrees toward the interior of the opponent’s court. A "roof" is a spectacular offensive block that redirects the power and speed of the attack straight down to the attacker's floor, as if the attacker hit the ball into the underside of a peaked house roof.
By contrast, it is called a defensive or "soft" block if the goal is to control and deflect the hard-driven ball up so that it slows down and becomes easier to be defended. A well-executed soft-block is performed by jumping and placing one's hands above the net with no penetration into the opponent's court and with the palms up and fingers pointing backward.
Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved. Thus, one may speak of single (or solo), double, or triple block.
Successful blocking does not always result in a "roof" and many times does not even touch the ball. While it’s obvious that a block was a success when the attacker is roofed, a block that consistently forces the attacker away from his or her 'power' or preferred attack into a more easily controlled shot by the defense is also a highly successful block.
At the same time, the block position influences the positions where other defenders place themselves while opponent hitters are spiking.
Dig
Woman going for a dig.
Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing, or bumping: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms.
Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing. A player may sometimes perform a "dive", i.e., throw his or her body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball, and land on his or her chest. When the player also slides his or her hand under a ball that is almost touching the court, this is called a "pancake". The pancake is frequently used in indoor volleyball.
Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop his or her body quickly to the floor in order to save the ball. In this situation, the player makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize the chances of injuries.
Scoring
A match is played in two or three winning sets, that is, ‘best of three’ or ‘best of five’ games by decisions of the organizing committee or in its absence, by agreement of the two parties. All international matches played to ‘best of five’ sets.
Points:
Volley ball is a game played with a light ball and a high net. The ball is hit, with the hand, back and fourth over the net without letting the ball touch the ground. It is a game between two teams of players, each team occupying a court on one side of the net.
The game of volley ball can be considered from two main aspects. The first is the informal recreative game which can be played any where by men and women, young or old.
History of Volley Ball
Created on February 9, 1895, in Holyoke (Massachusetts) by William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director. Then it was known as Mintonette, The first rules were written down by William G. Morgan. He called for a net 6 feet 6 inches (1.98 metres) high; a 25 × 50 foot (7.6 × 15.2 meter) court; and any number of players. Alfred Halstead, an observer, noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896 played at the Springfield YMCA, the game quickly became known as volleyball (originally spelled as two words volley ball). The Federation Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded in 1947. The first World Championships were held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women. Volleyball was added to the program of the Olympic Games in 1964. Beach volleyball became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1986. Beach volleyball was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics. The first country to adopt volleyball outside the United States was Canada in 1900.
Court
The playing surface shall be 18 meters long and 9 meter wide including outer edge of lines. In each court a line (attach line) shall be drawn across the court 3 meter from, and parallel to the centre line.
Two lines 15 cm by 5 cm and 3 meter apart shall be drawn at the back of the end line so as to permit service from any where between them and the end line. The service area shall be a minimum of 2 metres in depth. The surface of the playing area may be ash, earth grass or wood.
The height of the net at the centre shall be 2.43 meter for men and 2.24 meter for women.
Net: the net shall be 1 meter deep and 9.50 meter long.
Ball: the ball shall be spherical, made either of a supple leather case, lace less, inside which is a rubber bladder, or it can be rubber cased, for harder wear at practice sections, circumferences: 65-67 cm. weight: 260-280 gram.
Team and Players
Skills
Competitive teams master six basic skills: serve, pass, set, attack, block and dig. Each of these skills comprises a number of specific techniques that have been introduced over the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball.
A man making a jump serves.
A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His or her main objective is to make it land inside the court; it is also desirable to set the ball's direction, speed and acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly. A serve is called an "ace" when the ball lands directly onto the court or travels outside the court after being touched by an opponent.
In contemporary volleyball, many types of serves are employed:
- Underhand: a serve in which the player strikes the ball below the waist instead of tossing it up and striking it with an overhand throwing motion. Underhand serves are considered very easy to receive and are rarely employed in high-level competitions.
- Sky Ball Serve: a specific type of underhand serve occasionally used in beach volleyball, where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line
- Topspin: an overhand serve where the player tosses the ball high and hits it with a wrist span, giving it topspin which causes it to drop faster than it would otherwise and helps maintain a straight flight path. Topspin serves are generally hit hard and aimed at a specific returner or part of the court. Standing topspin serves are rarely used above the high school level of play.
- Float: an overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable, akin to a knuckleball in baseball
- Jump Serve: an overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air, then the player makes a timed approach and jumps to make contact with the ball, hitting it with much pace and topspin. This is the most popular serve amongst college and professional teams.
- Jump Float: an overhand serve where the ball is tossed high enough that the player may jump before hitting it similarly to a standing float serve. The ball is tossed lower than a topspin jump serve, but contact is still made while in the air. This serve is becoming more popular amongst college and professional players because it has certain unpredictability in its flight pattern.
Women making a forearm pass or bump.
Also called reception, the pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve, or any form of attack. Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court, but also making it reaches the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.
The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques: underarm pass, or bump, where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms or platform, at waist line; and overhand pass, where it is handled with the fingertips, like a set, above the head. Either form (joined forearm or overhand pass) are acceptable in professional and beach volleyball; however there are much tighter regulations on the overhand pass in beach volleyball.
Set
The set is usually the second contact that a team makes with the ball. The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponent's court. The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team, and is the player who ultimately decides which player will actually attack the ball.
As with passing, one may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set. Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball, the bump is used only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips or in beach volleyball where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent. In the case of a set, one also speaks of a front or back set, meaning whether the ball is passed in the direction the setter is facing or behind the setter. There is also a jump set that is used when the ball is too close to the net. In this case the setter usually jumps off his or her right foot straight up to avoid going into the net. The setter usually stands about ⅔ of the way from the left to the right of the net and faces the left (the larger portion of net that he or she can see).
Sometimes a setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform an attack and tries to play it directly onto the opponent's court. This movement is called a "dump". The most common dumps are to 'throw' the ball behind the setter or in front of the setter to zones 2 and 4. More experienced setters toss the ball into the deep corners or spike the ball on the second hit.
Attack
Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques:
- Back court (or back row)pipe attack: an attack performed by a back row player. The player must jump from behind the 3-meter line before making contact with the ball, but may land in front of the 3-meter line.
- Line and Cross-court Shot: refers to whether the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the side lines, or crosses through the court in an angle. A cross-court shot with a very pronounced angle, resulting in the ball landing near the 3-meter line, is called a cut shot.
- Dip/Dink/Tip/Cheat: the player does not try to make a hit, but touches the ball lightly, so that it lands on an area of the opponent's court that is not being covered by the defense.
- Tool/Wipe/Block-abuse: the player does not try to make a hard spike, but hits the ball so that it touches the opponent's block and then bounces off-court.
- Off-speed hit: the player does not hit the ball hard, reducing its speed and thus confusing the opponent's defense.
- Quick hit/"One": an attack (usually by the middle blocker) where the approach and jump begin before the setter contacts the ball. The set (called a "quick set") is placed only slightly above the net and the ball is struck by the hitter almost immediately after leaving the setter's hands. Quick attacks are often effective because they isolate the middle blocker to be the only blocker on the hit.
- Slide: a variation of the quick hit that uses a low back set. The middle hitter steps around the setter and hits from behind him or her.
- Double quick hit/"Stack"/"Tandem": a variation of quick hit where two hitters, one in front and one behind the setter or both in front of the setter, jump to perform a quick hit at the same time. It can be used to deceive opposite blockers and free a fourth hitter attacking from back court, maybe without block at all.
3 players performing a block
Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack.
A block that is aimed at completely stopping an attack, thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court, is called offensive. A well-executed offensive block is performed by jumping and reaching to penetrate with one's arms and hands over the net and into the opponent's area. It requires anticipating the direction the ball will go once the attack takes place. It may also require calculating the best foot work to executing the "perfect" block.
The jump should be timed so as to intercept the ball's trajectory prior to it crossing over the net. Palms are held deflected downward about 45-60 degrees toward the interior of the opponent’s court. A "roof" is a spectacular offensive block that redirects the power and speed of the attack straight down to the attacker's floor, as if the attacker hit the ball into the underside of a peaked house roof.
By contrast, it is called a defensive or "soft" block if the goal is to control and deflect the hard-driven ball up so that it slows down and becomes easier to be defended. A well-executed soft-block is performed by jumping and placing one's hands above the net with no penetration into the opponent's court and with the palms up and fingers pointing backward.
Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved. Thus, one may speak of single (or solo), double, or triple block.
Successful blocking does not always result in a "roof" and many times does not even touch the ball. While it’s obvious that a block was a success when the attacker is roofed, a block that consistently forces the attacker away from his or her 'power' or preferred attack into a more easily controlled shot by the defense is also a highly successful block.
At the same time, the block position influences the positions where other defenders place themselves while opponent hitters are spiking.
Dig
Woman going for a dig.
Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack, particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground. In many aspects, this skill is similar to passing, or bumping: overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms.
Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing. A player may sometimes perform a "dive", i.e., throw his or her body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball, and land on his or her chest. When the player also slides his or her hand under a ball that is almost touching the court, this is called a "pancake". The pancake is frequently used in indoor volleyball.
Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop his or her body quickly to the floor in order to save the ball. In this situation, the player makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize the chances of injuries.
Scoring
A match is played in two or three winning sets, that is, ‘best of three’ or ‘best of five’ games by decisions of the organizing committee or in its absence, by agreement of the two parties. All international matches played to ‘best of five’ sets.
Points:
- The ball touches the ground inside the opponent court;
- Opponents have played the ball more than three times consecutively;
- Opponents have held or pushed the ball:
- The ball has touched an opponent under the belt;
- An opponent touches the ball two consecutive times;
- An opponent has touched the net;
- An opponent has reached over the net to play the ball except to block or to hinter an opponent;
- An opponent reaches under the net and touches the ball or any opposing players when the ball is in plat on that side;
- An opponent has completely crossed the centre line;
- At the moment of serving the opposing team has committed a fault of position
- A returned ball has crossed or touched the net out side the antennae determining the width of the court;
- A returned ball goes out of court, passes under the net, touches an object out side the court, is returned by a player aiding himself with any object as point of support;
- An opposing bask line player in the attack area has in correctly returned the ball;
- An opponent has received a personal warning;
- After a warning from the referee if the opponents have received from their manager, coaches or players, deliberate coaching during the game;
- Opponents delay the game in a persistent manner;
- Opponents illegally replace a player;
- Opponents prolong the interruption of the game for more than half a minute.
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