1895 – William G. Morgan created the game of volleyball 

1900 – A special ball was designed for the sport 

1916 – In the Philippines, an offensive style of passing and striking the ball (the set & spike) were introduced. 

1917 – The game was changed from 21 to 15 points 

1920 – Three hits per side & back row attack rules were instituted 

1930 – The first two-man beach game was played 

1964 – Volleyball was introduced to the Olympic Games in Tokyo 

1984 – The U.S. won their first medals at the Olympics in LA. The men won gold and the women won silver. 

1995 – The sport of volleyball was 100 years old. 

    Volleyball is a team sport played by two teams on a playing court divided by a net. The object of the game is for each team to send the ball regularly over the net to ground it (have it hit the ground or floor) on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the ball from being grounded on its own court. 

    The ball is put into play by the right back-row player who serves the ball by hitting it over the net to the opponent’s court. A player is not allowed to hit the ball twice consecutively, except when attempting to block. 

    In volleyball, only the serving team may score a point, except in the deciding game when rally-point scoring is used. Rotation (in a clockwise direction) 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 three or five games. In the event of a 16-16 tie, the team scoring the 17^th point wins a non-deciding game with only a one point advantage. Ina a deciding game there is no point cap.   

    The volleyball net shall not be less than 32’ long and 3’ in width. The height of the net measured from the center of the court is 7’11 5/8” for men and 7’4 1/8” for women. 

     The ball weighs between 9 and 10 ounces. Ball pressure is between 4.5 and 6.0 pounds. 

Attacker: Also “hitter” and “spiker” 

Block: The combinations of one, two or three players jumping in front of the opposing spiker and contacting the spiked ball with the hands 

Dig: Slang for the art of retrieving an attacked ball close to the floor. 

Down Ball: An attacked ball from the opponent that the blockers asses as not being hit hard enough or being contacted too deep in the opponent’s court to require a block. 

Forearm Pass: A ball-handling skill that a player uses to legally contact the ball at a level below the waist using the forearms as the contact surface. Also called a “bump” 

Free Ball: Any ball that the opponent returns easily, allowing the blockers enough time to get back into their attack-approach positions before the ball crosses the net. 

Hit or Spike: Also “spike” or “attack.” The specific contact in spiking to put the ball to the opponent’s floor with force. 

Hitter: Also “spiker” or “attacker.” The player who is responsible for hitting the ball.

Mintonette: The original name of the game of volleyball, created by William Morgan

Overhead Pass (Set): A ball-handling skill using both hands simultaneously to contact the ball above the head & direct it to the intended target. 

Pancake: A one-hand floor defensive technique where the hand is extended and slid along the floor palm down while the player dives, so the ball bounces off the back of the hand.

Serve: A skill used to put the ball into play.

Side-out: Occurs when the receiving team successfully put the ball away against the serving team, or when the serving team commits an unforced error.

Stuff: A ball that is deflected back to the attacking team’s floor by the opponent’s blockers

Back to P.E.