This document provides an overview of volleyball including its history, equipment, basics, rules, and safety. It details how the game was invented in 1895 and adopted internationally. The key pieces of equipment - volleyball, net, and shoes - are described. The basics of serving, scoring, rotation, and legal hits are outlined. Key rules around setting, passing, attacking, blocking, and libero positions are explained. Instructions are provided on how to start a game and ensure safety.

1. Web - www.squareoffsports.com Email – contact@squareoffsports.com
06/01/12 © Copyright M/S Square Off 2010 1

2. Table of Contents
History
Equipment
Basics
Rules
Start your play
Safety
06/01/12 © Copyright M/S Square Off 2010 2

3. History
• In February, 1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts (USA),
William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education
director, created a new game called Mintonetteas a
pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any
number of players. The game took some of its
characteristics from tennis and handball.
• The first rules, written down by William G Morgan,
called for a net 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) high, a 25×50 ft
(7.6×15.2 m) court, and any number of players.

4. History
• Alfred Halstead, noticed the volleying nature of the
game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at
the International YMCA Training School (now called
Springfield College), the game quickly became
known as volleyball (it was originally spelled as two
words: "volley ball").
• The first country outside the United States to adopt
volleyball was Canada in 1900.[4] An international
federation, the Fédé
ration Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB), was
founded in 1947.

5. Equipment
1.Volly ball
3.Net
5.Shoes

6. Equipment
• Volly ball
• FIVB regulations state that the ball must be spherical, made of
leather or synthetic leather, have a circumference of 65–67 cm, a
weight of 260–280 g and an inside pressure of 0.30 –
0.325 kg/cm2. Other governing bodies have similar regulations.
.

7. Equipment
• Volly ball Net
• Volleyball nets are made of cotton or
synthetic materials and are suspended
on two poles about four feet above the
ground.
• They vary greatly in price depending on
the quality of the set. A set will include
the net as well as the poles and often
braces for poles.

8. Equipment
• Shoes
• Volleyball is played both indoors
and outdoors. Players who engage
in the sport on indoor courts are
required to wear shoes.
• The best shoes for volleyball play
are athletic shoes that are not bulky
and have a nonslip sole.
• The shoes should be flexible,
allowing the player to move quickly
without slipping and falling.
• Volleyball shoes should also have
good shock absorbers built in to
prevent player injuries to the knees
and ankles from the constant
jumping required by the sport.

9. Basics
• The Serve
– Server must serve from behind the end line until after
contact.
– Ball may be served underhand or overhand.
– Ball must be clearly visible to opponents before serve.
– Served ball may graze the net and drop to the other side
for point.
– First game serve is determined by a volley, each
subsequent game shall be served by the previous game
loser.
– Serve must be returned by a bump only, no setting or
attacking a serve.

10. Basics
• Scoring
– Rally scoring will be used.
– There will be a point scored on every score of the
ball.
– Offense will score on a defense miss or out of
bounds hit.
– Defense will score on an offensive miss, out of
bounds hit, or serve into the net.
– Game will be played to 25 pts.
– Must win by 2 points .

11. Basics
• Rotation
– Team will rotate each time they win the serve
– Players shall rotate in a clockwise manner
– There shall be 4-6 players on each side.
• Playing the Game
– Maximum of three hits per side
– Player may not hit the ball twice in succession (A
block is not considered a hit)

12. Basics
• Playing the Game
– Ball may be played off the net during a volley and on serve
– A ball touching a boundary line is good
– A legal hit is contact with the ball by a player body above
and including the waist which does not allow the ball to
visibly come to a rest
– If two or more players contact the ball simultaneously, it is
considered one play and the players involved may not
participate in the next play
– A player must not block or attack a serve
– Switching positions will be allowed only between front line
players. ( After the serve only.)

13. Basics
• Basic Violations
– Stepping on or over the line on a serve
– Failure to serve the ball over the net successfully
– Hitting the ball illegally ( Carrying, Palming, Throwing, etc. )
– Touches of the net with any part of the body while the ball
is in play. If the ball is driven into the net with such force
that it causes the net to contact an opposing player, no
foul will be called, and the ball shall continue to be in play

14. Basics
• Basic Violations
– Reaching over the net, except under these conditions a)
When executing a follow-through b) When blocking a ball
which is in the opponents court but is being returned ( the
blocker must not contact the ball until after the opponent
who is attempting to return the ball makes contact).
Except to block the third play.
– Reaches under the net ( if it interferes with the ball or
opposing player )
– Failure to serve in the correct order
– Blocks or spikes from a position which is clearly not behind
the 10-foot line while in a back row position

15. Basics
• The Court
– Both indoor and outdoor courts are 18 m x 9m
– Indoor courts also include an attack area
designated bya line 3 m back from the center line.
• Net Height
– Net height for men, co-ed mixed 6 is 2.43 meters
– Net height for women is 2.24 m

16. Basics
Vollyball Lingo Translation
“Ace” When the ball is served to the other team, and no one
touches it.
“Sideout” When the team that served the ball makes a mistake,
causing the ball to go to the other team.
“Roof” When a player jumps above the height of the net, and
blocks the ball.
“Stuff” When a player jumps about the height of the net,
blocks the ball, and the ball goes back at the person
who attacked (spiked) the ball.
“Dig” When a player makes a save from a very difficult spike.
“Kill” When a team spikes the ball and it either ends in a
point or a sideout.

17. Basics
• Court
– The game is played on a volleyball court 18 meters
(59 feet) long and 9 meters (29.5 feet) wide, divided into
two 9 m × 9 m halves by a one-meter (40-inch) wide net
placed so that the top of the net is 2.43 meters (7 feet 11
5/8 inches) above the center of the court for men's
competition, and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) for
women's competition (these heights are varied for
veterans and junior competitions).
– There is a line 3 meters from and parallel to the net in each
team court which is considered the "attack line". This "3
meter" (or 10 foot) line divides the court into "back row"
and "front row" areas (also back court and front court).
These are in turn divided into 3 areas each: these are
numbered as follows, starting from area "1", which is the
position of the serving player.

18. Rules
• Serve
– 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.

19. Rules
• Scoring
– When the ball contacts the floor within the court boundaries or an
error is made, the team that did not make the error is awarded a
point, whether they served the ball or not.
– If the ball hits the line, the ball is counted as in.
– The team that won the point serves for the next point. If the team
that won the point served in the previous point, the same player
serves again.
– If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point, the
players of the team rotate their position on the court in a clockwise
manner.
– The game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be
two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are best-of-five sets
and the fifth set (if necessary) is usually played to 15 points.

20. Rules
• 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.

21. Rules
• Pass
– 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 reach the position
where the setter is standing quickly and
precisely.

22. Rules
• Attack
– The object of attacking is to handle the ball so that it
lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended.
A player makes a series of steps (the "approach"), jumps,
and swings at the ball.
• 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.

23. Rules
• 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.

24. Rules
• Liberto
– The liberto is a player specialized in defensive skills.
• Must wear a jersey of contrasting color to his/her teammates.
• Is restricted to perform as a back-row player.
• Is not allowed to complete an attack hit from anywhere.
• Is not allowed to serve, block or attempt to block.
• Is not allowed to set a teammate for an attack hit when the
Libero is in front of the 3 meter line. The Libero may set a
teammate when the Libero is completely behind the 3 meter
line.
• Is allowed to replace any back-row player on any dead ball.
• Is not counted as a regular substitution and has unlimited
entries. A rally must occur between Libero replacements.
• can only be replaced by the player whom he/she replaced.
• Substitution occurs on the sideline between the endline and
three-meter line and need not be authorized by a referee.

25. Start Your Play
• Each team consists of six players. To get play
started, a team is chosen to serve by coin toss.
• A player from the serving team throws the ball into
the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes
over the net on a course such that it will land in
the opposing team's court (the serve).
• The opposing team must use a combination of no
more than three contacts with the volleyball to
return the ball to the opponent's side of the net.

26. Start Your Play
• Contacts usually consist first of the bump or pass so that
the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated
as the setter.
• Second of the set (usually an over-hand pass using wrists to
push finger-tips at the ball) by the setter so that the ball's
trajectory is aimed towards a spot where one of the players
designated as an attacker can hit it
• Third by the attacker who spikes (jumping, raising one arm
above the head and hitting the ball so it will move quickly
down to the ground on the opponent's court) to return the
ball over the net.
• The team with possession of the ball that is trying to attack
the ball as described is said to be on offense.

27. Safety
• Wear protective equipment - long sleeved jerseys,
knee pads.
• Make sure standards have protective padding and
are set up properly.
• DO NOT shoot baskets with the volleyballs.
• DO NOT kink the volleyballs.
• DO NOT slam/jam volleyballs over the net.
• Call for the ball to avoid collisions.
• If a ball is rolling under the feet of a player
jumping, yell "Ball: so players do not fall on the
ball.

28. Safety
• Players may not enter an adjoining court to play a
ball. call a replay if a ball interferes with play on
your court.
• When spiking and/or blocking jump straight up,
(not into the net), and land on both feet together.
• When double blocking jump together, so you do
not knock each other over.
• When diving on the floor for a ball, land on body
parts that have sufficient muscular padding and
flex the knees to cushion the fall.
• Report any accidents to the instructor immediately.
• Return all equipment to the designated area.

29. Start Your Game…..
References…
http://www.spikeopaths.org.uk/rules_basic_volleyball.php
06/01/12 © Copyright M/S Square Off 2010 29