Introduction to Volleyball

I. Module Overview

Volleyball is a team sport played between two teams of six players each. The main objective of the game is
to ground the ball into the opponent’s court by hitting the ball with the player’s hands. This sport has been a famous
game played by the both men and women and is played in the different types of athletic meets.
This module is designed to explore the knowledge on the history and development of Volleyball, facilities and
equipment, the Scoring System, rules and strategies of the game and the basic skills used in playing (Offensive &
Defensive).

II. Desired Learning Outcome

At the end of this topic, the students should be able to:
1. Acquire knowledge of the history and development of Volleyball.
2. Familiarize the facilities and equipment’s of volleyball.
3. Understand the rules of the game and demonstrate the offensive and defensive skills the game.

III. Content focus

Volleyball
Volleyball, game played by two teams, usually of six players on a side, in which the players use their hands to bat
a ball back and forth over a high net, trying to make the ball touch the court within the opponents’ playing area
before it can be returned. To prevent this a player on the opposing team bats the ball up and toward a teammate
before it touches the court surface—that teammate may then volley it back across the net or bat it to a third
teammate who volleys it across the net. A team is allowed only three touches of the ball before it must be returned
over the net.

I. HISTORY

 On February 9,1895, in Holyoke, Massachusetts (USA), William G. Morgan, a YMCA physical education director,
created a new game called ”mintonette” as a pastime to be played preferably indoors and by any number of players.
 Alfred Halstead noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896, played at the
International YMCA Training School, the game quickly became known as volleyball. He proposed that the name
“mintonette” be replaced by “Volley Ball” and this name was accepted by Morgan.
 The first country outside the United States to adopt volleyball was Canada in 1900.
 1910 – Elwood Brown, the director of YMCA Manila introduced the game to the Filipino people.
 1919 – About 16,000 volleyballs were distributed by the American Expeditionary Forces to their troops and allies,
which sparked the growth of volleyball in new countries..
 1947 – The Federation Internationale de Volleyball was founded in Paris.
 1949 – The first World Championships for men were held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.
 1990 – World League was created.

II. PLAYING AREA

DIMESIONS
 The playing court is a rectangle measuring 18 x 9 m, surrounded by a free zone which is a minimum of 3 m wide on
all sides.
 The free playing is the space above the playing area which is free from any obstruction. The free playing space
shall measure a minimum of 7 min height from the playing surface.

LINES OF THE COURT

 All lines are 5 cm wide. They must be a light color which is different from the color of the floor and from any other
line.
 BOUNDARY LINES
o Two sidelines and to end lines mark the playing court.
 CENTER LINE
o The axis of the center line divides the playing court into two equal parts.
 ATTACK LINE
o On each court, an attack line, whose rear edge is drawn is drawn 3 m back from the axis of the center line, marks
the front zone.

ZONES AND AREAS

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 FRONT ZONE
o On each court the front zone is limited by the axis of the center of the center line and the rear edge of the attack
line.
 SERVICE ZONE
o The service zone is 9 m wide area behind each line
 SUBSTITUTION ZONE
o The substitution zone is limited by the extension of both attack lines up to the scorer’s table
 WARM-UP AREA
o Sized approximately 3 x 3 m located in both of the bench-side corners, outside the free zone.

1
6

2
7
3
8

11 4 5

10

1. Free Zone 6. Center Line

2. Attack Line 7. End Line
3. Front Zone 8. Sidelines
4. Back Zone 9. Scorer’s Table
5. Substitution Zone 10. Warm- Up Area
11. Service Zone
III. EQUIPMENT

 NET
o Placed vertically over the center line there is a ne whose top is set at the height of 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for
women.
o The net is 1 m wide and 9.50 to 10 meters long, made of 10 cm square mesh.
 ANTENNA
o An antenna is a flexible rod, 1.80 m long and 10 mm in diameter, made of fiberglass or similar material.
 POSTS
o The posts supporting the net are placed at a distance of 0.50-1 meter outside the sidelines.
o They are 2.55 meter high and preferably adjustable.
 BALLS
o The ball shall be spherical, made of a flexible leather or synthetic leather.
o Its circumference is 65 – 67 cm and its weight is 260 – 280 grams.

IV. TEAM COMPOSITION

 12 PLAYERS
o Team Captain
 Prior to the match, the team captain signs the score sheet and represents his/her team in the toss.
 His/ her uniform is different from his/her teammates and cannot block or spike the ball when it is entirely above the
net.
 When the ball is not play, the libero can replace any back row player, without prior notice to the officials.
o Libero
 The libero is a player specialized in defensive skills.
o REGULAR PLAYERS

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 A player’s equipment consists of a jersey, shorts, socks, and sports shoes.
 1 Coach
o Throughout the match, conducts the play of his/her team form outside the playing court. He/she selects the starting
line-ups, their substitutes and takes time-outs.
 1 Assistant Coach
 1 Trainer
 1 Medical Doctor

III. PLAYING FORMAT

 To score a point:
- A team scores a point by successfully grounding the ball on the opponent’s court, when the opponent team commits
a fault and when the opponent team receives penalty.
 To win a set:
- A set is won by the team which first scores 25 points with a minimum lead of two points. In case of a 24 – 24 tie, play
is continued until a two-point lead is achieved.
 To win the match:
- The match is won by the team that wins three sets. In case of a 2 -2 tie, the deciding set (the 5”) is played to 15 points
with a minimum lead of two points.

V. STRUCTURE OF PLAY
 The Toss
- Before the match, the first referee carries out a toss to decide upon the first service and the side of the courts in the
first set.
- If a deciding is to be played, a new toss will be carried out.
- The toss is taken in the presence of two captain teams and the winner of the toss chooses either the right to serve
or to receive the service or the side of the court.
 Team Starting Line-Up
- There must always be six players per team in play and the team’s starting line-up indicates the rational order of the
players on the court. This order must be maintained throughout the set.
 Positions
- At the moment the ball is hit by the server, each team must be positioned within its own court in the rotational order.
The three players along the net are front-row players and occupy the positions 4, 3 and 2. The other three back-row
players occupying positions, 5, 6 and 1.
 Positional Faults
- The team commits a positional fault, if any player is not in his correct position at the moment the ball is hit by the
server.
 Rotation
- When the receiving team has gained the right to serve, its players rotate one position clockwise: the player in
position 2 rotates to position 1 to serve; the player in position 1 rotates to position 6, etc.
 Rotational Fault
- A rotational fault is committed when the service is not made according to the rotational order.

Source: 1https://volleyverse.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/volleyball-court-player-rotations.jpg

V. STATES OF PLAY
 The ball is in play from the moment of the hit of the service authorizes by the first referee.
 The ball is in when it touches the floor of the playing court including the boundary line.
 The ball is out when:
o The part of the ball which contacts the floor is completely outside the boundary line.
o It touches an object outside the court, the ceiling or a person out of play.
o It touches the antenna, ropes, and posts.
o It crosses completely the lower space under the net.

VI. PLAYING THE BALL

 Team Hits

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o The team is entitled to have a maximum of three hits for returning the ball. If more are used, the team commits the
fault of four hits.
 Consecutive Hits
o A player may not hit the ball two times consecutively.

VII. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE HIT

 The ball mat touch any part of the body.
 The ball must not be caught and/or thrown. It can rebound in any direction.
 Exceptions:
o At blocking, consecutive contacts may be made by one or more blocker(s) provided that the contacts occur during
one action;
o At the first hit of the team, the ball may contact various parts of the body consecutively provided that the contacts
occur during one action.

VIII. FAULT IN PLAYING THE BALL

 Four Hits
o A team hits the ball four times before returning it.
 Assisted Hit
o A player takes support from a team-mate or any structure/object in order to hit the ball within the playing area.
 Catch
o The ball is caught and or thrown; it does not rebound from the hit.
 Double Contact
o A player hits the ball twice in succession or the ball contacts various parts of his/her body in succession.

IX. PLAYERS FAULT AT THE NET

 A player touches the ball or an opponent in the opponent’s space before or during the opponent’s attack hit.
 A player interferes with the opponent’s play while penetrating into the opponent’s space under the net.
 A player’s foot (feet) penetrates completely into the opponent’s court
 A player interferes with the opponent’s play by (amongst others):
o Touching the top band of the net or the top 80cm of the antenna during his/her action of playing the ball, or
o Taking support from the net simultaneously with playing the ball, or
o Creating an advantage over the opponent, or
o Making actions which hinder an opponent’s legitimate attempt to play the ball

X. FAULTS OF THE ATTACK HIT

 A player hits the ball within the playing space of the opposing team.
 A player hits the ball “out”.
 A back-row player completes an attack from the front zone, if at the moment of the hit the ball is entirely higher than
the top of the net.
 A Libero completes an attack hit if at the moment of the hit the ball entirely higher than the top of the net.
 A player completes an attack hot from higher than the top of the net when the ball is coming from an overhand finger
pass by a Libero in his/her front zone.
XI. BLOCKING FAULTS
 The blocker touches the ball in the OPPONENT’S space either before or simultaneously with the opponent’s attack
hit
 A back-row player or a Libero completes a block or participates in a completed block
 Blocking the opponent’s service
 The ball is sent “out” off the block.
 Blocking the ball in the opponent’s space from outside the antenna.
 A Libero attempts an individual or collective block.

XII. REGULAR GAME INTERRUPTIONS

 Number of Regular Interruptions
o Each team is entitled to request a maximum of two time-outs and six player substitution per set.
 Time-Outs and Technical Time-Outs
o In sets 1-4, two additional 60-second “technical time-out” are applied automatically when the leading team reaches
the 8th and 16th points
 Intervals
o All intervals between sets last three minutes.
 Change Courts
o After each set, the teams change courts, with no exception of the deciding set, once the leading team reaches 8
points, the team changes courts without the delay and the player positions remain the same.

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XIII. BASIC SKILLS

Source: 2https://i.pinimg.com/originals/c4/c9/3b/c4c93b0cf5241f8e3a2f0379be47bfc3.jpg

Serve
A serve begins each rally. A player must hit the ball with his/her hand over the net to land inside the lines of the
court.

Source: 3https://image.slidesharecdn.com/volleyball-190121074807/95/volleyball-26-
638.jpg?cb=1548056944

Pass
The pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent’s serve, or any form of attack. The skills 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.

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 usually attack the ball.

Attack
The attack is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of attacking is to handle the ball so
that it lands on the opponent’s court and cannot be defended.
 Backcourt Attack : an attack performed by a back row player. The player must jump from behind the 3-meter line
Block

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 Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent’s attack. Only the
front-row players are permitted to complete a block.

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.

V. REFERENCES

Ball Sports for Fitness, by Jimena, Edgar C.< Rex Printing Company, Inc 2006, pages 84-86;

Physical education 3 for college / Doris D. Tulio. Mandaluyong City : National Book Store, c2008

FIVB, FIVB official Volleyball Rules 2001- 2004, New Edition. Aug, 9, 2000

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