Volleyball was created by YMCA physical education director William G. Morgan in 1895. Morgan combined the characteristics of tennis and handball to create a game he called “Mintonette.” With basketball created just a few years earlier and growing popular, Morgan hoped Mintonette would be a less-intense alternative.
In Morgan’s game, any number of players formed a team. Opposing teams stood on either side of a 6.5-foot high net and sent the ball back and forth. There was no limit on the number of times a team could hit the ball before sending it over, but hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul. After a spectator noted the volleying aspect of Morgan’s game, its name was changed to volleyball. As the popularity of volleyball spread worldwide, it evolved into the sport we play today.
Today we play volleyball on a court with a seven foot tall net. Each side of a volleyball court is divided into a front row and back row where six players rotate positions.
To start a game, the serving team throws the ball into the air and hits it over the net. The opposing team can then make contact with the ball only three times before returning it. In ideal play, the first contact is a pass in which a player gets the ball to a second teammate who will set the ball up for a third player. That third player then jumps and hits the ball in a downward motion onto the other side of the net. If the third player is successful, she hits the ball so hard and so fast that the opposing team is unable to return it.
Teams score points when their opponents are unable to return a ball or when opponents commit errors. Common errors include “carrying” errors in which a player makes contact with the ball for too long, touches the net, or plays the ball when it is still in the opponent’s court.
Volleyball matches are made up of five different sets (or games). Scoring differs according to league rules, but college volleyball games are played until a team reaches 25 points and leads by two.
When you learn how to play volleyball, you’ll encounter the following terms:
- Serve- an opening move in which a player stands behind the “in” line and directs the ball over the net into the opposing court. An “ace” is a serve that cannot be returned.
- Pass- There are two types of passes allowed in volleyball: overhand passes which are handled with fingertips above head level and underarms passes in which the ball touches the joined, low-held forearms of a player.
- Set- a pass in which a specific player (called the setter) sets up the ball for another player to return it over the net.
- Attack- contact with the ball resulting in it landing on the opponent’s court, unable to be returned.
- Dig- a move to prevent the ball from touching one’s court after an attack.
- Block- action performed by a player standing at the net to stop an opponent’s attack.