Get ready to bump, set and spike! Kidzworld checks out the rules, history and the fun facts of the game of volleyball.
History
Volleyball is one of the world's most popular sports and is played by more than 800 million people on the planet at least once a week. The game of volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, a teacher at a YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts. He combined parts of tennis, baseball, basketball and handball to create a new game to be played indoors by people who wanted less physical contact than basketball. Morgan borrowed the net from tennis and raised it six feet, six inches above the floor, a little higher than an average man's head.
Rules
Rules
When volleyball was first invented, it was much different from the game today. You could have as many players as you wanted on each team. There were nine innings per game, with three outs per innning. There was also no limit on the number of hits of the ball on each side of the court. Here are the basic rules of volleyball today.
- Volleyball is played by two teams of six players on a court divided by a net.
- The object of the game is to send the ball over the net so that the opposing team cannot return the ball or prevent it from hitting the ground in their court.
- Each team has three hits to attempt to return the ball.
- The ball is put in play by a serve that is hit by the server over the net to the opponent.
- When the receiving team wins a volley, it gains the right to serve, and the players rotate one position clockwise.
- When the serving team wins a volley, it wins a point and the right to continue serving.
- The ball must clear the net on a serve.
- A game is played to 21 points or some other agreed upon number. The team that wins the best two out of three games wins the match.
Volleyball court
Terms and Lingo
- 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.
- Dig - When a player makes a save from a very difficult spike.
- Kill - When a team spikes the ball and it ends in either a point or a sideout.
Fun Facts
- Beach volleyball was made an Olympic event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta.
- Volleyball was called mintonette at first but it was later changed to volleyball, to describe the way players volley the ball back and forth over the net.
- The lethal combination of setting the ball for another player to spike it hard to the other side was invented in the Philippines. This tactic was originally called the Philippino Bomb.
Start Playing
Volleyball is a fun sport that is easy to learn and can be played in a gym, at the beach, or on grass. Playing volleyball will help improve your cardio, flexibility, balance and coordination. Most schools have a volleyball team or you can also find leagues for kids at your local community center. If you're not into joining a team, you can just grab a volleyball and a few friends and play your own game.
Get outside and play Beach Volleyball!
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