Volleyball
Millions of sports fans are
everywhere, stocking up on collectible items obtaining tickets for games of
their best teams and of course cheering for them to the end. Well, one of the
three most popular sports in the world is volleyball (Toyoda, 2008). Basically, the objective of this game is to volley
the ball over and over the net and keep it from touching the ground, hitting
the net and going out of bounds. Seems simple right? But this sport is taken
very seriously. Several organizations all over the world are formed just for
this game, one of which is the Fédération
Internationale De Volleyball or FIVB, the highest governing body for this sport.
Every year, hundreds of professional athletes all over the world train and push
their way to that ultimate gold medal. A lot of variations of the sport were
also conceived since it started spreading across the globe. So, how did this
game really started?
In 1895, a YMCA physical fitness
director in Massachusetts named William G. Morgan thought of a game which can
be played indoors and by any number of players (Jensen,
2001). He first introduced this sport as “Mintonette,” (Fédération Internationale De Volleyball) which
later on became a past time that developed teamwork and physical fitness at the
same time. However, the name “Volleyball” caught up when an observer noticed
and remarked to Morgan the volleying scheme of the game. The very first rules
were written by Morgan and were further modified in the succeeding years by
various YMCAs and particular volleyball and sports organizations.
Before getting to some of the rules
and regulations of the game first things first, a player must also consider where
he would play. The court’s dimension is 18 m by 9 m, marked by lines of 5 cm
thickness. Positioned in the middle is a net whose top is 2.43 m above the
ground for men’s competition and 2.24 m for women’s (Official Volleyball Rules 2013-2016, 2012),
although sometimes the net’s height could also be varied according to the age
bracket or professional level of the players. A minimum height clearance of about
7 feet is also required for indoor courts. Directly under the net is the center
line which divides the court in half. Lines that are parallel to and situated
10 feet away from the center line are called attack lines, which further
divides the team court into front row and back row areas. The court is
surrounded by a free zone, whose boundary is 3 meters from the court lines. Players
can enter and play in this area provided that the ball is already in play.
The FIVB states that the ball must be
spherical, made of leather, weighs 260-280 kg, has a circumference of 65-67 cm
and an interior pressure of 0.3-0.325 kg/cm2. Its color may be a
combination of colors or simply a uniform light color (Official Voleyball Rules
2013-2016, 2012). The very first design of the ball came out in 1900 (Volleyball World Wide).
The team’s six players are positioned
in a counter-clockwise manner, starting with player 1 who is situated in the
bottom right corner of the back row, followed by player 2 in the rightmost part
of the front row so on to player 6, until there are three players in each row, after
a team earns the service, the players would again rotate this time in a
clockwise direction.
Every rule of this sport, from the
game play to violations to scoring is listed in the official volleyball rules
handbook. Focusing on the game play, a group of six would be the initial
players of the team. To determine which team would serve the ball first, the
referee would perform a coin toss. Once the ball is in play, both team’s goal
is to return the ball to the opposing team without any faults or violations. A
maximum of three contacts is allowed for the receiving team to return the ball
back to their opponent, but any player must not hit the ball twice
consecutively. An initial contact can be a “pass” or “bump” which directs the
ball towards the “setter”. This player is responsible for turning the ball over
the attacker for the final contact. The attacker then jumps raises an arm above
the head and with high force hits the ball, causing a swift movement of the
ball towards the defensive team’s court. This type of attacking shot is called
a “spike.” The team on defence tries to prevent the spike from hitting their
court, either by “blocking” or “digging” the ball. A “block” is a defensive
move wherein a player raises both his arms to stop the ball’s trajectory; usally
this feat a happens along the net, while a “dig” typically means a drastic
defensive fore-arm move against a hard-driven ball.
The rally continues until one of the
teams grounds the ball to the opposing court, the ball goes out of court’s bounds
or the defensive team commits an error. One of these faults is the “four hits,”
wherein a team exceeds the maximum allowed of hits before returning the ball
over the net. Another common error is when a player takes support from one of
his team mates in receiving the ball within the playing area.
In terms of scoring, the team must
accumulate a total of 25 points per set. There are five sets in a +match, for a
team to achieve victory; they must win in at least 3 sets. But in case, a match
reached the fifth set, it will only be played up to 15 points.
Of course, any sport would require special
skills, for volleyball, there are six basic skills every player should master;
serving, passing, hitting, setting, and defense (A
Guide to Volleyball Basics, 2013). A game will start with a serve,
wherein a player would directly hit the ball over the net towards the other
team’s court. The server has to consider a couple of factors for the ball to
land perfectly to the opposite side. The speed, acceleration and direction of
the ball are the key things to consider when serving. For the team to properly pass
the ball, they must handle it accordingly; receive it with just enough force
and forward it with precision to the setters in position. Usually, a pass can
be made by a “bump,” wherein the ball is hit by joint hands or forearms only at
waist level. The main offensive move in volleyball is attacking or directly
hitting the ball which sets it in a fast motion. When players spike, they make
sure that they strike the ball with sufficient force and power so that when it
lands to the opposing court, it would be difficult for their opponents to act
in defence. Another necessary skill is setting, whose main premise is to receive
the ball and convert it to a well placed ball so that the attacker can
effectively hit it (A Guide to Volleyball
Basics, 2013). Generally, the player raises both arms just
above the head and puts the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven
to a powerful attack shot. Lastly, for a successful defense the team must
obtain two common skills in defense, blocking and digging.
For some international competitions,
aside from the captain, there’s also a special defensive player that can be
introduced in a game, this individual is called the “libero” (A
Guide to Volleyball Basics, 2013). This player has the best skills in
defense but is restricted to perform some fundamental moves like serving.
Up to now, volleyball continues to be
a popular, fast-paced and explosive sport throughout the world, enjoyed by
anyone anywhere and of course at the same time promoting teamwork,
competitiveness and physical vigor among the players.
