We are all familiar with the game volleyball, and some of us like to enjoy this sport a lot. This very game was invented in USA by a person named William Morgan; he wanted to create a game which is a mixture of basketball, baseball, handball and tennis. And this instructor of young men’s Christian association (YMCA) created this game in 1895, and was brought to international support in 1916 by Philippine’s players. By the year 1928m volleyball rules and regulations were then made, which also formed the united states volleyball association (USVBA) and teams at different age groups were formed; and was finally known to world at the Tokyo Olympics in 1964.

Let’s look into some of the Volleyball Rules and Regulations –

• On request of the captain before match to the first referee, team can play without shoes. But only depending upon the type of court the request is made, and moreover this decision always stays with the referee on how the game will be played.

• Uniform should be all the same, all neat and clean of a particular team. Only the libero (a defensive player) can wear uniform of bright color. And no jewelry is allowed whilst playing, except those which are soft and couldn’t harm others, the religious and medical bands are allowed. Rings, chain any kind of hard stuff is not allowed to wear. The referee do check uniform’s sometime before play.

• One of the many volleyball rules is that only the playing captain or the referee can do substitution when the ball is not in play, and captain is only allowed to talk to referee. And the records for substitution are kept with the second referee, under that person’s supervision the substitution is made by any team.

• Points are scored while – after – a long play – or during service. If the opponent team fails, or an error occurs, in that case points are earned or vice versa as mentioned under rules for volleyball. Team with 25 points first with a minimum lead of 25 points wins the match or play continues until a two point lead is achieved. A total of five sets are played of 25 points to win each set. Deciding or winning set (3^rdor 5^th) set is played for 15 points. In case of failing to play a match after referees call. The opponent team is scored 25-0 or 15-0 – depending upon the set to be played. If both the teams are at 24-24 each then the referee keeps game on until a side gets a two point lead. And after that, the team leading the score is the winner of that set.

• The coin is tossed at the beginning of the game; toss winner chooses a side of court or the serving opportunity at first. Same happens when a coin is tossed for the deciding match. After each set, every team changes their side, and this repeats after every set.

• At least two minutes before, the team lineup is submitted by the coach or the captain. But some before 30 seconds of the starting of the interval. After the game has started, no changes in the team list are allowed. Every detail must be submitted at the very beginning which is clearly listed under the rules and regulations of volleyball.

• When the server serves the ball, each team member should be on their side with 2 rows, 3 players in each row. One player must be close to center line and two players must be close to the back line, and two players should be at left and right side line of their part of court. When the opponent gets the serve same rotation should be done in clockwise direction. Reverse clockwise direction play will be considered as foul play and is liable for a warning by the referee if needed.

• While substituting a player on referees call, after the coach or captains request, details of players going inside and the one coming outside are noted which is clearly enlisted under rules of volleyball. The libero when used, cannot serve a ball, or block or hit. Also is not allowed to replace with back players unless there’s an injury, or at the call of referee. A libero must wear bright colored Jersey as similar to that of his/her team mates are wearing. They are always restricted as a back playing member of that team for that match, and are not allowed to set any team mate for hit attack if the libero is in front of the 3 meter line. But when the libero is outside the 3 meter line, then a team mate is allowed to take the hit shot. It’s substitution doesn’t require authorization from the referee and can enter between the end line and the 3 meter line. It is not counted as regular substitution and can have unlimited entries.

• A ball is in play only when it is legally contacted and being served. It is not in play if it hits any object 7 meters above net including the antenna, or it hits the net or goes under the net, or the player commits a foul, or if the referee blows the whistle. Hitting with any other object not part of the game is also not accounted as a service.

• Any action against the playing rules is a fault as stated under the volleyball regulations and rules. When a team commits a foul then the opposite teams wins a point, and in case of double fault, the referee checks who committed the foul first, then a point penalty is given to that team who committed the foul first. With team committing a foul, the opponent gets the advantage and wins a point.

• Whenever a ball is touched with hand, or pushed while service, or played from a non playing area, then it is termed as false play of ball. Also when a player contacts the ball more than two times in a row, or player touches the net or antenna while play, or any illegal block, or players are out of position or the ball lands outside the court – that is termed as false play of ball. Even if the ball touches other part of body other than hand, it is also a false. Entering into opponent’s area and touching the ball together by any two team members is also a foul. Reaching out for ball under the net, and touching the net or ball in order to do so is also a foul play of ball.

• The ball must completely Cross the net, or can touch the net to fall on opponent side, but while service ball should not touch the net as it is one of the many volleyball rules to be followed. Within the range of three hits the ball may be played out of the net, within that interval, players have the opportunity to return the ball to the opponent.

• If the player touches the net in any way then it is a foul play, or any body part touching other than insignificant touch. If a player hits the net and the net then hits the player if opponent team then it is not considered as foul and touching the other side of the net or touching the opponent team’s area is a foul. A player may hit the ball very hard in such a way that it may hit the attacking team member, crossing the vertical path of the net. Any accidental actions are considered by the referee, and most of the times accidental actions are not considered as foul, and the game is played on ignoring the accidental foul.

• Service is done behind the end line, and server should not touch the end line. Service not completed if the ball touches any player before crossing the net, ball lands outside volleyball court or the ball goes under the net. All the peoples must be in their respective position and can also take jump service only if the server is at the right position. Under volleyball rules and regulations, service may be of two types, underhand serve and overhand serve – two overhand services is the one that is effective, and underhand is the easiest service. Service not staying in the range of antenna or outside court is a foul; also ball falling into the hitter side after service is also foul service. Ball on the side line is considered out, and reserving is done.

• A front row player can do the attack hit but a back row player can’t do so as mentioned in the main volleyball rules regulations. A back row player can’t do attack hit in front of the attack line until the ball is below the top of the net. So it’s easier always to take the hit from a front player.

• Blocking is done by deviating the actual path of the ball before entering own side of the court resulting in the ball to fall inside server teams’ court. Blocking can be done by staying in the court without interfering with the other team’s space by staying close to the net which is an important point. It requires mainly the focus and observation of the blocker.

• The rules within volleyball clearly state that there is a thirty second time out twice for each team to use; they may be called as interruptions. Each team uses this time for strategy and some even use it to break the other teams momentum.

• There are some tricks used by teams during interruption which are used to delay the time. All the time wasting techniques which are used are in these time interval itself, which are being used as break by the teams legally.

• Intended interruptions, if any player gets injured then referee may call for a break which is stated within volleyball regulations and rules.
  Accidents may happen any time, at that time referee may call for a break.

• Penalties such as, yellow card, red card, expulsion or disqualification. – If someone is shown a yellow card then it means a warning is given, while red card is a serious mistake for which warning is given along with point is awarded to opponent team. Under volleyball’s rules, when in expulsion, player is out for rest of the game. Any disqualification leads to the player going out of the area from where game is being played.

• While the match is on, the group of officials involved are: first referee, second referee, scorekeeper, and line judges. Every member of that group needs to be alert every second of the game.

• Duty of first referee is to take every responsibility of every decision to make in the game. From starting from foul decision, to stopping the game or re-starting a new set, every such decision is made by the first referee.

• Duty of second referee is to get the list of the team members playing, watching the clock, keeping track records, supervising the substitution and many other off field decisions. It is the second referee who is stationed on the floor at one end of the net which is opposite to that of the first referee.

• Scorekeeper records the score, keeps record of the rotation, and the side changes at any time. They also keep track of the time outs and the game progress. Most of the calculative procedures are done by the scorekeeper. According to rules of volleyball, the scorekeeper also signals when a team has acquired the 8^th point in a deciding match, such that the sides can be interchanged.

• Line judges looks for the side line error or any decision regarding sideline activities. Any fouls committed on the lines, foot fouls or the ball foul or any other line regarding foul are checked by the line judges. In case of same foul from both the sides, the side which commits the foul first gets the penalty, which is decided by the line judges.

By learning the above rules of volleyball positions one can be more aware of limits within the sport, and plan their game more better. Every team should have a strategy for opponent which should be discussed before entering the court. One must follow every move of the opponent to get a perfect block. Body movements and hand signal may also be used so that opponent may not know about the move to come.

Volleyball is a fun sport with simple rules and regulations to follow, and can be a great deal of fun for the players when teams are equally matched.

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Playing the game

Volleyball is a team sport that imbibes positive vibes in team relationship and improvises the communication skills. The upper body strength increases and gives a whole lot of fun to the players. This following article will teach your how to play volleyball.

Playing Volleyball – Step 1:

Choose the players: For this type of competitive game we will need at least 6 players. We must keep equal number of players in both the team even when we are playing among our friends.

• There are 1 to 3 rows of players in each team. The first row is closest to the net and the back row is close to the rear boundary of the court.

• The person in the back right corner of the court serves the ball. We can rotate the players each time so that every time there is a new player serving the ball.

• If we rotate the players out, we should rotate them clockwise. On the right side, the player closest to the net rotates out thus allowing many players to play.

A good service game is not possible if only one player is allowed to serve. Rotation is a very important in how to play volleyball

 

Step 2:

We should always serve the ball from behind the line which is at the back of the court otherwise if we serve it from front of the line we will not score any point. This fault is called foot fault. This is one of the errors made in such games and we should be careful about it. If the ball after the serve touches the net it will be another error. The serve is said to be good if the ball lands on the ground in the opponent team’s court. This scores a point for the serving team. This is a vital point in how to play volleyball.

• The ball is considered to be good if the ball is grounded on the line.

• The ball is served by the back row right side corner player in the team

 

Step 3:

If the person is in the receiving team, we have to return the ball and the rally begins! We have to bump, set the target and spike. This is the typical game strategy but its good till it crosses three consecutive hits.

• The ball should not come to rest and for that we can hit the ball with any part of our body.
• The ball cannot go out of the line, but the players can go over the line. We may run to retrieve the ball successfully so that is does not touch the ground, when a player hits it from out of the boundaries. This small points matters in how to play volleyball smartly and wisely.

 

Step 4:

Basic Rules: Until a fault occurs we need to hit the ball back and forth to continue the rally because of any one of the following:

• The ball is grounded.

• If the ball hits the ground in the side of the serving teams, then the opponent team will get an opportunity to serve.

• If the ball is grounded by the serving team in the opponent team’s court, then the serving team again gets an opportunity to serve the ball.

• A point is rewarded to the team who prevents the ball from being grounded.

• If a net foul occurs(if any player from one team touches the net) the opponent team scores a point

• If someone’s foot goes under the net, the opponent teams receives a point.

• Players can strike the ball only twice in a row

• Without sending it over the net, the team can hit the ball 3 consecutive times.

These are some of the errors which one should not make. These are the volleyball basics one should remember while playing.
 

Step 5:

Serve the ball again: the team that has scored the point gets an opportunity to serve the ball. If are thinking of rotating, you should rotate now. These are good volleyball techniques.

• It’s common for the rows to back up a bit if your team has the ball. This is the best time to get ready for an attack. Move forward if you don’t have the ball.

 

Step 6:

You should continue playing until the threshold is reached. How many points we will allow for each game can be decided by you. When a team earns 15 points you can start a new game. This is very important in how to play volleyball.

 

Volleyball Playing methods (Learning the shots):

 

Step 1:

Learning the basic stance: You need to understand that when you are not serving its common to take a stance from the volleyball basics. Yourfeet should be placed in such a way that they are wider than your shoulders. Your knees should be bent and the whole body weight should be concentrated on your toes as you bent forward. Your arms should be free and it is in front of you. These are some of the basic body postures involved in volleyball techniques that are followed for playing a good game.

 

Step 2:

Practicing your serve well: In volleyball basics, serving the ball from anywhere behind the serve line and gets your ball over the net in the opponent player’s court and the rally is started. A serve immediately helps in scoring a point and is known as “Ace”.

Overhanded serve: for experienced players, they can try this type of serve:

• Toss the ball.

• Raise your hand which is dominant in the air, bend the elbow to bring it closer to your shoulder.

• Then straighten your elbow to strike the ball with the outside part of your hand

 
Underhand serve: For less experienced players, they can use this type of serve:

• In front of you, hold the ball out in your hand.

• Then you make a fist and pull your dominant hand down by your side. The elbow should be bent slightly and you should keep your thumbs stretched across your fingers.

• Using the front side of the fist strike the ball from the level of your waist.

• The ball should hit the fist, against the index finger and the bent thumb.

 

Step 3:

“Bumping” the ball: This is one the commonly used volleyball techniques, which is used to return a serve. How to play volleyball using a bump includes the following volleyball techniques:

• Bring your arms together. They should be straight and away from your body. Knees should be bent.

• A platform should be created by our forearms where the ball comes into contact.

• We should not use fists or wrists to hit the ball. The contact should be made almost about 6 inches above the wrists.

• We should not swing the arms and just let the ball make the contact.

 

Step 4:

“Setting”: we use the set when we want to get the ball into the air and make another player to strike it or bump it. Volleyball techniques to set the ball:

• Bring your hands together

• We have to put our hands together in such a way that our finger tips should touch

• We have to form a triangle with our thumbs and index fingers by opening up our hands.

• Bring your fingers apart and to a distance that would be perfect for the placement of the ball.

 

Step 5:

“Spiking” the ball: Spiking is an important aspect in how to play volleyball. This is also known as “attack” the volleyball basics to play the spike are as follows:

• Lift your dominant hand to approach the ball. Hand is curved in shape of the ball with the elbow bent.

• You should jump to reach as high as you can to gain maximum power to hit the ball with your palm so that It travels across the net and is grounded on the opponent team’s court.

 

Step 6:

“Blocking” is one of the vital volleyball basics one should master. There are mainly two types of blocking:

• Offensive block:The blocker aims to keep the ball on the opponent’s court. In this case the ball can be sent straight to the opponent’s ground in his/her court if the timing is accurate to jump up, properly predicting the trajectory of the ball and then slamming it back.

• Defensive block: This is called the soft block because it is used only to stop the power from behind the ball so that it is easier to send the ball back. The ball is made to hit the blockers palm, then it loses power by rolling over the fingertips and another player receives it.

 

Step 7:

“Dig”: This is one of the volleyball techniques that requires great reflexes and agility. The digger saves the ball just right before it is going to hit the ground.

• In digging, players have their arms stretched out and they land on their chests. If this is done wrongly the digger might get injured so it should be done safely. To minimise the risk of injury experienced diggers should employ rolling technique.

 

Role of Volleyball Players:

 

– Outside hitter

An outside hitter or left side hitter is a player who takes the position of front left side of the volleyball court, hits and blocks the ball from that position. On offense, the outside hitter is the main go-to-hitter and one of the main passers who pass the ball. He swings to hit the ball that approaches from outside of the court. This is one of the volleyball positions techniques that enhances the play of the team and can be very beneficial
 

– Libero

Libero is a player who plays in defense from the back row and wears and opposite coloured jersey. He specialises in passing the ball received from pass, setting, digging, and free ball passing. He/ she is mainly a defensive specialist. This position was added to the game in 1999 to improvise the rally and digging skills and make the game more exciting. The libero should be master in volleyball basics.

The libero is not regulated by the rules of rotation and he remains in the game all the time. He / she takes the position of the middle blocker when they rotate to the back row and they cannot again rotate back to the front row. The person is chosen as a libero in the very beginning of the match or the tournament and no one can replace the libero for the entire match or tournament once chosen unless the libero is injured. If the libero is injured he/she is replaced by a player not present in the court. But then the new player should remain the libero for the rest of the match/tournament.
 

– Setter

Setter is the player whose main responsibility is to hit the ball in second contact and strike the ball to the teammate for further attack. Thus he should know how to play volleyball properly with all its basics and fundamentals. The person is totally In charge of the offense. The setter decides when and who should get the ball. It is a very important position in this game. No matter how well skilled are the hitters but if there is not any good setter who can deliver good ball to hit then the team’s chances to lose will be maximum and they will have not have a good offense.

Apart from these important players there are Substitute players like the Defensive Specialist whose functions are same as the libero.International rules says that there can be only 6 players and the game allows unlimited substitutions.

 

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