VOLLEYBALL STUDY GUIDE

  1. History of Volleyball – invented by William J. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts YMCA in 1895.
  2. Nature of the Game
    1. Playing area is called a court.
    2. The dimensions are 30 feet by 60 feet
    3. There is a 10 foot line also called the attack line.
    4. The centerline is a 2 inch wide line, located underneath the net which separates the court into 2 playing areas.
    5. A match consists of 3 games. The first team to win 2 games wins the match.
    6. The object of the game is to keep the ball from striking the floor on your side of the net and to return it so that it strikes the floor on your opponent’s side.
  3. Teams
    1. 2 teams play against each other in a match
    2. Each team has 6 players on the court.
    3. Positions – left forward (LF), center forward (CF), right forward (RF), left back (LB), center back (CB), right back (RB).
  4. Libero – a new position as of 2005; the libero can play the back row only. He/she replaces any one in the back row but is NOT allowed to serve. The libero’s specialty is passing. E. Rotation of players – players move 1 position clockwise. The player in the RB position serves first; the RF is the second server.
  5. Scoring
    1. The team that reaches 25 points wins the game. Games must be won by 2 points. The first team to win 2 games wins the match.
    2. Rally scoring is used in all games. During every play of the game a team scores a point whether they were serving or not.
    3. When the serving team misplays the ball, the receiving team scores a point, rotates one position, and now becomes the serving team.
    4. A team continues to serve until they misplay the ball.
  6. Terms – Violations – Fouls
    1. A served ball must go over the net without hitting any obstruction except for the net itself.
    2. A set is a pass hit into the air for the purpose of placing the ball into a position for the attack. A player would contact the ball above the head, with the fingertips of their thumb and first two fingers.
    3. A bump or forearm pass is the pass used when the ball is coming at you below the waist. Hands are together, thumbs flat, and arms extended. Power comes from the legs.
    4. A dig is a clenched fist pass used to hit a ball slightly out of reach.
    5. A spike is an attack hit in which a player contacts the ball over the net and hits the ball forcefully into the opponent’s court.
    6. A block is a defensive play used to deflect a spiked ball back into the opponent’s court.
    7. The ball can only be played 3 times on one side of the net. On the 3rd hit, the ball must travel over the net into the opponent’s court.
    8. A block is NOT considered one of the three hits.
    9. One player cannot hit the ball 2 consecutive times unless the first contact was a block.
    10. The ball can be played off the net as long as the ball has not been played 2 times already.
    11. Players cannot touch the net or cross over the center line.
    12. If a ball contacts the ceiling and then crosses over the net, the play is dead.
    13. If the ball contacts the ceiling and comes back to the same side (as long as it has not crossed the plane of the net) and the team has not used their 3 hits, play continues.
    14. A ball that lands on the line is good.
    15. A served ball is hit overhand or underhand but not from a bounced ball. The server can stand anywhere behind the end line.
    16. The serving score is always announced first.