Fall Asleep While Learning About Volleyball

Tonight, drift off as we softly recount the history and mechanics of volleyball, a sport that has bounced its way into global popularity. From its invention in 1895 by William G. Morgan to its rise as an Olympic event, we explore how this fast-paced game came to be. No need to spike your stress—just settle in, close your eyes, and let the rhythmic narration guide you into restful sleep.

Transcript

Welcome to the I Can't Sleep Podcast,

Where I read random articles from across the web to bore you to sleep with my soothing voice.

I'm your host,

Benjamin Boster,

And today's episode is from a Wikipedia article titled Volleyball.

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net.

Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.

It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964.

Beach volleyball was introduced to the program at the Atlanta 1996 Summer Olympics.

The adapted version of volleyball at the Summer Paralympic Games is sitting volleyball.

The complete set of rules is extensive,

But play essentially proceeds as follows.

A player on one of the teams begins a rally by serving the ball,

Tossing or releasing it,

And then hitting it with a hand or arm from behind the back boundary line of the court over the net,

And into the receiving team's court.

The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court.

The team may touch the ball up to three times to return the ball to the other side of the court,

But individual players may not touch the ball twice consecutively.

Typically the first two touches are used to set up for an attack.

An attack is an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the team receiving the ball is unable to pass the ball and continue the rally,

Thus losing the point.

The team that wins the rally is awarded a point and serves the ball to start the next rally.

A few of the most common faults include causing the ball to touch the ground or floor outside the opponent's court or without first passing over the net,

Catching and throwing the ball,

Double hit,

Two consecutive contacts with a ball made by the same player,

Four consecutive contacts with a ball made by the same team,

Net foul,

Touching the net during play,

Foot The foot crosses over the boundary line when serving or under the net when a front row player is trying to keep the ball in play.

The ball is usually played with the hands or arms,

But players can legally strike or push short contact the ball with any part of the body.

A number of consistent techniques have evolved in volleyball,

Including spiking and blocking,

Because those plays are made above the top of the net,

The vertical jump is an athletic skill emphasized in the sport,

As well as passing,

Setting,

And specialized player positions.

Offensive and defensive structures are also key plays.

William G.

Morgan invented the sport in 1895 while he was the YMCA Physical Education Director in Holyoke,

Massachusetts.

Because he originally derived the game from badminton,

He initially named the sport mintonette.

He was a one-time student of basketball inventor James Naismith and invented the game for his clients at the YMCA,

Most of whom were middle-aged businessmen for whom the physical demands of basketball were too great.

The first rules written down by Morgan called for a net 6 feet 6 inches high,

A 25 foot by 50 foot court,

And any number of players.

A match was composed of 9 innings,

With 3 serves for each team in each inning,

And no limit to the number of ball contacts for each team before sending the ball to the opponent's court.

In case of a serving error,

A second try was allowed.

Hitting the ball into the net was considered a foul,

With loss of the point or a side out,

Except in the case of the first try serve.

After an observer,

Alfred Halstead,

Noticed the volleying nature of the game at its first exhibition match in 1896,

Played at the International YMCA Training School,

Now called Springfield College.

The game quickly became known as Volleyball.

It was originally spelled as two words,

Volley Ball.

Volleyball rules were slightly modified by the International YMCA Training School,

And the game spread around the country to various YMCA's.

In the early 1900's,

Spalding,

Through its published company American Sports Publishing Company,

Produced books with complete instruction and rules for the sport.

The first official ball used in volleyball is disputed.

Some sources say Spalding created the first official ball in 1896,

While others claim it was created in 1900.

The rules evolved over time.

In 1916,

In the Philippines,

The skill and power of the set and spike had been introduced,

And four years later,

A three-hits rule and a rule against hitting from the back row were established.

In 1917,

The game was changed from requiring 21 points to win,

To a smaller 15 points to win.

In 1919,

About 16,

000 volleyballs were distributed by the American Expeditionary Forces to their troops and allies,

Which sparked the growth of volleyball in new countries.

Like basketball,

Volleyball spread quickly due to its simplicity and promotion by the YMCA and YWCA.

The first country outside the United States to adopt volleyball was Canada in 1900.

During and after World War I,

The presence of YMCA instructors and American forces led to the spread of volleyball in Europe,

Where clubs were established in France as well as several Soviet nations.

An international federation,

The Federación Internacional de Volleyball,

FIVB,

Was founded in 1947,

And the first world championships were held in 1949 for men and 1952 for women.

The sport is now popular in Brazil,

In Europe,

Where especially Italy,

The Netherlands,

And Eastern Europe have been major forces since the late 1980s.

In Russia and other countries,

Including China and the rest of Asia,

And in the United States.

Beach volleyball,

A variation of the game played on sand and with only two players per team,

Became a FIVB-endorsed variation in 1987,

And was added to the Olympic program at the 1996 Summer Olympics.

Volleyball is also a sport at the Paralympics,

Managed by World Paravolley.

Volleyball has been part of the Summer Olympics program for both men and women consistently since 1964.

Rules of the Game Court Dimensions A volleyball court is 9 meters by 18 meters,

Divided into equal square halves by a net with a width of 1 meter.

The top of the net is 2.

43 meters above the center of the court for men's competition and 2.

24 meters for women's competition,

Varied for veterans and junior competitions.

The minimum height clearance for indoor volleyball courts is 7 meters,

Although a clearance of 8 meters is recommended.

A line 3 meters from and parallel to the net is considered the attack line.

This 3 meter line divides the court into back row and front row areas,

And the back court and front court.

These are in turn divided into three areas each.

These are numbered as follows,

Starting from Area 1,

Which is the position of the serving player.

After a team gains a serve,

Also known as siding out,

Its members must rotate in a clockwise direction,

With the player previously in Area 2 moving to Area 1,

And so on,

With the player from Area 1 moving to Area 6.

Each player rotates only one time after the team gains possession of the service.

The next time each player rotates will be after the other team wins possession of the ball and loses the point.

The team courts are surrounded by an area called the free zone,

Which is a minimum of 3 meters wide and which the players may enter and play within after the service of the ball.

All lines denoting the boundaries of the team court and the attack zone are drawn or painted within the dimensions of the area,

And are therefore a part of the court or zone.

If a ball comes in contact with the line,

The ball is considered to be in.

An antenna is placed on each side of the net perpendicular to the sideline and is a vertical extension of the side boundary of the court.

A ball passing over the net must pass completely between the antennae,

Or their theoretical extensions of the ceiling,

Without contacting them.

The Ball FIVB regulations state that the ball must be spherical,

Made of leather or synthetic leather,

Have a circumference of 65 to 67 centimeters,

A weight of 260 to 280 grams,

And an interior air pressure of 0.

3 to 0.

325 kilograms per centimeter squared.

Other governing bodies have similar regulations.

Gameplay Each team consists of six players.

To get play started,

A team is chosen to serve by a coin toss.

A player from the serving team throws the ball into the air and attempts to hit the ball so it passes over the net on a course such that it will land in the opposing team's court,

The serve.

The opposing team must use a combination of no more than three contacts with the volleyball to return the ball to the opponent's side of the net.

These contacts usually consist first of the bump or pass so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards the player designated as the setter,

Second of the set,

Usually an overhand pass using wrist to push fingertips at the ball by the setter so that the ball's trajectory is aimed towards a spot where one of the players designed as an attacker can hit it,

And third by the attacker who spikes,

Jumping,

Raising one arm above the head,

And hitting the ball so it will move quickly down to the ground on the opponent's court to return the ball over the net.

The team with possession of the ball that is trying to attack the ball as described is said to be on offense.

The team on defense attempts to prevent the attacker from directing the ball into their court.

Players at the net jump and reach above the top and,

If possible,

Across the plane of the net to block the attacked ball.

If the ball is hit around,

Above,

Or through the block,

The defensive players arranged in the rest of the court attempt to control the ball with a dig,

Usually a forearm pass of a hard-driven ball.

After a successful dig,

The team transitions to offense.

The game continues in this manner,

Rallying back and forth until the ball touches the court within the boundaries,

Or until an error is made.

The most frequent errors that are made are either to fail to return the ball over the net within the allowed three touches,

Or to cause the ball to land outside the court.

A ball is in if any part of it touches the inside of a team's court.

A strong spike may compress the ball enough when it lands that a ball which at first appears to be going out may instead be in.

Players may travel well outside the court to play a ball that has gone over a sideline or endline in the air.

A standard competitive volleyball match is played in a best-of-five-sets format and typically goes on for about 90 minutes.

Other common errors include a player touching the ball twice in succession,

A player catching the ball,

A player touching the net while attempting to play the ball,

Or a player penetrating under the net into the opponent's court.

There are a large number of other errors specified in the rules,

Although most of them are infrequent occurrences.

These errors include back-row or liberal players spiking the ball or blocking.

Back-row players may spike the ball if they jump from behind the attack line.

Players not being in the correct position when the ball is served.

Attacking the serve in the front court and above the height of the net.

Using another player as a source of support to reach the ball.

Stepping over the back boundary line when serving.

Taking more than eight seconds to serve.

Or playing the ball when it is above the opponent's court.

A point is scored when the ball contacts a floor within the court boundaries or when an error is made.

When the ball strikes one team's side of the court,

The other team gains a point.

And when an error is made,

The team that did not make the error is awarded a point.

In either case,

Paying no regard to whether they served the ball or not.

If any part of the ball hits the line,

The ball is counted as in the court.

The team that won the point serves for the next point.

If the team which won the point served in the previous point,

The same player serves again.

If the team that won the point did not serve the previous point,

The players of the team acquiring the serve rotate their position on the court in a clockwise manner.

The game continues with the first team to score 25 points by a two-point margin awarded the set.

Matches are best of five sets,

And the fifth set,

If necessary,

Is usually played 15 points.

Scoring differs between leagues,

Tournaments,

And levels.

High schools sometimes play best of 3 to 25.

In the NCAA,

Matches are played best of 5 to 25 as of the 2008 season.

Before 1999,

Points could be scored only when a team had the serve,

Side-out scoring,

And all sets went up to only 15 points.

The FIVB changed the rules in 1999 with the changes being compulsory in 2000 to use the current scoring system,

Formerly known as rally point system,

Primarily to make the length of the match more predictable and to make the game more spectator and television friendly.

The final year of side-out scoring at the NCAA Division I Women's Volleyball Championship was 2000.

Rally point scoring debuted in 2001,

And games were played to 30 points through 2007.

For the 2008 season,

Games were renamed sets and reduced to 25 points to win.

Most high schools in the U.

S.

Changed to rally scoring in 2003,

And several states implemented the previous year on an experimental basis.

LIBERO The LIBERO player was introduced internationally in 1998 and made its debut for NCAA competition in 2002.

The LIBERO is a player specialized in defensive skills.

They must wear a contrasting jersey color from their teammates and cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height.

When the ball is not in play,

The LIBERO can replace any back-row player without prior notice to the officials.

This replacement does not count against the substitution limit each team is allowed per set,

Although the LIBERO may be replaced only by the player whom he or she replaced.

Most U.

S.

High schools added the LIBERO position from 2003 to 2005.

The modern-day LIBERO often takes on the role of a second setter.

When the setter digs the ball,

The LIBERO is typically responsible for the second ball and sets to the front-row attacker.

The LIBERO may function as a setter only under certain restrictions.

To make an overhand set,

The LIBERO must be standing behind and not stepping on the 3-meter line.

Otherwise,

The ball cannot be attacked above the net in front of the 3-meter line.

An underhand pass is allowed from any part of the court.

The LIBERO is generally the most skilled defensive player on the team.

There is also a LIBERO tracking sheet where the referees or officiating team must keep track of whom the LIBERO subs in and out for.

Under 5B rules,

A LIBERO is not allowed to serve.

By contrast,

A LIBERO can serve in NCAA volleyball,

But only in a specific rotation.

That is,

The LIBERO can only serve for one person,

Not for all of the people for whom he or she goes in.

That rule change was implemented in 2004 and applied to high school and junior high play soon after.

Under FIVB rules,

Each team can designate two LIBEROs at the beginning of play,

Only one of whom can be on the court at any time,

And each LIBERO can serve in one specific rotation.

This rule was implemented in NCAA women's volleyball,

Effective with the fall 2024 season.

Recent Rule Changes Other rule changes enacted in 2000 include allowing serves in which the ball touches the net,

As long as it goes over the net into the opponent's court.

Also,

The service area was expanded to allow players to serve from anywhere behind the end line,

But still within the theoretical extension of the sidelines.

Other changes were made to lighten up calls on faults for carries and double touches,

Such as allowing multiple contacts by a single player,

Double hits,

On a team's first contact,

Provided that they are a part of a single play on the ball.

In 2008,

The NCAA changed the minimum number of points needed to win any of the first four sets from 30 to 25 for women's volleyball.

Men's volleyball remained at 30 for another three years,

Switching to 25 in 2011.

If a fifth deciding set is reached,

The minimum required score remains at 15.

In addition,

The word GAME is now referred to as SET.

The official volleyball rules are prepared and updated every few years by the FIVB's Rules of the Game and Refereeing Commission.

The latest edition is usually available on the FIVB's website.

Skills Competitive teams master six basic skills – serve,

Pass,

Set,

Attack,

Block,

And dig.

Each of the skills consists of a number of specific techniques which have been introduced over the years and are now considered standard practice in high-level volleyball.

Serve A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court.

The main objective is to make it land inside the court.

It is also desirable to set the ball's direction,

Speed,

And acceleration so that it becomes difficult for the receiver to handle it properly.

A serve is called an ace when the ball either lands directly onto the opponent's court or the first opponent to touch the ball is unable to volley it,

Hit it upwards enough for a teammate to continue.

In contemporary volleyball,

Many types of serves are employed.

Underhand A serve in which the player strikes the ball below the waist instead of tossing it up and striking it with an overhand throwing motion.

Underhand serves are considered very easy to receive and are rarely employed in high-level competitions.

Skyball serve A specific type of underhand serve occasionally used in beach volleyball where the ball is hit so high it comes down almost in a straight line.

This serve was invented and employed almost exclusively by the Brazilian team in the early 1980s and is now considered outdated.

During the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro,

However,

The skyball serve was extensively played by Italian beach volleyball player Adrian Carambola.

In Brazil,

This serve is called jornada nas estrelas,

Star trek.

Topspin An overhand serve where the player tosses the ball high and hits it with a wrist snap,

Giving a topspin which causes it to drop faster than it would otherwise and helps maintain a straight flight path.

Topspin serves are generally hard hit and aimed at a specific returner or part of a court.

Standing topspin serves are rarely used above the high school level of play.

Float An overhand serve where the ball is hit with no spin so that its path becomes unpredictable,

Akin to a knuckleball in baseball.

Jump serve An overhand serve where the ball is first tossed high in the air,

Then the player makes a timed approach and jumps to make contact with the ball,

Hitting it with much pace and topspin.

This is the most popular serve among college and professional teams.

Jump float An overhand serve where the ball is tossed high enough that the player may jump before hitting it,

Similarly to a standing float serve.

The ball is tossed lower than a topspin jump serve,

But contact is still made while in the air.

This serve is becoming more popular among college and professional players because it has a certain unpredictability in its flight pattern.

Pass Also called reception,

The pass is the attempt by a team to properly handle the opponent's serve or any form of attack.

Proper handling includes not only preventing the ball from touching the court,

But also making it reach the position where the setter is standing quickly and precisely.

The skill of passing involves fundamentally two specific techniques.

Underarm pass,

Or bump,

Where the ball touches the inside part of the joined forearms or platform at waistline,

And overhand pass where it is handled with the fingertips like a set above the head.

Either are acceptable in professional and beach volleyball.

However,

There are much tighter regulations on the overhand pass in beach volleyball.

When a player passes the ball to their setter,

It is ideal that the ball does not have a lot of spin to make it easier for the setter.

Set The set is usually the second contact that a team makes with the ball.

The main goal of setting is to put the ball in the air in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponent's court.

The setter coordinates the offensive movements of a team and is the player who ultimately decides which player will attack the ball.

As with passing,

One may distinguish between an overhand and a bump set.

Since the former allows for more control over the speed and direction of the ball,

The bump is usually only when the ball is so low it cannot be properly handled with fingertips.

Or,

In beach volleyball,

Where rules regulating overhand setting are more stringent.

In the case of a set,

One also speaks of a front or back set,

Meaning whether the ball is passed in the direction the setter is facing or behind the setter.

There is also a jump set that is used when the ball is too close to the net.

In this case,

The setter usually jumps off their right foot straight up to avoid going into the net.

The setter usually stands about two-thirds of the way from the left to the right of the net and faces the left,

The larger portion of the net that the setter can see.

Sometimes the setter refrains from raising the ball for a teammate to perform an attack and tries to play it directly onto the opponent's court.

This movement is called a dump.

This can only be performed when the setter is in the front row,

Otherwise it constitutes an illegal backcourt attack.

The most common dumps are to throw the ball behind the setter or in front of the setter to zones 2 and 4.

More experienced setters toss the ball into the deep corners or spike the ball on the second hit.

As with a set or an overhand pass,

The setter passes must be careful to touch the ball with both hands at the same time.

If one hand is noticeably late to touch the ball,

This could result in a less effective set,

As well as the referee calling a double hit and giving the point to the opposing team.

Attack The attack,

Also known as the spike,

Is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball.

The objective of attacking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended.

A player makes a series of steps,

The approach,

Jumps,

And swings at the ball.

Ideally,

The contact with the ball is made at the apex of the hitter's jump.

At the moment of contact,

The hitter's arm is fully extended above their head and slightly forward,

Making the highest possible contact while maintaining the ability to deliver a powerful hit.

The hitter uses arm swing,

Wrist snap,

And a rapid forward contraction of the entire body to drive the ball.

A bounce is the slang term for a very hard,

Loud spike that follows an almost straight trajectory steeply downward into the opponent's court,

And bounces very high out of the air.

A kill is a slang term for an attack that is not returned by the other team,

Thus resulting in a point.

Contemporary volleyball comprises a number of attacking techniques.

Backcourt,

Or back row.

An attack performed by a back row player.

The player must jump from behind the 3-meter line before making contact with the ball,

But may land in front of the 3-meter line.

A pipe attack is when the center player in the back row attacks the ball.

Line and cross-court shot.

Refers to when the ball flies in a straight trajectory parallel to the sidelines,

Or crosses through the court in an angle.

A cross-court shot with a very pronounced angle resulting in the ball landing near the 3-meter line is called a cut shot.

Dip,

Dink,

Tip,

Cheat,

Dump.

The player does not try to make a hit,

But touches the ball lightly so that it lands on an area of the opponent's court that is not being covered by the defense.

Tool,

Wipe,

Block,

Abuse.

The player does not try to make a hard spike,

But hits the ball so that it touches the opponent's block and then bounces off-court.

Off-speed hit.

The player does not hit the ball hard,

Reducing its speed and thus confusing the opponent's defense.

Quick hit,

One.

An attack,

Usually by the middle blocker,

Where the approach and jump begin before the setter contacts the ball.

The set,

Called a quick set,

Is placed only slightly above the net,

And the ball is struck by the hitter almost immediately after leaving the setter's hands.

Quick attacks are often effective because they isolate the middle blocker to be the only blocker on the hit.

Slide,

A variation of the quick hit that uses a low back set.

The middle hitter steps around the setter and hits from behind him or her.

Double quick hit,

Stack,

Tandem.

A variation of quick hit where two hitters,

One in front and one behind the setter,

Or both in front of the setter,

Jump to perform a quick hit at the same time.

It can be used to deceive opposite blockers and free a fourth hitter attacking from the backcourt,

Maybe without block at all.

Block.

Blocking refers to the actions taken by players standing at the net to stop or alter an opponent's attack.

A block which is aimed at completely stopping an attack,

Thus making the ball remain in the opponent's court,

Is called an offensive block.

A well-executed offensive block is performed by jumping and reaching to penetrate one's arms and hands over the net and into the opponent's area.

It requires anticipating the direction the ball will go once the attack takes place.

It may also require calculating the best footwork to executing the perfect block.

A jump should be timed so as to intercept the ball's trajectory prior to it crossing over the plane of the net.

Palms are held deflected downward roughly 45 to 60 degrees toward the interior of the opponent's court.

A roof is a spectacular offensive block that redirects the power and speed of the attack straight down to the attacker's floor,

As if the attacker hit the ball into the underside of a peaked house roof.

By contrast,

It is called a defensive or soft block if the goal is to control and deflect the hard-driven ball up so that it slows down and becomes easier to defend.

A well-executed soft block is performed by jumping and placing one's hands above the net,

With no penetration into the opponent's court,

And with the palms up and fingers pointing backwards.

Blocking is also classified according to the number of players involved.

Thus,

There are single or solo,

Double,

And triple blocks.

Successful blocking does not always result in a roof,

And many times does not even touch the ball.

While it is obvious that a block was a success when the attacker is roofed,

A block that consistently forces the attacker away from their power or preferred attack into a more easily controlled shot by the defense is also a highly successful block.

At the same time,

The block position influences the positions where other defenders place themselves while opponent hitters are spiking.

Dig.

Digging is the ability to prevent the ball from touching one's court after a spike or attack,

Particularly a ball that is nearly touching the ground.

In many aspects,

This skill is similar to passing or bumping.

Overhand dig and bump are also used to distinguish between defensive actions taken with fingertips or with joined arms.

It varies from passing,

However,

In that it is a much more reflex-based skill,

Especially at the higher levels.

It is especially important while digging for players to stay on their toes.

Several players choose to employ a split step to make sure they are ready to move in any direction.

Some specific techniques are more common in digging than in passing.

A player may sometimes perform a dive,

I.

E.

Throw their body in the air with a forward movement in an attempt to save the ball,

And land on their chest.

When the player also slides their hand under a ball which is almost touching the court,

It is called a pancake.

Pancake is frequently used in indoor volleyball,

But rarely if ever in beach volleyball because the uneven and yielding nature of the sand court limits the chances that the ball will make good clean contact with the hand.

When used correctly,

It is one of the more spectacular defensive volleyball plays.

Sometimes a player may also be forced to drop their body quickly to the floor to save the ball.

In this situation,

The player makes use of a specific rolling technique to minimize chances of injuries.

Reviews

Didn’t hear a word or remember anything about this, well done! 😂

Great subject! Loved volleyball! Put me to sleep more than once! Thank you, Benjamin!!