the History of Volleyball
What is Volleyball?
Volleyball is a team sport played between two teams. Six players are on the court at a time, positioned either in the back row or the front row. The court is a large rectangle, divided in half by a net in the middle. The entire court measures 18 meters by 9 meters, with each side being 9 meters long and wide. The only other lines on the court are the attack lines, which are located 3 meters outward from the net on both sides. These lines define the front and back zones of the court.
The main rule of volleyball is that each team must send the ball to the other side with a minimum of three touches, without letting the ball touch the ground. A player cannot hit the ball twice or three times in a row, or else the point is immediately awarded to the other team. If the ball lands outside the court, touches the ceiling, or fails to pass over the net, the opposing team gets the point. If a player touches the ball before it goes out or hits the ground (even if no one else touches it), the point is awarded to the other team.
Each game consists of at least two sets, with each set played to 25 points. Unlike many other sports, the objective in volleyball is to reach 25 points before your opponent does, rather than accumulating the highest score within a set amount of time. If both teams win a set, a third set is played to determine the winner, lasting only 15 points. In close games, if the score is, for example, 24-25, a team must win by at least two points, so the final score would be 24-26.
The Beginning
William G. Morgan invented volleyball in 1895 in Holyoke, Massachusetts. The main reason for creating the game was to offer an alternative for men who didn’t enjoy basketball. Volleyball’s original name was “Mignonette,” but this was changed when a professor from Springfield College in Massachusetts observed the volleying nature of the game and suggested the name “volleyball.”
The Exposure
Volleyball was first introduced to Europe due to World War I. In 1947, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was founded with 14 charter members, including the USVBA. The first men’s championship took place in 1949, and the women’s championship was organized in 1952. In 1964, volleyball became an Olympic sport for both genders.
In 1969, the FIVB proposed a World Cup championship, which began a four-year cycle: the first year after the Olympics would feature the World Cup championship, the second year the World Championship, the third year regional games, and the fourth year the Olympic events.
The Conclusion
Today, 800 million people play volleyball at least once a week, with 46 million Americans participating. The U.S. population is 334.9 million, and approximately 25% of Americans play sports, which translates to 83.7 million athletes. Of these athletes, about half play volleyball.
"Volleyball is a game of heart mind, where mental strength spikes." -Unkown
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