Volleyball

Term

Notes:

C
ourt
Dimensions

G
ameplay

Thecourtis
18mlong
and
9mwide
,dividedinto
9m9m
halves
byaonemeterwidenet.Theheightofthenetreaches
2.43m
abovethecenterofthecourtfor
men'scompetition
,and
2.24m
for
women'scompetition
.

Theteamsaresixplayerseach.Tostartacoinistossedtodecide
whoservesandwhoreceives.Theservingteamstartsthegame
by
serving
theballtothereceivingside.Thereceivingsidehas
only
threetouches
tobeabletoreturntheballtotheservingside.

Teamswillcontinueto
rally
(continuepassingtheballfromsideto
sidewhilstkeepingeachsidestouchesto3orunder)untiltheball
ishit
outofboundsortheballhitsthedefendingteams
court.

Thereare
six
typesofservesthatareusedinvolleyballthoughwe
willonlybeusingtwotypesofserves:

Underhand:
Aserveinwhichtheplayerhitstheballfromunder
thewaistinsteadoftossingtheballupandstrikingitwithan
overhandhittingmotion.Underhandservesareverysimpleand
veryeasytoreceiveandthereforearerarelyusedinhigherlevel
competitions.

OverhandTopspin:
Aserveinwhichtheplayerhitstheballfrom
overhisorherhead.Theballspinsandtheplayerflickstheirwrist
tomaketheballdropfasterthanitwouldnormally.Theseserves
areoftenaimedataspecificpartofthecourtandarerarelyused
inlevelshigherthanhighschool.

Therearegenerallythreetypesoftouchesthatyouwanttomake
whenplaying
defence
(thereceivingteam):
Bump/pass,set,
spike/attack
.

T
ypesof
Serves

T
ypesof
contactsor
touches

T
ypesof
passesor
bumps

T
ypesof
Sets

T
ypesof
attacks/hits

O
thertypes
ofcontact

B
lock

D
ig

UnderhandPass:
both
forearms
arepressedtogethertomakea
platform.Theballhitsthisplatformandisdirectedtoanother
player,almostalwaysthesetter.

OverhandPass
:Thisiswheretheballistakenwiththefingertips
andpassedtoanotherplayer,usuallythesetter.Ifpossiblethisis
alwaysadvantageousasitprovidesmorecontrol.

Muchlikeabove,therearemanywaystosettheballbutwewill
onlyfocusontwotechniques:

BumpSet:
Muchlikepassing,thistypeofsetisusedtopassthe
balltothehittersothattheycanattempttoattacktheball,sending
itovertheothernet.

OverhandSet:
Thisistheidealsetwherethefingertipsareused
inconjunctionwiththewristtothrusttheballintoanidealposition
forthehittertostriketheball.

Thereare
8types
ofhitsinvolleyballbutwewillfocusononly
one:

OutsideHit:
Thisiswheretheplayerfromposition4isgivenaset
andthenapproachesto
hit/attack
theballoverthenetandonto
thefloorofthedefendingteamscourt.Thisisthemostcommon
typeofhitemployed.

Thereare
two
othertypesofcontactthatareimportanttodiscuss:
BlockandDig

Thisiswhen13playersplayingdefencejumpupclosetothenet
inanattempttoblockthe
attack
.

Thisiswhenaplayer,usuallyfromthebackrow,passestheball
successfully.However,themaindifferencehereisthattheball
comesinatahighspeedwhichmeansthatthedefenderhasonly


P
ositions

S
coring

G
eneral
Rules

hisorherreflexestorelyontobeabletopasstheball.

Thereare
5positions:

Setters:
Responsibleforsettingtheoffensefortheteamand
placingtheballforthehitters.Theyhavetothinkclearlyandbe
abletomovequickly.

Libero:
Theywearadifferentcolorjerseyandcanonlyplaythe
backrow.Theydonthavetobetallastheyareneveratthenet.
Theyarespecializedinplayingdefence.

Middle:
Responsibleforblockingtheothersidesmiddleandalso
fordecidingquicklyastowherethesetterisgoingtoplacetheball.
Oncethedecisionhasbeenmadetheyhavetogotoeitherside
andjumpwithanotherplayfora
doubleblock.
Highlevel
volleyballcallsfortwomiddleblockers.

OutsideHitter:

Theoutsidehitterisusuallythemostconsistent
hitterontheteamandgetsthemostsets.Inaccuratefirstpasses
usuallyresultinasettotheoutsidehitterratherthanmiddleor
opposite.Sincemostsetstotheoutsidearehigh,theoutsidehitter
maytakealongerapproach,alwaysstartingfromoutsidethecourt
sideline.Innonbeginnersplay,thereareagaintwooutsidehitters
oneveryteamineverymatch.

OppositeHitter:
Defensedefensedefense.Astheyareonthe
sidewheremostattackscomefromtheymustbeableandready
toblockeveryattack.

Apointismadewhentheballtouchesthefloorofeitherteams
court.Ifateamhitstheballoutofboundsorcommitsafaultthe
pointgoestotheotherteam.Thefirstteamtogetthe25points
winstheset.Thefirstteamtoachieve
bestoutoffive
winsthe
match.Ifeachteamwinsfivesetsthenafinalgameisplayedbut
onlyto15points.

1.
Theservermaynotcrossthelinewhenservingunless
jumpfloatserving
2. Aservermaynotservetheballuntilthewhistleblows
3. Thereisnoblockingallowedonaserve
4. Theballmustgooverthenettocountasasuccessful
serve
5. Threetouchesareallowednotincludingtheblock

6.
7.

Playersmaynottouchthenetaslongasitdoesntaffect
theotherteamsplay
Aplayersfullfootmaynotcrossintothecourtofthe
opposingteam