volleyball

• Volleyball  

  game played by two teams
• Volleyball  

  usually of six players on a side
• players use their hands to bat a ball back and forth over a high net, trying to make the ball touch the court within the opponents’ playing area before it can be returned.
• To prevent this a player on the opposing team bats the ball up and toward a teammate before it touches the court surface —that teammate may then volley it back across the net or bat it to a third teammate who volleys it across the net.
• A team is allowed only three touches of the ball before it must be returned over the net.
• Volleyball was invented in 1895
• Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan
• William G. Morgan, physical director of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts
• It was designed as an indoor sport for businessmen who found the new game of basketball too vigorous.
• Morgan called the sport “ mintonette,” 
• professor from Springfield College in Massachusetts noted the volleying nature of play and proposed the name of “ volleyball .” 
• The original rules were written by Morgan and printed in the first edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America (1897). 
• In 1916 rules were issued jointly by the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA).
• The first nationwide tournament in the United States was conducted by the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York City in 1922. 
• The United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rules-making, governing body in the United States.
• From 1928 the USVBA—now known as USA Volleyball (USAV)—has conducted annual national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball championships, except during 1944 and 1945.
• Its women’s division was started in 1949, and a senior women’s division (age 30 and older) was added in 1977. 
• Volleyball was introduced into Europe by American troops during World War I
• The Fédération Internationale de Volley Ball (FIVB) was organized in Paris in 1947 and moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1984. 
• The USVBA was one of the 13 charter members of the FIVB, whose membership grew to more than 210 member countries by the late 20th century.
• The ball used for volleyball is smaller than the basketball bladder that was used originally.
• For indoor volleyball, it should have a circumference between 65 and 67 cm when fully inflated to an inner pressure between 4.3 and 4.6 lbs. psi.
• Once inflated, the ball must weigh between 260 and 280 g
• During FIVB competitions and world events, three balls are used and must meet the same standards as the other balls before being approved for play.
• 20.7 - 21.3 cm diameter (volleyBALL)
• Net height can vary depending on the age of the players and the class of volleyball being played.
• The standard height used for men over the age of 15 is 2.43 meters measured from the lowest point of the net to the court floor
• For women over the age of 13, the standard measurement is 2.24 meters
• The net itself is 1 meter wide
• At either end of the net, an antenna is attached that is 10 mm in diameter and extends 1.8 meters above the net. 
• These antennae are considered part of the net and are used to delineate the vertical crossing space.
• Indoor courts must measure 18 meters long by 9 meters wide and have an attack area demarcated 3 meters back from the centerline
• The lines used on the court should not be any wider than 5 cm
• A free space measuring 2 meters in any direction is recommended around the playing area of the court to prevent any accidental obstructions of play
• Above the highest point of the net, there should be at least 7 meters of space to allow the ball free travel, though 12 meters is recommended