Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of 6 players are separated by a net. 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.
 Game and Score

Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.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. They may touch the ball as many as three times.The rally continues, with each team allowed as many as three consecutive touches, until either -
a team makes a kill, grounding the ball on the opponent's court and winning the rally; or
a team commits a fault and loses the rally
The team that wins the rally is awarded a point, and serves the ball to start the next rally.he game continues, with the first team to score 25 points (and be two points ahead) awarded the set. Matches are best-of-five sets and the fifth set (if necessary) is usually played to 15 points.


Volleyball Court
The game is played on a volleyball court 18 meters (59 feet) long and 9 meters (29.5 feet) wide, divided into two 9 m × 9 m halves by a one-meter (40-inch) wide net placed so that the top of the net is 2.43 meters (7 feet 11 5/8 inches) above the center of the court for men's competition, and 2.24 meters (7 feet 4 1/8 inches) for women's competition. There is a line 3 meters from and parallel to the net in each team court which is considered the "attack line". This "3 meter" (or 10 foot) line divides the court into "back row" and "front row" areas.

Volleyball in the Olympics

The sport was officially included in 1964 Summer Olympics ( Games of the XVIII Olympiad held in Tokyo,Japan)

Skills

Teams has to master the following skills -

serve, pass, set, attack, block and dig

Serve

A player stands behind the inline and serves the ball, in an attempt to drive it into the opponent's court. His or her main objective is to make it land inside the court

 

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

 

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

 

Attack

The attack, also known as the spike, is usually the third contact a team makes with the ball. The object of attacking is to handle the ball so that it lands on the opponent's court and cannot be defended

 

Block

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

 

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.