volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players vie on a rectangular court divided by a net. The objective is to ground the ball on the opponent’s side or force the ball to land out of bounds or cause a fault on the other team. Teams are allowed up to three touches to return the ball over the net, and a rally ends when the ball touches the floor on a side, goes out of bounds, or a fault occurs. Play begins with a serve from behind the end line, and points are scored on every rally under the rally scoring system used in modern competition.

Indoor volleyball is played on a 9-by-18-meter court with a net height of 2.43 meters for men and 2.24 meters for women. Each side fields six players who rotate clockwise after winning the right to serve. A ball that is touched twice by the same player is not allowed, and players may not legally reach over the net to block or attack a ball coming from the opponent’s side. There is a specialized defensive player known as the libero who serves as a designated defensive specialist with distinct substitution rules.

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan in Holyoke, Massachusetts, originally as a less strenuous alternative to basketball. The sport quickly spread worldwide and was added to the Olympic program in 1964. The sport is governed internationally by the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB). In addition to indoor volleyball, beach volleyball features two players per side and is also governed by the FIVB; it has been an Olympic discipline since 1996.