Court dimension
Volleyball court surface includes the playing area and the free zone. It has a right-angle shape, it is 18 m long and 9 m wide, and it is surrounded by a free zone, at least 3 m wide. The surface is marked by:
• a central line that divides the court in 2 squares of 9 × 9 m, where the 2 teams are positioned;
• two parallel lines, put on a 3 m distance from the central one, which separate the court in “front row” and “back row”.
Attack lines continue in the free zone for 1.75 m with dotted lines;
• the end line, which includes two lines of 15 cm drawn on the prolongation of the side lines, and which delimits the service zone;
• the prolongation of the attack lines up to the scorekeeper table, delimiting the substitution zone.
The net, set over the central line, is 2.43 m high for men’s competition and 2.24 m high for women’s competition.
In school competitions the net is lower: 2.35 m for boys and 2.24 for girls.
Volleyball
Chapter 16
TARGETS
Get to know
brief history of Volleyball game rules
referees’ calls notes on beach volley Get to know how to perform
technical basics team basics
Origin of Volleyball
NEWS
Roster
A register in which all the information regarding the two teams and the match are added by the scorekeeper.
General rules of the game Teams
A volleyball match consists in two teams composed of six players, facing each other. There may be other six possible players listed in the roster, who will be sitting on the bench. A player may be replaced by a teammate in every moment and he/she can play again but he/she cannot be replaced a second time in the same set, unless he/she is injured. Substitutions allowed are in the number of six per set, but this rule does not apply to the player holding the role of libero.
The purpose of the game is to ground the ball in the opponents’
area (the ball passing over the net) and to prevent the other team from doing the same.
Each team’s court is divided into 6 areas arranged in two rows and numbered from 1 to 6 as follows: n. 1 right back, n. 2 right front, n. 3 middle front, n. 4 left front, n. 5 left back, n. 6 middle back. Before the game starts, the position of each player must be written on the line up sheet and team members must hold their positions until they win the serve. When this happens, they have to rotate positions in a clockwise direction.
Volleyball Court
9 m3 m3 m
3 m
3 m 18 m
Scorekeeper Reserves
Line Judge Second Referee
3 m
6 m 3 m 6 m
Service Zone End Line Defence Zone Attack Zone Central Line Line Judge
First Referee
Match duration and scoring
A volleyball match is played in 5 or 3 sets, depending on the type of league. The team that reaches 25 points, with a minimum two-point advantage, wins the set; if the score is 24-24, the set continues until the minimum advantage required is reached (26-24, 27-25 etc.). The team winning the first 3 sets (out of 5) or 2 sets (out of 3), wins the match. If the two teams are even, 2-2 (out of 5) or 1-1 (out of 3), the last set finishes at 15 or at 25, but still with a two-point advantage.
Block
To intercept the ball coming from the opponent’s court above the upper limit of the net; it can be performed only by players displayed in the front row.
Players Rotation 2 1
4 5
3 6
A point is scored if one team succeeds in grounding the ball in the opponents’ court, or if the other team makes an error (ball out, violation etc.). If the team that has been awarded with the point was serving, the same player serves again, while if the team that has won the point was defending, they gain the serve and players must rotate positions. During the match, each team can ask two timeouts, and the substitutions allowed. Timeouts last 30 seconds. In world and official FIVB competitions, two 60-second timeouts are allowed for each of the first four sets, when the winning team reaches the score of 8 and 16. In the 5th set there cannot be any timeouts, which can be asked only during the two regular times.
Violations
In case of rules’ violations, the referee signals the fault whistling and awards the other team with a point; most common violations are net faults, position faults and playing faults.
Playing faults at the net
During the match it is not allowed to:
touch the net, but only if it interferes with play (net fault);
block the ball in the opponents’ space before or simultaneously with the opponents’ attack. Block the opponents’ serve (blocking fault);
penetrate the opponents’ space under the net interfering with play or place your foot (without touching the line) in the opponents court (penetration under the net).
Players Position during Serve
Position faults
Players must not:
hit the ball in the front row if they are defending at the time of serve (second row attack);
be in a position different from the one they should hold, such as 1 standing behind 2 and to the right of 6 (position fault); this position may vary during the match;
be in a position other than the one held at the time of serve (rotation fault).
Playing faults
During the match it is not allowed to:
not contact the ball with a neat touch, slightly catching it (catch);
contact the ball twice (double contact). It is allowed, though, to contact the ball a second time after the block;
contact the ball four times, as a team (four hits). The block contact does not count.
Libero’s violations
The libero, if present, must be registered in the roster before the beginning of the match, and it is possible to sign up to two libero.
He/she can play only as a passer, he/she cannot serve, block or even try to do so. He/she must wear a different jersey color and can replace every teammate but only in defense position.
Libero’s violations are:
hitting the ball from every position, if the ball is above the net when touched,
playing as a setter in the front row, setting the ball above the net for a teammate to attack; the same action can be performed by the libero setting the ball with his/her forearms or from the back row.
Refereeing
There are three referees in official competitions: 2 referees and 1 scorekeeper.
The first official (R1) is responsible for play violations, while the scorekeeper writes the formations on the roster and keeps the score. To avoid misunderstandings, the referee signals violations with his/her hands in order to show players and the public the type of fault that has been committed. .
2 1
4 5
3 6
Referee’s Calls
Basic Volleyball Techniques Bagher or Bump Pass
You do a bagher when you contact the ball with the inside part of your joint forearms. It is necessary to perform it when the ball comes from the opponents’
court at high speed or if it is too low to touch it overhead. To perform a bagher you have to:
• keep your legs slightly apart, lean your body forward, join your forearms and stretch them in front of you at waste line, arrange your hands as in the photo;
• stretch your legs and touch the ball with the inside of your forearms;
• push the ball to increase pass strength and precision.
Overhand Pass or Set
An overhand pass means to touch the ball with both hands over your head. It is generally used to set the ball in such a way that it can be driven by an attack into the opponents’ court, and therefore it is called a set. To perform it you have to:
• slightly bend your legs and stretch the arms over your head, with your elbows forming a 90° angle and hands wide open; contact the ball with each of your fingertips when it is over or in front of your head;
• stretch your legs and arms in order to touch the ball with your hands open, over your head.
Serve
Volleyball matches begin with a serve, that can make things difficult for the opponents if it is performed effectively.
Generally, players start learning and performing the underhand serve, the easiest one, but they ought to learn and switch to the overhand serve as soon as possible.
Overhand Serve – Right Handed Player
• keep your legs slightly apart, put your left foot forward and balance your body weight on your right leg; hold the ball with your right hand or with both hands;
• move your right arm backward and keep the elbow at shoulder height;
• toss the ball vertically or slightly backward, lower your left shoulder and balance your weight on your right leg;
• stretch your arm quickly forward and hit the ball with firm hand (fingers relaxed) making sure it
covers the ball, giving a final lash to it. Let your arm keep moving to reach thigh height. If you hit the ball only with your fingers, you have to keep them stretched and firm. . Bagher or Bump Pass
Overhand Pass
Overhand Serve
Underhand Serve – Right-Handed Player
• lean your body forward, bend your legs and keep the right one a step back;
• balance your body weight on your left leg, hold the ball with your left hand on your right side and outstretch your right arm backward;
• toss the ball up and hit it with your wrist, fist or wide open palm .
Spike
A spike is an effective technique that allows you to hit the ball violently into the opponents’ court, and to conclude an attack phase. To perform it you have to:
• take 2-3 steps and jump vertically joining your feet, moving your arms to the side, back and forth to help yourself in the movement,
• arch your back while jumping and move your right arm backward turning your body sideways;
• hit the ball hard with the palm giving a final lash to it with your wrist in order to place it in the opponents’ court, or just dump it;
• land to the ground without touching the net.
.
You can decide to perform a powerful hit or
just to place the ball in the court in order to confuse the opponents.
Block
A block consists in a player jumping with arms outstretched to reach up above the net in front of a spiker, to block his/
her attack. You can perform a block individually, but it is more effective if performed by blocks
of 2-3 players. To do the block you have to:
• follow the opponents’ play to understand where and when they are going to spike, holding your legs slightly bent and your hands at shoulder height;
• bend your legs and jump high vertically stretching your arms right after the spiker’s jump;
• keep your arm close to each other and outstretched forward avoiding to touch the net;
• land on the ground still without touching the net and ready to continue the play. .
Underhand Serve
Spike
Block
Dump
Quick hit that aims to avoid the block and set the ball in the opponents’ court.
Team Play Defence
Defensive systems aim to arrange players in the court in order to contrast the opponents’ offence. They depend on the players’
skills and on the type of offence the other team performs.
• Generally, while the other team is preparing the action, players should arrange themselves as in the picture.
• Players will move as the arrows indicate, depending on the offence being lateral or central to the net.
Francesca Piccinini
Offence
Reception is the way players are arranged in the court in order to effectively catch and pass the opponents’ serve. At the beginning of training, the W scheme is the most commonly used:
• when the other team is serving, two players move to form a W together with their teammates in the defense area. They will try to receive and pass the ball to the setter who has remained in the front row;
• he/she will therefore try to set the ball for one of the two front players, who, moving forward, will attack the ball in the opponents’ space;
• after the rotation, setters will find themselves on the sides of the court. For this reason, immediately after the opponent’s serve, they will move as to recreate the W once again.
Until the opponents do not serve, players must hold their initial positions.
Volleyball Roles
All volleyball players should master each one of the basic volleyball techniques but, as the sport evolves, each player specializes him/
herself depending on his/her technical and physical skills. Volleyball roles are: setter, middle, spiker, opposite hitter and libero (who is not required to be lined up).
1. Setter. He/she needs to master an effective overhand pass and a clear prospective on the play. He/she is the player who constructs the offence, setting the ball for a teammate;
2. Middle. He/she has good jump skills. In
defense, he/she blocks the opponents’ offence alone or together with teammates. In attack, he fakes a spike, and sometimes performs it.
3. Spiker. He/she performs the spike either in the front row, or in the back row. Therefore, he/she needs to master good coordination, strength and jump skills.
4. Opposite hitter. He/she normally holds the position opposite to the setter (for example: setter in position n. 1 and opposite hitter in position n. 4). He/she needs to master the block and the attack, especially from the back row.
5. Libero. He/she is the defensive specialist, with quickness in reflex, acrobatic skills and an effective bagher.
In school competitions, the libero can play only in the Juniores league.
Beach volley
Beach volley was born on California beaches in 1936, and it soon spread all over the world. In Italy, beach volley arrived in 1983 when the first matches were played on Ostia beach. The next year, the Beach Volley Association (BVA) was established with the intent of providing this sport with a proper standard regulation, and introducing it in the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Matches are played on a sand court of 16 m x 8 m, cut in the middle by a 2.43 m high net for men and 2.24 m high net for women. In school competitions of the Allievi league, the net is 2.24 m high.
The two players must wear a pair of shorts and a bright color vest. The number on it must be visible in the front. Sunglasses and hats are allowed to protect yourself from the sun. As for volleyball, the team winning two sets of 21 points each, with an advantage of at least 2 points, wins the match (22-20, 23-21 etc.). The possible 3rd set counts 15 points, but still with the 2 point advantage rule.
Beach volley is quite different from Indoor volleyball: when serving, the player tries to take advantage of weather conditions such as wind and sun, as the latter can disturb the opponents in receiving position. Receiving is also more difficult because players have to move on the sand. When setting, players are allowed to prolong the touch on the ball in order to acquire precision in the pass. When offending, players can perform spikes and overhand hits from the front or the back row, as long as the trajectory is perpendicular to the shoulders line.
In defense, it is frequently used the outstretched open hand touch, that allows to hold the ball for a moment and better control it. The block is considered a team touch and it is always performed by just one player.
Indoor
The competition takes place inside covered sportive facilities.
Questions
Concept Map
