Volleyball is a sport which is constantly growing in popularity and enticing more and more people to start playing and getting involved.
With that being said, from an outside perspective looking in, I can see how the game may seem a bit confusing and daunting.
Because of this fact, I want to provide a full guide on what exactly to expect from a volleyball game.
In short a volleyball game consists of the following things:
- Best of 5 sets
- Sets are played to 25 points with the exception of the tie break set which is played to 15 (Tie break set is the deciding set if the game is 2-2 in sets)
- A team must win by 2 clear points in each set, therefore a team would have to win 26-24 if they were tied at 24-24 before reaching 25 points
- There is 6 players a team.
- There is a collection of officials which feature a 1st referee, 2nd referee, 2 line judges, a scorer and scorer assistant.
So those are the basics but I appreciate there is a lot more involved than just what I have stated above, let’s dive into this in a bit more details
Table of Contents
What is Volleyball?
The first question that we should really address is what exactly is Volleyball?
Well I have actually got a full article about the definition of Volleyball and why the current dictionary’s definition is in fact incorrect and misleading.
If you want to see why then click the above link.
However, in short Volleyball is a game in which a ball is played back and forth over a high net between 2 opposing teams. The aim of volleyball is to score points.
This can be done by causing the other team to fault or by making the ball hit the floor on your opponent’s side within the perimeter court lines.
Volleyball Court
A volleyball court is the playing surface of volleyball games.
A Volleyball court is 18 long x 9m wide, this is marked out by a line that forms the perimeter of the court.
There is also 3 additional lines on a volleyball. There is a centre line which lays directly below the net and divides the opposing teams.
The other 2 lines are located 3m (or 10 feet) back from the net. These lines are to separate the front court players from the back court players.
Also on a volleyball court will be 2 supporting post, playing net and antennas.
The supporting posts are set solely in place to allow the net to be installed and set to the correct height.
The net is set to the correct height depending on whether it is men or women.
The net height for men’s volleyball is 243 cm and in Women’s it is 224 cm. Now it is worth noting that there is actually different heights for both juniors and seniors in their respective genders. If you want to learn more about these I suggest reading the below noted article
How Many Players Per Team In Volleyball?
Indoor Volleyball teams have 6 players on the court at any one time.
There are a few different ways in which these players can line up on the court and there is also a number of positions involved in Volleyball.
Just to confuse things further, not all positions will be on the court at all times.
Volleyball Positions
- Outside Hitter
- Opposite
- Middle
- Setter
- Libero
Normally the starting 6 players on the court would be 2no. Outside hitters, 1no opposite hitter, 1no. Middle, 1no. Setter and finally 1no. Libero.
Now I know what you’re thinking you are looking at the above line up and then up to the positions and seeing that each position is in fact in the lineup.
This is 100% correct however the Libero player is known as a defensive specialist and therefore only plays back court.
This means when it is time for them to go front court a player is substituted for them.
Generally speaking a Libero plays back court in place of the middles, this means after the Middle that was front court has served they will be swapped off for the libero to come back on.
I appreciate that I have just jumped up quite quickly and you may be feeling a little lost.
When first starting it is very unlikely that you will worry about Libero’s and such like but it is important you understand they different positions for when you are later in your volleyball journey.
Volleyball Rotations
You probably read the above and got rather confused when I started mentioning about the Libero’s time to go front court and the middle coming back court etc..
The reason for this is because in volleyball we most do what is known as rotating.
Everytime a team wins a point from the oppositions serve, the winning team must rotate one position clockwise.
This means as everyone moves along one spot, one player will join the front row and one player will join the back row.
What is a Volleyball Game?
A Volleyball game is the full volleyball match from the very first serve to the last point that is won.
A volleyball game consists of best of 5 sets, this means a game can be won 3-0, 3-1 or 3-2.
A set in volleyball is played up to 25 points with the exception of the deciding set in any game.
This means if the game was 2-2 in sets a deciding set would be played to 15 to determine the game winner.
In volleyball a team must win by 2 clear points, if the first set in any game was 24-24, the teams would have to continue play until a 2 point lead was gained.
A point is won by making the ball hit the floor on the opposing side (this is known as a kill) or by making the other team commit a fault.
Common Faults
Common faults may include any of the following;
- Not being able to return the ball over the net
- The ball landing on the floor after touching a player
- Using more than 3 touches to return the ball
- Touching the net
- Playing the ball directly out of bounds
What Officials Should You Expect In Volleyball
As stated above there is the following officials in a competitive Volleyball Game
- 1st Referee
- 2nd Referee
- At least 2 Line Judges
- Scorer
- Scorers Assistant
1st Referee
The 1st referee is the person who is in charge of the overall game and ultimately has the last call on all decisions.
The 1st referee is responsible for monitoring the game as a whole and calling any faults they spot.
2nd Referee
The 2nd referee is there to assist the first referee.
Due to the number of potential faults that can occur in any one point the second referee plays quite a large part of keeping control of the game.
Generally the 2nd referee is tasked with watching certain faults such as foot faults, net touches, 4 contacts etc..
Line Judges
Line judges are responsible for determining whether a ball lands in or out of the court. They also watch for things such as touches off the block or defending players and whether the ball was played within the playing zones.
An example of this may be if the ball is played over the top of or round the antenna this would be out of the playing zones and therefore a fault.
Scorer
This one is fairly self explanatory, the scorer is responsible for keeping the score and logging the results as they occur.
Scorers Assistant
The scorers assistant actually plays quite a vital role in making sure the game flows and proceeds as it should.
The scorers assistant will monitor things such as number of time outs, service rotation amongst other things.
Volleyball Equipment
Now you have all the knowledge, players, venue and personal to play Volleyball.
The last and most important thing you need is the equipment to play the game.
Now the only thing you really need is the actual volleyball itself.
The Volleyball currently used in the FIVB is the Mikasa V200W which you can view on Amazon by clicking the link.
This is the best volleyball money can buy and has only recently come out which means it is likely to be the ball of choice for some time to come.
With that being said, I appreciate that it is rather expensive and if you are just getting started you might not want to shell out the best ball money can buy.
With this in mind I would suggest you look at older models of Mikasa. Mikasa is the leading brand when it comes to Volleyball’s and they have been for some time.
Now the volleyball is the only thing you really need to get started but other equipment and accessories may include things such as Volleyball shoes (or basketball shoes as they are similar) Knee pads, ankle braces etc.
All of those things are not strictly required but will help your performance.
What to Expect from a Volleyball Game
So there we have it everything you need and or want to have your very own volleyball game.
So now we have all these things what should we expect from the whole event of a volleyball game.
Once the teams have arrived and got changed in their kits they will take to the court.
Before the game starts both teams will likely have a dynamic warm up which will include cardiovascular activities as well as dynamic stretches.
After this players will likely pair up and begin peppering.
Peppering is the term used to describe hitting the ball to each other going through the general volleyball activities such as digging, setting and spiking. This allows players to ready their muscles for the game.
After peppering teams will form hitting lines in which players will take it in turns to hit the ball over the net, whilst the setter warms up their setting and the libero practices digging the ball into the setter.
Once Hitting lines are completed the teams will be asked to warm up their serves. During this time the captains are often called in to determine which team will start serving and which will start receiving.
Once decided and the full warm up is completed the referee will instruct the starting 6 to step on the court.
Once rotation sheets are checked the game will begin.
Once the first set is completed the teams will switch ends before commencing the second set.
The sides are switched every time a set is finished.
The game will be played out in the above noted manner until the winner is decided.