Volleyball

Volleyball is a team sport of two opposing teams, each with six players and are separated
by a net, which can be played either indoors or outdoors. The main objective of the game is to
continuously rally the ball above the net until the ball has landed on the ground or a violation has
been committed where there are only three ball touches allowed for the whole team and only two
touches individually.
There are different facilities and equipments in volleyball. The first one is the playing
area which includes the playing court and the free zone where the playing court measures 18x9
meters and is surrounded by the free zone which is then at least 3 meters wide. It is also divided
accordingly into four: the Center line (divides the playing court into 2 courts of 9x9 meters
each),the Attack line (also known as the front zone as it is the front division of each court
measuring 3 meters from the center line), the Back Zone (the second division of the court which
measures 6 meters between the front zone and the service line), and the Services zone ( it is 9
meters wide area behind each line end line where the server does his/her act). The next are the
net and post where the net is tied in the posts. The nets height is 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for
woman. At the end of the net sides of 9 m, a flexible rod of 1.8 m and 10 mm in diameter is
placed. The last one is the ball which is a spherical shape of flexible leather or synthetic leather
with a bladder inside made up of rubber or similar material, and measures 65-67 cm in
circumference and weighs about 260-280 grams.
As Volleyball is a sport, of course there are some basic skills that a player must know.
The first one is serving. It is an act of putting the ball in play by hitting the ball in an overhead
(hitting the ball below the waist level) or underhand (tossing the ball over the head and striking
it) technique to the opponent courtside. The next skill is passing (reception) where a player
attempts to properly handle the opponents service or attack. The next one is dig where a player
prevents the ball from touching the courts ground. The next skill is blocking where a player
stops an opponents attempt to attack. The next one is setting where a player sets the ball into a
position that the attacker can strike the ball hard towards the opponents court. The last skill is
attacking. It is the act of striking the ball hard overhead just above the net.
The FIVB formulated some hand plays to give volleyball a smooth play. These are the
hand signals: Authorization to Serve (move the hand to indicate the direction of service), Team to
Serve (extend the hand to indicate the direction of service), Change of Courts (raise the forearms
and twist them around the body), time-out (place the palm on one hand over the other, held
vertically and indicate the requesting team), Substitution (motion circularly the forearms around
each other), Ball not Tossed/ Released at the Service Hit (lift the extended arm with the palm of
the hands facing upward), Delay in Service (raise eight fingers, spread open), Blocking Fault of
Screening (raise both arms vertically with arms forward), Positional/ Rotational Fault (make a
circular motion of the forefinger), Ball in (point the arm and finger towards the floor), Ball
out (raise the forearms vertically, hands open, palms toward the body), Catch (slowly lift the

forearms with the hands facing upward), Double contact (raise two fingers, spread open), Four
hits (raise four fingers, spread open), Net touched by a Player (indicate the respective side of the
net), Reaching Beyond the Net (place a hand beyond the net; palm facing downward), Attacked
Hit Fault (make downward motion with the forearm, hand open), Penetration to the Opponents
Court Ball Crossing the Lower Space or Server touches the Court (point to the center line or to
the respective line), Double Faulty/Replay (raise both thumbs vertically), Ball Touched (brush
with the palm of one hand, the fingers of the other held vertically), Delay Warning/ Delay
Penalty ( cover the wrist with open hand, palm facing the referee (warning) or point to the wrist
with the yellow card for penalty), Misconduct Penalty (show the yellow card for penalty),
Expulsion (show the red card for expulsion), Disqualification (show both cards jointly for
disqualification), End of Set (cross the forearms in front of the chest, hands open), Ball in
(point down flag), Ball out (raise flag vertically), Ball touched(raise flag and touch the top
with the palm of the free hand), Crossing Space Fault; Ball touched an Outside Object; Servers
Foot Fault (wave the flag over the head and point to the antenna or the respective line), and
lastly, Judgment Impossible (raise and cross both arms and hands in front of the chest).