Volleyball is a six-a-side court game which is similar to badminton and tennis. However, the game is played by hand. Serving and volleying are the basic elements of the game. The object is to return the ball across the net. The rally continues until one team fails to return the ball or lets it hit the ground on its side of the court. If the volley is won by the serving team, it wins one point.
It is usually played on an indoor court eighteen metres long and nine metres wide. The court is divided by a center line and each half has marked across it an attack line three metres from the center line. At each end of the court behind the back line is a service area. Above the center line is a net. For men the net is 2.42(two point four two) metres high. For women it is 2.24(two point two four) metres high. The game is played with a round leather ball.
The modern game was devised by an American, William G·Morgan, in 1895(eighteen ninety-five) four years after James W·Naismith had invented basketball. The International Volleyball Federation was founded in 1947. In 1964 it became a full Olympic sport for both men and women. Dominant nations in world volleyball are China, Cuba, Brazil and Russia.
Volleyball requires speed, strength, balance, stamina, agility, flexibility, coordination and good footwork. Individual ball skills are important as well as an ability to play as the member of a team.
