Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Summer Olympic Games since Tokyo 1964.
The complete set of rules is extensive, but play essentially proceeds as follows: a player on one of the teams begins a 'rally' by serving the ball (tossing or releasing it and then hitting it with a hand or arm), from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net, and into the receiving team's court. The receiving team must not let the ball be grounded within their court. The team may touch the ball up to 3 times, but individual players may not touch the ball twice consecutively. Typically, the first two touches are used to set up for an attack, an attempt to direct the ball back over the net in such a way that the serving team is unable to prevent it from being grounded in their court. (Full article...)
The qualification for the 2020 men's Olympic volleyball tournament allocated twelve teams quota spots: the hosts, the winners in each of the six pools of Intercontinental Qualifying Tournament, and five continental Olympic qualification tournament winners. Teams already qualified for the event are not eligible to play in the following qualification tournaments. (Full article...)
The FIVB Beach Volleyball U19 World Championships (previously known as the FIVB Beach Volleyball SWATCH Youth World Championships) is a double-gender international beach volleyball tournament for athletes under the age of 19. The competition first took place in Xylokastro, Greece, in 2002. Prior to the 2005 edition, it was an under-18 tournament. (Full article...)
The Asian Men's Volleyball Cup, so-called the AVC Cup for Men is an international volleyball competition in Asia and Oceania contested by the top ten senior men's national teams of the members of Asian Volleyball Confederation (AVC), the sport's continent governing body. The tournaments have been awarded every two years since 2008. The current champion is Iran, which won its third title at the 2016 tournament.
The 5 Asian Volleyball Cup tournaments have been won by three different national teams. Iran have won three times. The other Asian Volleyball Cup winners are China and South Korea with one title each. (Full article...)
The Polish Women's Volleyball League, known for sponsorship reasons as TAURON Liga (previously known as Orlen Liga and PlusLiga Kobiet) is the highest level of women volleyball games played in Poland. (Full article...)
Like the Olympics, the Goodwill Games were held every four years (with the exception of the final Games), and had a summer and winter component. The Summer Goodwill Games occurred five times, between 1986 and 2001, while the Winter Goodwill Games occurred only once, in 2000. They were cancelled by Time Warner, which had bought ownership of them in 1996, due to low television ratings after the 2001 games in Brisbane. (Full article...)
The Philippine Super Liga (PSL; alternatively spelled as Philippine Superliga) is a semi-professional corporate club volleyball league in the Philippines. It was first organized by SportsCore Event Management and Consultancy, Inc. and is now owned by Philippine SuperLiga, Inc. The league is envisioned to provide former collegiate players a league with which they can continue with their volleyball career. (Full article...)
The A1 Ethniki (Greek: Α1 Εθνική Κατηγορία), often referred to as the Greek Volleyball League, is the highest professional volleyball league in Greece. It is run by the Hellenic Volleyball Federation. It is considered one of the top national leagues in European volleyball, as its clubs have made significant success in European competitions. (Full article...)
From 2018, the World League and World Grand Prix was replaced by the men's and women's Nations League and men's and women's Challenger Cup. (Full article...)
... that volleyball player Chen Zhaodi, who was nicknamed "One-armed General" despite having two arms, became an actual general after retiring from her volleyball career?
International volleyball
Selected volleyball images
Tactics: Receiving serve
Tactics: Defence
Volleyball court
Play in progress: International match Italy vs. Russia, 2005
Ace : A serve which lands in the opponent's court without being touched, or is touched, but unable to be kept in play by one or more receiving team players.
Assist : Usually the second of a team's three contacts, an assist is awarded for any set ball that results in a kill on the ensuing attack.
Attack : Usually the third of a team's three contacts, an attack is any attempt by the offense to score a point against the defense (this does not include free balls or over-passes).
Stack Blocking : A blocking strategy where the front row players start close to each other at the center of the net, leaving space for swing blocking out to the pins.
Cut / Cut shot : attack with an extreme angle (nearly parallel to the net).
Dig : A defensive contact following an opponent's attack resulting in a playable ball.
For editor resources and to collaborate with other editors on improving Wikipedia's Volleyball-related articles, see WikiProject Volleyball.
Volleyball leagues
Beach volleyball images
The following are images from various beach volleyball-related articles on Wikipedia.
Two opposing players simultaneously contact the ball above the net with open hands, known as a "joust". The receiving team is entitled to another three contacts.
US women's team has cited several advantages to bikini uniforms, such as comfort while playing on sand during hot weather. Photo shows US national team players (Jennifer Fopma (left) and Brooke Sweat) in their uniforms.
Unlike indoor volleyball, a touch off the block counts as one of the three allowed touches.
Beach volleyball players at the Outrigger Canoe Club in Hawaii, ca. 1915
United States and Brazil have won most of the Olympic medals of beach volleyball. Picture shows Juliana Silva (left) of Brazil, with Kerri Walsh (center) and Misty May-Treanor of the United States at the 2011 FIVB Moscow Grand Slam.
A beach volleyball referee determines if a fault has been committed.
Unlike indoor volleyball, beach volleyball is played on soft sand which makes it safer for players to dive. Picture shows Nick Lucena of the United States diving to "dig" the ball.