Volleyball - How to Play

Before the tournament starts, coaches of both the teams handover the players list and their corresponding positions to the referee.

Getting Ready

Both the teams participate in a warm-up session of six to ten minutes. All the players should be ready and should comply with the rules and obey the decisions of the referee. Substitute players should also be ready and should join the team when the referee allows them.

The other non-playing team members and substitute players take their positions in the team bench. The match starts with the referee tossing a coin in the presence of team captains of both the teams. The team that wins the toss chooses between serving the ball and in receiving the service. It also chooses which side of the court it will play.

Quick Glimpse of the Game

Here’s how the ball moves among the players in a volleyball rally.

One player is positioned extreme right in the back line of the team that should serve as per the toss, puts the ball into play with a service. If it reaches the opponents side, various members of the team hit the ball three times successively. In case of a service fault, the other team gets a chance to serve.

After the service, the ball should cross the net and reach the receivers side with in the court play zone, without touching any player of the serving team. The fourth hit from a team should be an attack hit and the ball should be sent back to the serving team side. The ball moves among players till it is grounded or till one of the players commits a fault.

If a team makes a fault, the opponent team wins a point and gets a chance to serve. If the team servicing the ball grounds in the opponent side, it wins a point and the same player serves again.

If the other team wins a point and the ball is grounded on the servicing team side, the opponent team gets a point and a chance to serve again. Players of the receiving team should rotate in the specified order before serving the ball. A toss determines which team should serve first in the fifth deciding set.

Winning a Match

Each match is divided into five sets. A team that wins three sets wins the match. A team wins a set if it scores 25 points and leads the other team by at least 2 points. If the lead is less than two points, both the teams continue playing till a wider lead is achieved. If both the teams won two matches each, then the team that wins fifteen points and leads the other team by at least two points in the fifth deciding set wins the match.