volleyball

　　VolleyballisanOlympicsportinwhichtwoteamsseparatedbyahighnetusetheirhands,arms,or(rarely)otherpartsoftheirbodiestohitaballbackandforthoverthenet.Eachteamisallowedthreehitstogettheballoverthenettotheotherteam.Apointisscorediftheballhitsthegroundintheopponents'court,iftheopponentscommitafault,oriftheyfailtoreturntheballproperly.

　　VolleyballgameVolleyballcanbeaveryactivesportthatcanbeanexcellentsourceforaerobicexercise.Italsohelpsplayersimprovetheirhand-eyecoordinationandtheabilitytooverridetheinstinctivedesiretododgeafast-movingobjectsuchasaball.

　　Historyofthegame

　　OnFebruary9,1895,inHolyoke,Massachusetts,WilliamG.MorganaYMCAphysicaleducationdirector,createdanewgamecalledMintonetteasapastimetobeplayedpreferablyindoorsandbyanynumberofplayers.Thegametooksomeofitscharacteristicsfromtennisandhandball.Anotherindoorsport,basketball,wascatchingoninthearea,havingbeeninventedjusttenmiles(sixteenkilometres)awayinthecityofSpringfield,Massachusettsonlyfouryearsbefore.Mintonette(asvolleyballwasthenknown)wasdesignedtobeanindoorsportlessroughthanbasketballforoldermembersoftheYMCA,whilestillrequiringabitofathleticeffort.

　　Thefirstrules,writtendownbyWilliamG.Morgan,calledforanet6feet6inches(1.98metres)high;a25×50foot(7.6×15.2metre)court;andanynumberofplayers.Amatchwascomposedof9inningswith3servesforeachteamineachinning;andnolimittothenumberofballcontactsforeachteambeforesendingtheballtotheopponents’court.Incaseofaservingerror,asecondtrywasallowedwhileaballhittingthenetwastobeconsideredafoul(withlossofthepointoraside-out)—exceptinthecaseofthefirst-tryserve.Toprotectthefingersoftheladies,theywereallowedtocatchtheballandthenthrowitbackintoplay.

　　Afteranobservernoticedthevolleyingnatureofthegameatitsfirstexhibitionmatchin1896playedattheSpringfieldYMCA,thegamequicklybecameknownasvolleyball(originallyspelledastwowords).VolleyballruleswereslightlymodifiedbytheSpringfieldYMCAandspreadaroundthecountrytootherYMCAlocations.

　　Aninternationalfederation,theFédérationInternationaledeVolleyball(FIVB),wasfoundedin1947,andthefirstWorldChampionshipswereheldin1949formenand1952forwomen.VolleyballwasaddedtotheprogramoftheOlympicGamesin1964,andhasbeenparteversince.BeachvolleyballbecameaFIVB-endorsedvariationin1986andwasaddedtotheOlympicprogramatthe1996SummerOlympics.

　　Itwasnotuntil1900thataballwasmadespecificallyforthenewgame,andtheruleswerenothowweknowthemtoday.Ittookuntil1916fortheskillandpowerofthesetandspiketobeintroduced,andfouryearslatera"threehits"ruleandbackrowhittingguidelineswereestablished.In1917,thegamewaschangedfrom21to15points.In1919,AmericanExpeditionaryForcesdistributed16,000volleyballstotheirtroopsandallies:thisprovidedastimulusforthegrowthofvolleyballoutsidetheUnitedStates.

　　ThefirstcountryoutsidetheUnitedStatestoadoptvolleyballwasCanadain1900.ThesportisnowpopularinBrazil,allofEurope(whereespeciallyItaly,Netherlands,BulgariaandSerbiaaremajorforcessincethelateEighties),Russia,otherco