volleyball

volleyball, game played by two teams, usually of six players on a side, in which the athletes use their hands to bat a ball back and forth over a high net, trying to make the ball touch the court within the opponents’ playing area before it can be returned. To prevent this, a player on the opposing team bats the ball up and toward a teammate before it touches the court surface; that teammate may then volley it back across the net or bat it to a third teammate who volleys it across the net. A team is allowed only three touches of the ball before it must be returned over the net. Since its invention in the late 19th century in the United States, volleyball has spread around the globe as a popular sport both for competition and for recreation. It became an Olympic sport beginning with the 1964 Tokyo Games. A variant played on sand, beach volleyball, was introduced in 1930 and became an Olympic sport in 1996.

Invention and early history

Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, physical director of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was designed as an indoor sport for businessmen who found the new game of basketball too vigorous. Morgan called the sport “mintonette” because of its resemblance to badminton. However, a professor from Springfield College in Massachusetts noted the volleying nature of play and proposed the name “volleyball.” The original rules were written by Morgan and printed in the first edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men’s Christian Associations of North America (1897). The game soon proved to have wide appeal in schools, playgrounds, the armed forces, and other organizations in the United States, and it was subsequently introduced to other countries.

Organization

In 1916 the YMCA and the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) jointly issued rules. The first nationwide tournament in the United States was conducted by the National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York City in 1922. The United States Volleyball Association (USVBA) was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rulemaking, governing body in the United States. Since 1928 the USVBA—now known as USA Volleyball (USAV)—has conducted annual national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball championships, except in 1944, 1945, and 2020. Its women’s division was started in 1949, and a senior women’s division (age 30 and older) was added in 1977. Other national events in the United States are conducted by member groups of the USAV such as the YMCA and the NCAA.

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In the early decades of the 20th century, volleyball was spread to Asia and South America by YMCA-affiliated instructors. The sport was introduced into Europe by American troops during World War I, after which national organizations were formed. The Fédération Internationale de Volleyball (FIVB) was organized in Paris in 1947 and moved to Lausanne, Switzerland, in 1984. The USVBA was one of the 14 charter members of the FIVB, whose membership grew to 222 member countries by the mid-2020s.

Competitions

International volleyball competition began in 1913 with the first Far East Games in Manila. During the early 1900s and continuing until after World War II, volleyball in Asia was played on a larger court, with a lower net, and with nine players on a team.

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The FIVB-sponsored world volleyball championships (for men only in 1949; for both men and women in 1952 and succeeding years) led to acceptance of standardized playing rules and officiating. Volleyball became an Olympic sport for both men and women at the 1964 Olympic Games in Tokyo. In 1965 the FIVB began holding a World Cup for men’s national teams and from 1973 for women’s teams.

European championships were long dominated by Czechoslovakian, Hungarian, Polish, Bulgarian, Romanian, and Soviet (later, Russian) teams. At the world and Olympic level, Soviet or Russian teams have won more titles, both men’s and women’s, than those of any other country. Their success was attributed to widespread grassroots interest, well-organized play, and instruction at all levels of skill. In the last decades of the 20th century, the Cuban women’s team dominated the World Championship, World Cup, and Olympics. In the 21st century, men’s and women’s teams from Italy, Brazil, the United States, Poland, and Serbia have been especially successful in international play.

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The Pan American Games (involving South, Central, and North America) added volleyball in 1955, and Brazil, Mexico, Canada, Cuba, and the United States are frequent contenders for top honors. In Asia, China, Japan, South Korea, Iran, and Thailand dominate competition. Volleyball, especially beach volleyball, is played in Australia, New Zealand, and throughout the South Pacific.

Apart from the Olympic Games, the most prestigious international volleyball event sponsored by the FIVB is the World Championship, which historically was held every four years. The FIVB switched the event to be held every two years starting with the 2025 competition. In addition, beginning with the 2027 edition, it will be renamed the FIVB Volleyball World Cup and help to determine Olympic-qualifying teams. (The FIVB-sponsored tournament previously called the World Cup was discontinued after the last edition in 2019.) Since 2018 the FIVB has also sponsored the annual Volleyball Nations League competition. The sport is also part of the program in major regional events, including the European championships, Asian Games, African Games, and Pan American Games. In addition, volleyball is played in professional club leagues around the world, particularly in Italy, Poland, Turkey, Japan, and Brazil.

Beach volleyball

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Beach volleyball—usually played, as its name implies, on a sand court with two players per team—was introduced in California in 1930. The first official beach volleyball tournament was held in 1948 at Will Rogers State Beach in Santa Monica, California, and the first FIVB-sanctioned event was held in 1986 in Rio de Janeiro. The FIVB Beach Volleyball World Championships began, for both men and women, in 1997. Beach volleyball was added to the roster of the 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta. American athletes have been especially successful in Olympic beach volleyball competition. Notable U.S. players include Karch Kiraly, Misty May-Treanor, and Kerri Walsh Jennings.