Volleyball

Volleyball is a popular athletic sport that is even part of the Olympic Games. Because of its popularity, there is lots of volleyball stuff available for fans and participants. Volleyball posters and clothing, like volleyball shirts, with volleyball graphics, volleyball backgrounds for computers, animated volleyball games, posters of volleyball babes, volleyball cheers (heard especially in high school volleyball) are found everywhere.

In this popular sport, two teams of six active players are placed on opposite sides of a high net, where they volley the ball. Players on either side of the net attempt to score points, by forcing the team on the other side to allow their balls to hit the ground while the ball is in their side of the court. This game has a set of highly organized rules and regulations in accordance with an industry standard.

This complete set of rules is quite detailed, but here is a general outline of the basic premises of the game. The ball is initially served, where, with no more than three contacts of the ball, it is sent into the other teams play area on their side of the net. Points can only be scored by grounding the ball (or forcing the team to miss, so the ball is allowed to hit the ground) while it is on their side of the court.

The ball is usually contacted (a maximum of three passes from one player to the next on each team) with the hands, but technically it is allowed for players to strike or push (a form of contact called 'short contact') the ball with any part of the body. The first team to get 25 points wins the set, and the first team to win three sets wins the match.

Since the beginning of volleyball, many common modern techniques have evolved to include techniques like spiking the ball, passing, blocking, and setting up plays. There are also specialized positions as well as defensive structures that are commonly used in the game of volleyball. Many of the most spectacular and complex plays are conducted above the net, so skills like vertical jumping and serving the ball are important to the game.

There are also alternate formats with a few different rules. This article basically describes indoor volleyball, but there are variations including Beach volleyball, known for its beautiful volleyball babes, that are very popular as well, and are even a part of the Olympics as well.