In 1895, volleyball was first formed in Massachusetts and was first organized as a women’s sport in 1970 by the intercollegiate athletics commission. Later, in 1981, women’s collegiate sport came under the control of the National College Athletic Association (NCAA). Here, rules and interpretations of women’s volleyball is clearly explained.
The volleyball court should be 59 feet in length and 29.5 feet wide and the play area is separated into half by a centerline and a net. The net height for women’s volleyball should be 7 feet and 4 1/8 inches and about 6.5 feet free space should be given on all sides of the court with no obstruction. The ball used in volleyball should weigh about 9 or 10 ounces and the ball pressure are normally ranges between 4.5 and 6 pounds. Each team in the volleyball game should have six players with three in the front row and three in the last row. The players in the last row should not spike the ball on or close to the attack line or stop the other team’s spike on the net.
A team should rotate every time, they succeed the serve and players should rotate in a clockwise direction. The players who have left the game can re-enter in the original position and each team gets a chance of substitution 12 times per set. Each game contains five sets and a team that wins three sets is announced as the winning team in the whole match. Normally, 25 points is set for the first four sets and a team should score at least two points higher than the opposite team to win the set. The fifth set can be played with 15 points in necessary condition and for calculating the points in each set rally scoring system is used.
Each side is given a maximum of three hits and a player on each team should not hit the ball two times in succession. Only during the serve or volley, a ball is allowed to play off the net and also a player in the front row is allowed to switch their position. When a ball grounds the borderline then it is considered as the good serve or hit and the two players hitting the ball at one time is called one play and those players are restricted to take part in the next play. Some of the basic violations are stepping over the line during serve, fail to serve the ball successfully over the net, and hitting the ball improperly. One team gets a point if it successfully hit the ball on the opposite team’s court or if the opponent team misses to return the ball back.
