Volleyball is a sport played by teams of 6. In competition, the teams are separated by gender, though there are many intramural cued teams.
The goal of volleyball is to get points by grounding the ball on the other team’s side of the court for what’s called a kill. Teams can also garner points on faults. The most common fault is when the opposition’s ball lands out of bounds. Other faults are catching the ball, a player touching the ball twice consecutively, or four team players touching the ball without successfully getting it over the net.
A coin toss is used to decide who gets control of the ball. That team serves the ball over the net. From there, teams hit the ball back and forth over the net until someone gets a point. Often the ball is passed off to a teammate to set up an attack on the other team. A rally occurs when they are able to return the ball. The rally continues until a kill or fault is committed. The team that gets the point also gets the ball to serve, at which point they rotate players in a clockwise position.
A game of volleyball consists of 5 sets. Generally, sets are played to 25 points with a 2-point lead requirement. Best out of 5 wins the match.
Volleyball courts are 59 x 29.5 feet, divided by a net that stands 7’11” above the court for men’s and 7’4″ above for women’s competitions. (Juniors’ nets are shorter.)
