The court is divided by a net, which is 2.43 meters high for men and 2.24 meters for women.
Each side of the court is divided by an attack line, which is placed 3 meters from the net. The zone in front of this line is called the attack zone or front zone, and the zone behind it is called the defense zone or back zone.
As mentioned at the top of the article, volleyball is a game where 2 teams, each with 6 players on the court at a time, try to score points by hitting the ball down on the opponent's side of the court.
The right to serve goes to the team that last scored a point. The serving player must stand behind the back line when serving and may only touch the court after the ball is in play. The serve, just like in the rest of the game, must be hit so that it lands on the opponent's side of the court, and it is allowed to touch the net on the way over.
Matches are played best of 3 or 5 sets, where 25 points are needed to win. A set must be won by a margin of 2 points, so if the score is 24-24, the set is not won with the next point. Points are scored on every rally, regardless of which team has the serve.
When a team receives the ball from the opponents, they may touch the ball a maximum of 3 times before it must be sent back to the opponent's side of the net.
Besides when the ball hits the floor on the opponent's side, points are also scored in volleyball when the opponent hits the ball out of bounds or into the net.
The rotation system means that players are placed in different spots on the court, and therefore the players will position themselves very differently depending on where they are in the rotation. The rotation happens every time the serve changes side.
When serving, players must position themselves according to the rotation, and as soon as the ball is served, players may position themselves freely on the court. During the serve, the back row players must be farther from the center line than the front row players, and they must position themselves according to the numbers in the graphic above. The position is determined by foot placement.
The setter should preferably be the second player to touch the ball, and in addition, the setter acts as a leader on the attack.
As mentioned, the setter should preferably be the second player to touch the ball, setting up the other players.
In addition to setting up the ball for the other players, a setter must also be able to make a 'dump', which means that the defenders must pay some attention to the setter, who can occasionally put the ball directly over the net.
Because of the rotation, the setter is in the back row half the time when the opponent is serving. Here, a player is often pulled back from the front row to receive the serve instead of the setter, so the setter can quickly get to the net.
The Middle Blocker positions themselves in the middle of the net and has the main responsibility for blocking in the center of the court.
Since the Middle Blocker has the main responsibility for blocking in the central part of the court, height and strength are very important qualities. In addition to blocking the middle, the Middle Blocker must also help on the sides as needed.
When the ball crosses the net and comes over to their own side, the Middle Blocker will usually drop back behind the attack line near the setter to be a threat that the opponents must consider and possibly set up quick attacks.
Because of the position on the left side, the Outside Hitter is typically the player who gets the most finishing attempts during a match.
In addition to making many attacks, the Outside Hitter is also a major asset in receiving the opponent's serve. Therefore, the Outside Hitter will position themselves well to receive the ball, and as soon as the ball is received, move out to the left side to open up for the Setter to play the ball out there.
When the ball is on the opponent's side, the Outside Hitter must keep an eye on the opponent's hitters and be ready to help the Middle Blocker block shots.
The Libero is a recent addition to Volleyball, introduced in 1999. The Libero can be substituted freely and plays in a jersey that is a clearly different color from the teammates.
The Libero was introduced to improve the quality of the game by adding a player with great technical skills, who does not need to be as tall as the other players on the team, who need to operate at the net.
The Libero is substituted in for one of the back row players (position 1, 5, or 6) and may not change position. If a position change is needed, it must happen via a substitution in and out, but substitution with a Libero does not count towards the substitution limit per set. The Libero can only play one of the three back row positions.
Liberos often replace the blocking players when they move back into the back zone, where they lack the technique to return the ball.
