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Sports have always been an excellent way to exercise.  Volleyball is one of the best to exercise even if you are way out of shape. There are rest periods and active periods. You can be as active as you want to be.

How To Play Volleyball: Volleyball Rules

By: Jordan English

Learning how to play volleyball is something most people learn in school. Volleyball is an active and explosive sport that can be played with as few as four people although competitive volleyball is played with up to 12 total players on each team. It is a sport that can be played by all ages and offers excellent health benefits too.

Volleyball rules get very specific covering topics from the size and position of numbers on the jersey to the width of the lines. I will cover the basic rules for indoor competitive volleyball so that can get you started.

Each team has six players on the court at one time separated by a net. One team member serves the volleyball from behind the back boundary to the opposing teams court starting the volley. The opposing team must not allow the ball to land inside their court. They are allowed to hit the ball up to three times before sending it back over the net to the other team.

The three primary types of hits used in volleyball are the bump, set, and spike. A bump is usually the first contact with the ball. The hands are clasped together with elbows straight and arms pointing downward. The set is performed with the fingertips of both hands making contact with the ball around the players head and used to “set” the ball up near the net for a spike. A spike is when a player hits the ball downward over the net to the other teams court.

Points are scored by either a fault of the opposing team or a kill. A fault occurs when the ball lands outside the opponents court, the ball hits the net or does not go over the net on a serve, two consecutive hits by the same player, four hits without the ball going over the net, and catching or throwing the ball.

A kill occurs when the ball hits the ground inside the opposing teams court. Only the serving team can gain a point. If the serving team faults or loses the rally, the opposing team gains the serve.

There are some exceptions to the three hit rule. Blocking does not count as a hit. This means a player is allowed to block and then immediately hit the ball without penalty. If a spike is blocked the hit count is reset to zero and the team may hit the ball three more times without being penalized.

Each time a team wins the rally back they rotate clockwise one position. The player in sixth position rotates to the first position.

A set is won when a team reaches 25 points with a minimum lead of two points. This means if the score is tied 24-24 the winning team will need to reach 26 while holding the other team to 24.

A match is won when a team wins three sets.

If you have not played volleyball before there are city leagues that play in most municipalities and you will often be able to find church groups and recreational centers that also have teams available for you to join.

About the Author

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