Ananova:

A guide to the Olympic sport of Volleyball.

Technical details

Beach volleyball and indoor volleyball are played on courts which are 18m long and 9m wide.

The ball is spherical, made of leather and weighs between 260 and 280gm. In both games the net is 9.5m long and 1m wide but placed at different heights for men and women. For men the nets must be 2.43m above the ground and for women 2.24m.

Players hit or tap the ball to keep it off the ground. They are not allowed to catch, hold or run with the ball. Only three touches are allowed by a team before the opposing team must touch it.

Points can only be scored by the serving team. When the serving team lose a rally it is given to the opposition. This applies to every set, except for the final set where every rally scores.

A set is won when the team reaches 15 points for indoor volleyball, 12 for beach volleyball but in each case there must be a minimum lead of two points.

Indoor volleyball teams consist of 12 players, with six on the court at any time. For beach volleyball there are just two players in the team, with no substitutes.

Olympic history

Indoor volleyball first appeared on the Olympic schedule in 1964. Beach volleyball was a demonstration sport in the 1992 Olympic Games and appeared on the Olympic programme at Atlanta in 1996.

	Check for more on: Guide Volleyball Olympics