Indoor Volleyball History

Indoor volleyball, which was introduced in the United States by a YMCA director as mintonette in Massachusetts, underwent several rule changes before it was renamed volleyball. The YMCA played a crucial role in the beginning stages of creating the basic premise of the game along with holding the first national championship volleyball game.

  1. Volleyball Creation

    • According to William Neville, author of “Serve it Up: Volleyball for Life,” William G. Morgan, physical education director of YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, created on Feb. 9, 1895, the game of mintonette. When mintonette was introduced, a badminton net was hung six feet in the air in the middle of a basketball court with either a soccer or basketball gutted for use as a ball. Any number of players could play to accomplish the only rule of the game, which was to get the ball to land on the floor on the other side of the net.

    Volleyball's Growth

    • The first official volleyball was introduced by Spaulding Company after the sport became popular between 1897 and 1900. The YMCA remained the sole promoter of the game and wrote the official rules, which included the net being raised to seven feet.

    Volleyball Rules

    • In 1912-1913, the rules were revised once again to create the basic premise of the game. An additional half foot was added to the height of the net and the rotation of players and ball-handling techniques were introduced so that all players could play with the same skill level. This minimized the ability for one player to specialize in one technique. The 21-point system was also introduced to win the game. According to an article posted at newsdial.com, Morgan’s first rules for mintonette consisted of a nine-inning match with three serves per team and inning. The number of times a ball was contacted was limitless before it was hit over the net onto the opponent’s court. A second try was permitted if a serving error occurred and if the ball hit the net it was considered a foul. A foul was a loss of a point or a side out, unless it was a first serve. When women played they were allowed to catch the ball first before sending it over the net. This was done to protect their fingers.

    First Exhibition Match

    • After the first exhibition match occurred in 1896 at a YMCA in Springfield, volleyball became popular, according. The Springfield YMCA modified the rules of volleyball, which later spread around the country to other YMCA locations.

    International Growth

    • Volleyball was introduced to Europe during World War I as 16,000 Spaulding volleyballs were passed out. The game was revised again with the net’s height raised to eight feet. Two out of three matches replaced a 21-point game. According to newsdial.com, the first foreign country to adapt volleyball was Canada in 1900..

    Championship Games

    • The first national championship volleyball game was held in 1922 in Brooklyn, New York, at the YMCA. In 1928 the United States Volleyball Association was organized in New York by the Yale Club to provide a national and international representation of the sport, along with an annual men’s championship game. Oregon State College was the first collegiate program to introduce volleyball into their conference plan in 1928. In 1947, the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball, was founded and the first world championship was held in 1949 for men and three years later for women. The Olympic Games added volleyball in 1964.