What Is Palming in Volleyball?

"Palming" is a fairly archaic term in volleyball that is now typically simply called a throw or a lift. It is used to indicate that a player has used his palm to send the ball back over the net in an illegal manner. Many recreational leagues refrain from calling lifts or throws because the skill level of players hasn't developed to the point that all hits are clean or legal.

  1. History

    • When William Morgan invented the sport of volleyball in 1895, he simply strung a badminton net across a room at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusettes, and told the gathered businessmen to bat the ball back and forth until it hit the ground. Games were played in baseball-like innings, with "outs" occurring whenever the ball hit the ground. Although little is known of the rules of that first game, what is known is that the net was set at only 6 feet, 6 inches, and the ball that was used was a basketball.

    Early Rules

    • As of 1897, the rules of volleyball stated that the "ball must be batted with the hand" and that "no dribbling" was allowed. Palming wasn't mentioned; in fact, one of the printed suggestions was to "Strike the ball with both hands." The first rules regarding illegal contact came about in 1916, when it was determined that "balls could not come to rest in hands." This was the first prohibition against palming.

    Modern Rules

    • Neither USA Volleyball, the American governing body, nor the International Volleyball Federation, which oversees international competitions and the Olympics, mentions "palming" in their rulebooks. According to both sets of rules, which are basically interchangeable: "The ball must be hit, not caught and/or thrown." They also say that "the ball may touch various parts of the body, provided that the contacts take place simultaneously." What was once known as palming is now a throw, meaning that a player has let the ball rest on the palms of his hands for more than a moment and "pushed" the ball, either over the net or to a teammate.

    Legal Use of Palms

    • There are several circumstances in which a ball is legally struck with the palm. An overhand serve--but not an underhand one--is most commonly hit with the palm and fingers. A spike, or attack, is universally an open-hand hit in which the ball momentarily comes into contact with fingers and palm. In a block, in which a defensive player puts his hands up and over the top of the net to stop a spike, the ball also strikes the defensive player's palms. These are not considered palming or lifting because the ball is either being attacked or an attack is being defended, and the ball does not remain in the player's palm for more than a moment.

    Speeding Up the Game

    • In 2008, some of the rules of volleyball were amended to allow for longer volleys--too many games were being stopped by infractions, which distracted from overall play and cut rallies short. One of the frequent fouls being committed was a ball being held by a setter for too long. Setters were basically being called for palming. Now, as long as the ball comes cleanly out of the setter's hands and is not held too long, it is legal.