Why Women Wear Knee Pads in Volleyball

Volleyball knee pads are all about function and nothing about fashion. That function is protection. Knee pads provide a protective layer between the player's knees and the court. While the player is trained and encouraged to remain on her feet when making plays for the ball, a number of plays require going to the floor.

  1. Plays Needing Protection

    • One play that calls for a volleyball player to go to the floor is the collapse. It requires the player to collapse to the floor, usually knees first, to make a "last ditch" attempt to play the ball.

    More Protection

    • The sprawl, pancake and dive are all similar in execution and used to save the ball from landing on the floor. All of them require a player to land on the floor, using her knees as the first point of impact. In a sprawl, the defender takes a step and reaches out to make a play before collapsing onto the floor. The pancake is like the sprawl except the defender kneels and then stretches onto the floor. She spreads and places her fingers on the court to prevent the ball from contacting the floor, causing it to bounce up and remain in play. The dive is like the sprawl except the player's body reaches up and into the air before falling onto the court.

    The Roll

    • The barrel roll and shoulder roll are emergency volleyball plays that result in the least impact to the player's knees. A defender reaches forward or to one side or the other to play the ball before collapsing. She then rolls over, using her directional momentum, and regains her balance, reassuming a ready position.

    Characteristics

    • Volleyball knee pads are one-piece fabric tubes that slip over the foot and are pulled up onto the knee. The pads have an outer shell typically made of a blend of such synthetic materials as rayon, polyester and rubber. The pads, themselves, are made of varying thickness of foam.

    Other Equipment

    • Volleyball knee pads come in all different colors and are usually quite inexpensive. A volleyball player can wear any number of protective pieces. They include a forearm protective sleeve and elbow pads and braces. Compression and padded shorts provide support and protection from impact. Ankle braces aid in stabilization of the joint and guard against ankle rolling. Thumb splints and stabilizers immobilize the joint and provide support.

    Fun Facts

    • Indoor volleyball was introduced to the Olympics in 1964, in Tokyo. Japan won the first women's gold medal. Cuba was the first country to win three consecutive gold medals in women's volleyball.