HISTORY
In 1895 at a Holyoke YMCA gymnasium in Mass, William G. Morgan, designed a new game called "Minonette" where an inflated basketball bladder was hit around by two teams over a rope. Rules at the time stated that the ball had to be hit from one player to another and catching, holding or throwing was not permitted. In it's initial format, minonette required nine players to play and they were placed in three rows of three. Team rotation was necessary in order to ensure that all players took turns playing the various positions on the court.
In 1896 at a YMCA Conference, the name of this game was changed to "Volleyball". Subsequently, the net height was raised and the teams were reduced to six players. Amerian troops introduced this new sport into Western Europe in 1918. Before the year was over it was played in England and soon Volleyball spread worldwide, partly because of the YMCA movement at the time. It became very popular in Russia and Japan.
The first attempt to bring standardized organization into Volleyball took place in 1936, during the Olympics in Berlin. It wasn't until 1957 that Volleyball was added to the list of recognized sports by the International Olympic Committee .
Taken in part from: Bulman, George, Volleyball: Play the Game. London, Ward Lock Limited, 1989.
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