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Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

A Brief History of Volleyball Timeline

Early Indoor Volleyball History:
The First 50 Years

In this brief history of volleyball lesson, you'll discover who invented the game and when this sport was introduced to numerous countries worldwide.

An Indoor Volleyball History: A Brief History of Volleyball Timeline

In 1895, William G. Morgan (1870-1942) was credited for creating the game of volleyball as a combination of four sports--basketball, baseball, tennis, and handball.

At the time, Morgan was an instructor at the Young Men's Christian Association which we know as the YMCA and was looking to develop an activity which had less physical contact than basketball that he could teach his classes of businessmen which were older gentlemen who preferred to play a sport with less physical contact.

Initially his rules of the volleyball game called for a net to be placed between two groups of any number of players who played for nine innings with three serves allowed for both teams each inning.
Sounds almost like baseball, right?

Listen to this brief history of volleyball from inventor William G. Morgan

Video created by Volleyball 1on1.com

With the exception of the first serve, hitting the volleyball into the net was considered a foul or the right for the other team to serve the ball which was called a "sideout."

A Brief History of Volleyball: The Name Of The Volleyball Game

1896: Springfield College, formerly the International YMCA Training School was the site of the first official game of volleyball.

One observer after watching the ball "volley" back and forth over the net, suggested the name of the sport should be called "volleyball."

A Brief History of Volleyball
The Volleyball Ball

1900: A special ball was designed that was spherical, and made of leather and sometimes plastic for the sport.

Some say that Spalding was responsible for creating the first official volleyball, while others dispute this fact indicating that they believe the ball was developed by someone else.

The Japanese volleyball ball used in the 1964 Olympics, consisted of a rubber carcass with leather panelling. A similarly constructed ball is used in most modern competition.

The 2008 Summer Olympics Volleyball competitions brought the introduction of the new volleyball ball with a new moulding design making it more softened compared to the Mikasa MVP200.

A Brief History of Volleyball:
The Development of the Game

1914 - Volleyball was introduced to France

1916 - The NCAA was invited by the YMCA to aid in editing the rules and in promoting the sport. Volleyball was added to school and college physical education and intramural programs.

1917 - Volleyball was introduced to Great Britain

1917 - YMCA introduced volleyball to Mexico

1918 - Yugoslavia, Czechoslavakia learn the volleyball game

1919 - Poland introduced to the volleyball game

1920 - Soviet Union learns the game of volleyball

A Brief History of Volleyball
Volleyball Rules

1917: The rules of the volleyball game were changed so that the winners were on the first team to score 15 points, instead of 21.

1919: By this time American soldiers and troops had adopted the volleyball game, playing it among themselves and with their allies on military bases which spread the popularity of the game as they travelled around the world.

1920s: Most accounts place the origins of the sport of beach volleyball in Santa Monica, California where the first volleyball courts are put up on the beach at the playground for families and friends to play games of six people on one side against six people on the other side of the net.

1920: The rules of the game continued to develop with the concept of three hits per side per team along with other developments which included prohibiting the back row players from being allowed to attack the ball over the net.

The first modern day spike was developed in the Phillipines where this particular skill was called the "Filipino bomb."

1922: The first YMCA national volleyball championships were held in Brooklyn, NY. with 27 teams from 11 states represented.

1928: Additional rules of the game were established as well as tournaments created when the United States Volleyball Association (USVBA, now USA Volleyball) was formed. With the creation of the USVBA, volleyball teams were formed with players who weren't members of the YMCA allowing for the first time all-male non-YMCA teams to participate in the first US Open for volleyball.

1930s: According to early accounts of the history about volleyball the first doubles team, consisting of two-men playing against two-men on the beach was played in Santa Monica, California.

1934: National volleyball referees were first recognized and approved in the mid 1930s.
1937: The U.S. Volleyball Association was officially recognized as volleyball's National Governing Body (NGB) in the United States at the Amateur Athletic convention held in 1937 in Boston.

1947: In an effort to unite and formalize the sport under one entity several European national governing bodies worked together to create the Federation Internationale De Volley-Ball (FIVB) which was centered in Paris.

This video provides an account of the brief history of volleyball and

the role of the FIVB in the sports history.

1949: The FIVB founded and organized the first World Championships tournament which was held in Prague, Czechoslovakia.

1949: In this same year, after a 20-year history of volleyball with all-male dominance in formalized volleyball competitions, the USVBA opened itself up to allow the first women volleyball players to form teams to play in the US Open.

1949: The USVBA decided to add a collegiate division, for competitive college teams. For the first ten years collegiate competition was sparse.

Volleyball teams were formed by passionate students and instructors. Many teams dissolved when the interested individuals left the college. Competitive teams were scattered, with no collegiate governing bodies providing leadership in the sport.

A Brief History of Volleyball
Where Do You Go From Here?

Where do you need to go now? Here are three options:

Learn more about the History of Volleyball
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the Volleyball History section in the drop down menu at the top of the page.

Learn more about volleyball history on these pages!

Explore the Impact of the Beach Volleyball Bikini in the Olympics
Discover how the beach volleyball bikini in the Olympics challenge stereotypes, empower athletes and redefine the impact of the iconic women's athletic uniform.
Beach Volleyball Olympic Sport Evolution: Changes from 1996 to 2024
I discuss how the beach volleyball Olympic sport evolution has effected the format, rules, changes and competition since the 1996 Olympic debut of the sport.
History of Beach Volleyball A Timeline of USA Volleyball Sand Success
History of beach volleyball Misty May Treanor, Kerri Walsh, Dain Blainton and Karch Kiraly make beach volleyball history on the sand for the United States
A History of Volleyball Timeline for American Women in the Olympics
Explore this comprehensive summary of events marking the notable achievements in the history of volleyball timeline for American females playing in the Olympics
A Short Brief History of Volleyball in the US From The 50s to 2000s
A timeline of events marking the short brief history of volleyball played by American male and female elite athletes in international competition.

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From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend

Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

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Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
former USA National team member
one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist

April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match

Coach April's 2025 Private and Semi private Volleyball Training

Pre-Registration now open for 2025 Private and Semiprivate Training Sessions with Coach April . Get prepared for club tryouts or train with me during club season!

Email now for information on semiprivate or private indoor skills, individual or small group training volleyball classes and my Breakfast Club for College Players training for 2025.

Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.

Email me right now to register or for more information.

info@improveyourvolley.com

Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.

Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2

There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with

the same toss height and same toss location
the same armswing speed
the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.

kamiminerpac12setteroftheyearformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

Tommi Stockham All Big West Conference sophomore former Coach April Chapple private client 3 years

katepriorallwestcoastconferencebyufreshmanformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

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Dear Vegas Parent

Read my open letter to Las Vegas Jr high/high school volleyball parents about my predictions on individual and small group volleyball training trends for 2019/2021