Despite its relatively short history, today volleyball is a very popular game among team sports. In the world, it’s a second popular sport, after Football (Soccer). That is why we have compiled a selection of interesting facts about this fun game. That is why we have compiled a selection of interesting facts about this fun game.
1. Volleyball appeared relatively recently. William Morgan was the inventor of volleyball, an American physical education teacher, who for the first time in 1895 offered his students a new game.
2. Since 2025, July 7 has been officially celebrated as World Volleyball Day. This date was chosen by the Administrative Council of the FIVB (International Volleyball Federation) to honor the first public demonstration of the game, held on July 7, 1896, at the YMCA in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA. This event is considered the official beginning of volleyball’s history.
3. Originally, the game was called “Mintonette” and only a year later renamed it “Volleyball”, because the point of the game is to volley the ball back and forth over the net.
4. William Morgan wanted to create a game that everyone could play, no matter their age or physical ability.
5. Initially, the game used a tennis net and a basketball, and the number of students involved in the game was not limited.
6. In 1900, the first, specially designed ball for this sport was created.
The Birth of Beach Volleyball
8. Although volleyball was shown as an informal event during the Olympic Games in Paris in 1924, it was not introduced as an official sport at the Olympics until 1964. And beach volleyball was recognized as an Olympic sport only in 1996.
9. Volleyball is a very physically exhausting sport, as every player on the team makes more than 250 jumps.
10. Some professional volleyball matches can last more than two hours, demanding intense focus, teamwork, and physical endurance from players.
11. The longest volleyball game ever recorded lasted over 85 hours and was played in the Netherlands in 2011, setting a Guinness World Record.
12. Volleyball was created in America, but the world’s first organization for this sport – the Volleyball Federation – was created not in the United States, but in Czechoslovakia, in 1922.
13. In the same year, the first US championship was held, which brought together 27 teams from 11 states.
14. In volleyball, there is a special player position called the libero (from Italian, meaning “free”). The libero position was introduced in 1998 to make the game more dynamic and improve defensive play. Liberos wear a different jersey and are not allowed to attack or serve.
The Volleyball Dive or Pancake Save
16. A common tactic in volleyball is the “fake set,” where the setter pretends to pass the ball but instead tips it over the net to surprise the opponents.
