Although some people may know the history of the sport, many people don’t know that volleyball was created in 1895 in Massachusetts as a recreational sport for students and businessmen. The game was made as a combination of basketball (which had only been invented four years before volleyball), handball, tennis, and baseball. Following great popularity, The Playground of America Convention in 1907 stated that volleyball was one of the most popular recreational sports. From this point, volleyball was added to school education and intramural programs in 1916.
Volleyball uses the rally scoring system, where every point played produces a point for either team. A team can score a point by successfully grounding the ball on the opponent’s court, when the opponent’s team commits a fault, or when the opponent’s team receives a penalty. A fault occurs when the team makes a playing action that violates the rules of play, such as interfering with the net or being out of rotation. Volleyball uses rotations as a positional tool, allowing all players to participate in each position. Through substitutions, the team is able to utilize all players to the best of their abilities. The player who wears the opposite colored jersey from the rest of the team is known as the libero. This player is specialized in defensive skills. This player cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any back row player. This replacement does not count towards the team’s limited number of substitutions allowed per game. In order to win a volleyball match, the team must win two out of three sets (or three out of five sets). The sets are generally played to 25 points, with the last set (either third or fifth set) being played to 15 points. In order to win a match, a team must reach 25 points with a two point minimum lead. If the team is not winning by at least two points when they reach 25 points, the match continues until this two-point lead occurs.
CSM Men’s Volleyball Club has fifteen members and competes in adult tournaments every other weekend with the Rocky Mountain Region Volleyball League. The tournaments are played throughout the state of Colorado, at high schools, colleges, and volleyball facilities. Sunday, November 18, 2012 saw the team at the RMAC facility in Wheat Ridge. The team’s last tournament of the semester will be on Sunday, December 2, 2012 here at Mines! The team will be playing all throughout the day. CSM will also be going to the NCVF National Tournament in Dallas, Texas with the two women’s teams in April. The team went to the National Tournament last year in Kansas City, MO and is looking forward to this year’s tournament.
The men’s team is always looking for new players to join their practices; however they normally have tryouts at the beginning of fall semester. If you are interested in joining the team, please contact the club president, Matt Harris, at matharri@mymail.mines.edu.