There are so many sports out there with varying rules and settings that it’s challenging to keep track of. For instance, did you know there’s an aquatic version of volleyball called water volleyball? It’s somewhat similar to the land-based version, but with a bit of difference—care to stick around and learn more?
Water volleyball is a recreational version of the sport of volleyball in an aquatic setting. This is usually done in a pool or, less commonly, a lake. The sport rules are usually borrowed from its land-based cousin, and the sport is commonly confused with water polo because they use similar balls.
In this article, I’ll be going over everything about water volleyball: its history, rules, setting (how deep is the pool? How high is the net?), and where it’s most commonly played.
If you would like to shop for a water volleyball net now click here or on the button below.
History of Water Volleyball
The history of water volleyball isn’t very well-documented at all. Widespread speculation seems to favor the idea that the invention of this sport was the result of combining beach and water sports tournaments. It could be that someone accidentally threw the ball into the water and said, “Wait a minute…”
The reality is that nobody is sure, and the sport can’t be traced back to a single person or place.
Water volleyball is a popular informal sport played virtually anywhere that there’s a body of water and the ability to put a net up – pools are generally preferred, though! The sport doesn’t exist in a professional capacity, and water polo would be the closest ‘relative’ that the sport has in a professional setting.
How Deep Is the Pool in Water Volleyball?
Water volleyball is typically played in what’s called a sports pool, which usually has a depth of 3.5 to 4 feet. This is an ideal depth because it’s deep enough to absorb the shock of players jumping in the pool, plus the depth shouldn’t be too deep that shorter players struggle to move around.
A sports pool used for water volleyball should be deep, wide, and long enough to accommodate all the players – eight players (making 2 teams of 4) is the traditional number, though bigger teams of six versus six have also been seen. You should consider the number of players and the size of the net before starting a game of water volleyball.
In some cases, it may be desirable to place the net in a deeper pool so that both teams are in the ‘deep end of the pool and have to tread water while playing the game. This is more akin to water polo and is pretty rare in water volleyball.
How High Is the Net in Water Volleyball?
There’s not a specific height for the net in water volleyball, the net needs to be suspended just above the surface of the water – usually, the bottom of the net will be just above the edge of the pool. Water volleyball nets range from 2.5 to 3 feet high, in a pool with a depth of 3.5 to 4 feet this would give the net an in-water height of 6 to 7 feet.
Although this is shorter than a regular volleyball net, it is much more difficult to move quickly and jump as high. The height of the net is not critical, so try to set the net in a way that works for the players to be competitive.
What Kind of Ball Is Used in Water Volleyball?
Traditional volleyball often uses leather balls, but those absorb water and wouldn’t be suitable for water volleyball. So instead, most people use either rubber volleyballs or balls with synthetic or neoprene coatings to minimize the effects of water getting in the ball.
A note about neoprene balls is that they aren’t perfectly waterproof and may get heavy after some time in the water if they don’t have rubber cores. This can make them unsuitable for play with younger kids, for example.
A good water volleyball will have a plastic, rubber, or vinyl coating that makes it completely waterproof in ideal conditions. A softer outside coating is suitable for ensuring nobody is hurt by accidentally getting hit by spikes or on the hand in the course of normal gameplay.
Rules of Water Volleyball
As with any sport, water volleyball has a set of rules all players should adhere to. This will ensure that the game is fair and balanced with no team getting unfair advantages and that all players behave in a sportsmanlike fashion.
Gameplay Rules of Water Volleyball
As in regular volleyball, both teams will have a captain to choose teams and be responsible for any substitutions and team rotations, as necessary. Games are either won by total score or ‘best out of three’ type games. Commonly used total scores needed are 11, 15, 21, or 25. As in all volleyball, the winning team must win by 2 points.
To determine who gets the ball and serves first, there are 2 common ways to decide; You can use a coin toss made between the team captains or you can rally for service. Rallying for service is just when one team lobs the ball to the other and the ball has to be played across the net 3 times before the point counts to earn the serve.
Serving in Water Volleyball
Serving in water volleyball is much the same as it is in regular volleyball, with most serves being overhand. Sidearm and underhand serves are also considered legal and allowed within the game, as long as the ball is hit once and not carried anywhere.
Although players won’t stand outside the court like in regular volleyball, they should be in the back part of the court, near the outer boundary. It’s also key that you must hit the ball above the water line – i.e., you can’t hit the ball underwater.
Scoring in Water Volleyball
Most water volleyball games are scored in totals of 11, 15, 21, or 25. This corresponds roughly to short, medium, and long games. The length of the game, and therefore points to win, should be agreed upon before the game to best suit all players.
Points are scored under the following circumstances:
- If a player touches the net while the ball is in play they lose the point.
- If the ball is hit out of bounds, the team who hit it loses the point.
- The ball hits the water within the boundaries of a team’s side after being hit by the opposing team, they lose the point.
- Hitting the ball more than once consecutively loses the point.
- A player who lifts, or carries, or catches the ball loses the point.
Spiking in Water Volleyball
Spiking rules in water volleyball are much the same as in regular volleyball. Spikes are generally allowed, and like in beach volleyball, there’s not an attack line so any player can spike it from anywhere, anytime. The only other thing to keep in mind is you can’t block or spike the serve, this is a consistent rule throughout volleyball to keep it fun and fair.
To see our recommendation for the best water volleyball net package, visit our Volleyball Nets page.
Is Water Polo the Same As Water Volleyball?
No, water polo and water volleyball are not the same sport at all. The main things they have in common are that they are team sports, played in the water, with a ball.
Water polo is more akin to soccer or basketball in the water, where each team has a goal and a goalie. By contrast, water volleyball has no particular goal areas – just whether the team passes the ball back over the net or not.
Another key difference between water polo and water volleyball is that water volleyball permits standing on the bottom of the pool in most cases. Water polo is different because the pool is typically deeper, with the rules requiring players not to touch the bottom – indeed, the ball is passed to the opposing team if a player touches the bottom of the pool.
Water polo was introduced to the Olympics in 1900 as one of the first team sports. On the other hand, water volleyball is still not recognized as a professional sport by any major sports organization or regulatory body. Water polo also has a more definite origin, with historians generally agreeing that water polo arose from team sports in 19th century Scotland.
Would you like to learn about other variations of the game of volleyball? Visit our variations category page that describes all kinds of similar games.
Final Thoughts
Water volleyball may not be a professional sport in the Olympics like water polo, but it is a very exciting team sport that can be loads of fun for families or groups in most pools or lakes. Although the origins of water volleyball are unknown, the rules are very similar to regular volleyball with minor differences because the game is played in aquatic environments.
Sources
Photo Credits
Feature image by ActiveSteve on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/2.0/, cropped to zoom.
Spiking image by Manny Moreno from Pixabay
Sand bar image by Tom Caswell on flickr.com: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/, cropped to zoom.
Recent Posts
Athletes, listen up! Do you have a closet full of old jerseys, sweatpants, and tees that you just can't seem to part with? Well, dust them off, because you're sitting on a goldmine of fashion...
You may have heard, or you may have noticed, that there's been a change to the rule about double contact in volleyball. In 2022, an experimental rule change began to be implemented, where the double...