Playing a Mini Volleyball Game – Introduction to Volleyball (Primary 4 Physical Education) | Ganzaa

Introduction to Volleyball

Lessons

Primary 4 · Physical Education

Introduction to Volleyball

3 lessons

Lesson 3 of 3

Playing a Mini Volleyball Game

16 min

Let's begin

Mutesi's school has no volleyball net. So P4 ties a long rope between two trees, a little higher than the tallest pupil can reach, and marks the court with stones. Now they can play a real game!

Today you will put the serve, the bump and the set together, and play a mini volleyball game that follows the rules.

The main rules

In a full game, each team has 6 players on the court. At school you can play mini volleyball, with 3 or 4 players a side on a smaller court.
A full court is 18 metres long and 9 metres wide, with the net across the middle.
A point is won on every rally, whichever team served. A rally starts with a serve and ends when the ball touches the floor, goes out, or a team makes a fault.
A set is won by the first team to reach 25 points, but they must be at least 2 points ahead. Mini games often play to 15.

Faults: when you lose the rally

Your team touches the ball more than three times.
One player touches the ball two times in a row.
A player catches or holds the ball.
A player touches the net, or steps over the centre line under the net.
The ball lands outside the court, or does not go over the net.

Rotation: everyone plays every place

The court has six places, numbered 1 to 6. When your team wins the serve back from the other team, all your players move one place clockwise. The player who moves into place 1, at the back on the right, is the new server. So everybody gets a turn to serve, and to play at the front and the back.

Fair play

Be honest: if you touched the net or the ball touched you before going out, say so.
Say "unlucky, next one!" when a teammate makes a mistake.
Give everybody a turn to serve.
At the end, both teams shake hands under the net.

Volleyball in Rwanda

Volleyball is one of the most popular sports in Rwanda. Rwanda has national beach volleyball teams, which have trained on the beach at Lake Kivu in Rubavu District. Rwanda also plays sitting volleyball, a game for players with a disability, and sent a sitting volleyball team to the Paralympic Games in London in 2012.

Safety and hygiene

Tie a rope net firmly, and never run under it or hang on it. Call "Mine!" before you go for the ball. After the game, cool down with gentle stretches, drink water and wash your hands.

Tip

Every rally scores, and rotate like a clock

Think of your team as the hands of a clock: when you win the serve back, everyone moves one place clockwise, and place 1 serves.

✦

Try it yourself

Try each one first, then tap Show answer to check.

How many players does each team have on the court in a full game?

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Answer: Six.

Team A serves, and Team B wins the rally. Who gets the point?

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Answer: Team B. A point is won on every rally, whichever team served.

The score in a set is 25 to 24. Is the set over?

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Answer: No. A team must be at least 2 points ahead, so play goes on (for example, to 26 to 24).

Gatete's team wins the serve back. He is in place 2. Where does he move?

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Answer: To place 1, at the back on the right, so he is the new server.

Your hand touched the net, but the referee did not see. What should you do?

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Answer: Say so honestly. That is fair play.

Quick check

A point is won on every rally, whichever team served.

What you learned today

Six players a side (or fewer in mini volleyball); a point on every rally; 25 points wins a set, by 2 clear points.
Faults: four touches, two touches in a row, catching, touching the net, crossing the centre line.
Rotate clockwise when you win the serve back, and play fairly and honestly.

Sources and credits

Volleyball, by Simple English Wikipedia contributors, Simple English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The rules (six players, court size, rally scoring, sets to 25 by 2 points, faults and clockwise rotation) adapted and simplified by Ganzaa.
Sport in Rwanda, by Wikipedia contributors, English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Facts about volleyball, beach volleyball at Lake Kivu and sitting volleyball in Rwanda adapted and simplified by Ganzaa.
Skill steps, games, diagrams, "Try it yourself" and the practice questions written by Ganzaa.

This lesson adapts CC BY-SA material and is shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1The main rules

2Faults: when you lose the rally

3Rotation: everyone plays every place

4Fair play

5Volleyball in Rwanda

6Safety and hygiene

Try it yourself

The main rules

Faults: when you lose the rally

Rotation: everyone plays every place

Fair play

Volleyball in Rwanda

Safety and hygiene