In 2008, the sport of Volleyball is 113 years old! The game of volleyball, originally called "Mintonette", was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, after the invention of basketball by only 4 years. Morgan, a graduate of the Springfield College of the YMCA, designed the game to be a combination of basketball, baseball, tennis and handball.
       The sport originated in the United States, and is now just achieving the type of popularity in the U.S. that it has received on a global basis, where it ranks behind only soccer among participation sports.
Today there are more than 46 million Americans who play volleyball. There are 800 million players worldwide who play volleyball at least once a week.     
        The first volleyball net, borrowed from tennis, was only 6'6" high (though you need to remember that the average American was shorter in the 19th century). The offensive style of setting and spiking was first demonstrated in the Philippines in 1916. Over the years that followed, it became clear that standard rules were needed for tournament play, and thus the USVBA (United States Volleyball Association) was formed in 1928.
       Two years later, the first 2-man beach volleyball game was played, though the professional side of the sport did not emerge until much later. Not surprisingly, the first beach volleyball association appeared in California (1965), and the professional players united under the auspices of the AVP (American Volleyball Professionals) in 1983.
       During the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, American men and women took gold and silver medals in indoor volleyball competition. Four years later at the Olympics in Korea, the men once again scored gold. Starting in 1996, 2-man beach volleyball was officially introduced to the Olympics. Today, there are more than 800 million volleyball players worldwide, 46 million of them in the U.S.
      During a demonstration game, someone remarked to Morgan that the players seemed to be volleying the ball back and forth over the net, and perhaps "volleyball" would be a more descriptive name for the sport. On July 7, 1896 at Springfield College the first game of "volleyball" was played.