Overview
Volleyball was invented by William G. Morgan in 1895 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, as a less physically demanding alternative to basketball. He originally named the new game "Mintonette" before observers noted its volleying nature and the sport was renamed volleyball. It made its way to the Olympic Games at Tokyo 1964 for both men and women, and has remained a fixture ever since.
Indoor volleyball is contested between two teams of six players separated by a net, with each team allowed up to three touches of the ball before returning it. A defensive specialist known as the libero plays alongside the team, wearing a different-coloured jersey and subject to special substitution rules. Matches are played to the best of five sets: the first four to 25 points and a deciding fifth to 15, always requiring a two-point margin of victory.
Beach volleyball was added to the Olympic programme at Atlanta 1996 and quickly became one of the most televised events of the Summer Games. Played outdoors on sand between teams of two — with no substitutions and no libero — beach volleyball strips the game to its essentials: serve, pass, set, attack, and defence, with each player required to be effective in every role. The sport is governed by the FIVB, founded in 1947, which has developed both formats over the decades to keep them among the world's most widely played team sports.
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Qatar Women’s Volleyball Team Face Hong Kong
Qatar women’s national volleyball team will face Hong Kong today in the third and final round of Group D at the 20th Asian Games – Aichi-Nagoya 2026 – in Japan. Qatar will be looking for victory to bounce back from yesterday’s 3-0 defeat to South Korea in the second round of Group D. The sets ended 25-6, 25-6 and 25-10.Qatar began their campaign with a 3-0 defeat to Vietnam.The women’s volleyball competition features 14 teams divided into four groups, with the top two teams from each group advancing to the quarter-finals.Qatar women’s volleyball team will be aiming to finish the group stage with a victory and a positive result that builds on the experience gained from their participation in the Asian Games, which provides an important opportunity to compete against continental opposition and gain further experience for the future.
Qatar Women’s Volleyball Team Set for Asian Games Opener Against Vietnam
AICHI-NAGOYA – Qatar’s women’s volleyball team will launch their Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games campaign on Wednesday against Vietnam in Group D, as the Qatari side begins its quest for a place in the quarterfinals.The opening encounter will start at 7:00 a.m. Doha time, with Qatar facing South Korea on Thursday before meeting Hong Kong on Friday in their final Group D match.The top two teams in each of the four groups will progress to the quarterfinals, with 14 teams competing in the women’s volleyball tournament.Qatar’s Group D opponents are Vietnam, South Korea and Hong Kong. Japan, Indonesia and Nepal make up Group A; China, Kazakhstan and the Philippines are in Group B; while Group C consists of Thailand, Chinese Taipei, Kyrgyzstan and Mongolia.The Qatari team will seek a strong start against a group that includes sides boasting considerable continental experience. The squad will be aiming to reach the knockout stage while showcasing the significant development achieved by women’s volleyball in Qatar in recent years.The women’s volleyball competition is scheduled for September 16-22, ahead of the official opening of the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games on Saturday. The Games will run until October 4 across Japan.Qatar’s 243-athlete delegation features 184 men and 59 women representing 18 sports federations. The contingent is looking to build on Qatar’s performance at the previous Asian Games in Hangzhou in 2023, where the country collected 14 medals , five gold, six silver and three bronze.
Team Qatar Bow Out of Asian Volleyball Championship After South Korea Defeat
FUKUOKA, Japan (QNA) – Qatar’s men’s national volleyball team ended their Asian Volleyball Championship campaign on Wednesday after suffering a 3-0 loss to South Korea in their final Group C encounter in Fukuoka.South Korea controlled the match from the outset, taking the opening set 25-20 before extending their advantage with a 25-19 second-set victory and completing a straight-sets win with a 25-15 third-set triumph. Qatar showed determination in their efforts to match their opponents but struggled to sustain their level of play, as South Korea effectively capitalized on Qatar’s mistakes.The defeat meant Qatar finished the group stage without a victory, following their opening-round 3-0 loss to Thailand, 25-22, 25-19, 25-14.Qatar entered their final group match seeking a first win that would have kept their quarterfinal hopes alive. However, the third successive defeat ended their run in the opening phase of the continental championship.The tournament represents an important part of Qatar’s preparations for a series of forthcoming commitments, particularly the Aichi-Nagoya 2026 Asian Games, scheduled to take place in Japan from September 19 to October 4. The team will seek to build on the experience gained in Fukuoka and raise their competitive readiness ahead of the continental multi-sport event.
Younousse and Tijan to play for bronze at 2026 AVC Beach Volleyball Asian C’ships
Beijing: Qatar’s Cherif Younousse and Ahmed Tijan will play for the bronze medal at the 2026 AVC Beach Volleyball Asian Championships after suffering a defeat to Mark Nicolaidis and Izac Carracher in a thrilling semi-final clash on Saturday.The second-seeded Qatari pair, Tokyo 2020 Olympic bronze medalists comfortably won the first set against the third-seeded Nicolaidis and Carracher, but the Aussie pair produced a determined comeback to win 2-1 (14-21, 24-22, 15-11) after 56 minutes.The defeat ended Younousse and Tijan’s hopes of claiming the continental title, but they remain in contention for a podium finish.They will now face China’s top seeds Wu Jiaxin and Zhou Chaowei in today’s third-place match in Shangluo. Nicolaidis and Carracher will meet fellow Australians Thomas Hodges and Ben Hood in today’s gold-medal showdown, with the winners guaranteed a berth in the Los Angeles Olympics.Earlier, Younousse and Tijan defeated China’s Yanwei Wang and Hongjun Du in straight sets (21-12, 21-16) to advance to the semis, following a 21-12, 21-13 win over Kazakhstan’s Sergey Bogatu and Kirill Gurin in the round of 16 the day before.