The 12 teams for men and 12 for women, each with six players, are divided into two pools of six teams, which in a round-robin tournament. The top
four teams from each pool progress to quarter-finals. Losing teams will
then play a further round to determine the bottom four places out of the
top eight teams.
Each match consists of five sets, the first four decided on which team is
first to get to 25 points or more with a two-point winning margin. The
final set is played to 15 points or a two-point winning margin thereafter.
The court is 18 metres by 9 metres and is split in two by a black mesh net 2.43 metres high
for men and 2.24 metres high for women, and topped with a band of white canvas. The net must be taut because a ball deflected off the net is still in play. Two antennae mark the
crossing space through which the ball must pass. The attack line lies 3 metres
back from the net and marks the limit inside which a back-row player cannot
hit a ball from above the net. A ball, which are leather and weigh between
260 and 280g, is still in play if it lands on a boundary line.
The object of the game is to score points by landing the ball in the
opponent's side of the court. Play begins from fixed positions, with three
front-row players near the net and three back-row players near the baseline. The ball must be returned to the opponent's side of the court after
having been touched three times. A spike, often the third hit, is where the
ball is returned in a manner that makes it hard for the opponent to return.
A point is scored if the ball is not returned.
Players may not hold the ball, nor must they hit the ball twice in a row.
However, they can hit the ball with any part of the body. Players must not
touch the net.
The six players in one team take turns to serve, which can be done either
overarm or underarm, with the fist, open hand or arm, and can be done from
anywhere behind the end line. A serving player may land from a leap inside
the court and continues to serve until his or her team loses a rally.
The games has a new element in Sydney, a playing position called the
libero. The libero will be a player with defensive skills and can substitute
any back-row player at any time. The libero, who will wear a different
colour from the rest of the team, cannot serve or spike, so it is less
important that the player is tall.
