Volleyball is a sport loved by many and can be easily played throughout the year. However, if you have the opportunity to get out on the open court in good weather, why not try to get some fresh air and sunshine while playing the game you love?

There are differences between indoor and outdoor volleyball (sometimes called “arena”). These differences are not enough to be a real game changer, but there are a few things you should be aware of depending on your volleyball environment.

The volleyball court

Sand volleyball courts and indoor courts are quite different in size. Beach courts are actually smaller than indoor courts. Indoor courts have a rule that back row players cannot move behind a certain point on the court to hit the ball, while sand volleyball players can hit the ball from anywhere on their side of the court. net. The reasoning behind the smaller size of the sand court may be that getting traction and running on sand is much more difficult than on a hard surface. A smaller court keeps the ball in play longer, making rallies more entertaining and dynamic.

Players per team

With the larger size of the court for indoor volleyball, it is reasoned that a larger number of people would be needed to cover the area. Indoor volleyball requires six players per team or side. Each player has a specialized position that rotates and changes throughout the game. Sand volleyball is usually played with teams of two people. One player hits from the left side of the court, the other hits from the right. The serve is rotated between the two players. There are no specialized positions and each player is usually well versed in all the hitting, blocking and digging. In competitive-level sand volleyball, players may have dedicated positions, such as one can block and the other can dig, but both can still hit.

Volleyball

The ball itself is one of the differences between indoor and outdoor volleyball. Indoor balls are made of leather and are slightly heavier than balls used outdoors. These heavy indoor balls can be hit harder and tend to move faster than an outdoor ball. Sand volleyballs are larger, softer, and less heavy than indoor balls. The lighter weight helps them float better in the air, allowing more experienced players to use the weather to their advantage.

keeping the marker

Indoor volleyball has matches made up of five sets or games. Games are played until the first team reaches 25 points and the winners of that game are declared. Three sets win the match. If both teams have won two sets, a 15-point tie-break game is played. The teams switch sides after each game.

Sand volleyball has matches made up of only three sets or games. Matches are played until the first team reaches 21 points, and if a tiebreaker is necessary, play to 15 points.

In both versions, a game must be won by a minimum margin of two points.

keys

The way the players touch or handle the ball is different between the two types of games. Indoor volleyball allows players to block the ball without it counting as one of the three hits allowed for each team. Sand volleyball counts a block as one of the three allowed hits.

Indoor volleyball also allows open hand spikes, or dinks, which send the ball slightly over the net, however, sand volleyball does not allow these types of moves.

If you like volleyball, then it probably doesn’t matter if you play it indoors or out. In fact, you may find that you prefer one way over the other, but just being able to play the game you love at any time of the year is a huge benefit. Learning about both versions of the sport will help your game and hopefully your enjoyment of the sport as well.