Prime Volleyball League: All you need to know about the sport
The Prime Volleyball League (PVL) is set to begin on February 5 with the first match between Hyderabad Black Hawks and Kochi Blue Spikers. The tournament will see top Indian and International players light up the volleyball courts with their high octane performances. The players are divided into seven teams – Calicut Heroes, Kochi Blue Spikers, Ahmedabad Defenders, Hyderabad Black Hawks, Chennai Blitz, Bengaluru Torpedoes, and Kolkata Thunderbolts.
The teams will compete in a round-robin format to make it to the Top 4. The tournament will comprise 24 matches including 3 knock-out matches.
As the PVL begins on Saturday, here are some of the major terminologies to make you familiar with the sport.
Court: A volleyball court is rectangular in shape and is 18m long and 9m wide. It is surrounded by a free zone on all sides which is 3m wide.
Libero: It means a specialist defensive player. The libero wears a different color jersey than the rest of the team and cannot block or attack the ball when it is entirely above net height. When the ball is not in play, the libero can replace any back-row player, without prior notice to the officials.
Match Officials: Match Officials are the 1st and 2nd referees, the match commissioner, the scorer, assistant scorer and the line judges.
Penalty Area: The area located behind the prolongation of the end line, outside the free zone, which should be placed a minimum of 1.5 metres behind the rear edge of the bench.
Replacement: Replacement means the act by which a regular player leaves the court and either Libero (if more than one) takes his/her place. This can even include Libero for Libero exchanges. The regular player can then replace either Libero. There must be a completed rally between replacements involving any Libero.
Zones: Zones shall mean sections within the playing area (i.e., playing court and free zone) as defined for a specific purpose (or with special restrictions) within the rule text. These include: Front Zone, Service Zone, Substitution Zone, Free Zone, Back Zone, and Libero Replacement Zone.
Players: The three players along the net are front-row players and occupy positions 4 (front-left), 3 (front-centre) and 2 (front-right). The other three are back-row players occupying positions 5 (back-left), 6 (back-centre) and 1 (back-right).
Serve: A serve is the act of putting the ball in play by a player.
Blocking: Blocking is the action of players close to the net to intercept the ball coming from the opponent by reaching higher than the top of the net, regardless of the height of the ball contact.
Smash / Spike: Spike or smash is a major blow in the attack. It involves aggressively slamming the ball over the net into the opposing court in such a way that the ball lands on the ground of the opponent's side of the court. Usually, a spike is hit with great force at a downward angle.
The Prime Volleyball League will start from February 5, 2022 and will be broadcast LIVE on SONY SIX, SONY TEN 1 (English), SONY TEN 3 (Hindi), SONY TEN 4 (Tamil & Telugu) & SONY TEN 2 (Malayalam) channels.
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