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There are five specialist roles distributed across six on-court players. The setter (S) runs the offence, delivering the second ball to attackers. Outside hitters (OH), also called left-side hitters, attack from the left and lead serve-receive. The middle blocker (MB) hits quick sets and anchors the block at the net. The opposite (OPP), or right-side hitter, attacks from the right and blocks the opponent's outsides. The libero (L) is a back-row defensive specialist in a contrasting jersey who cannot serve, block or attack above net height. Teams may also use a defensive specialist (DS) who substitutes for weaker back-row passers. A standard 5-1 lineup fields one setter, two outsides, two middles, one opposite, and a libero rotating through the back row.

Modern volleyball uses rally-point scoring: a point is awarded on every rally regardless of which team served. Matches are best-of-five sets. The first four sets are played to 25 points and the deciding fifth set to 15, but a team must always win by a two-point margin, so sets can extend beyond the target - 26-24, 30-28 - until someone leads by two. The first team to win three sets takes the match; there are no draws and no clock. Rally scoring, adopted by FIVB around 1999, replaced the older side-out system in which only the serving team could score, making matches faster and easier to schedule for television.

Both describe how a team organises its setters. In a 5-1, a single setter runs the offence through all six rotations, giving consistency and one dedicated right-side attacker, the opposite. The drawback is that in three rotations the setter is in the front row, leaving only two front-row hitters. In a 6-2, two setters play opposite each other in the rotation, so whichever is in the back row sets while the front-row setter becomes an attacker - meaning the team always has three front-row hitters and a bigger attack. The cost is losing the rhythm of a single playmaker, and each setter must also attack and serve well. Most elite teams favour the 5-1.

The libero is a specialised back-row defender, introduced in 1998 to raise the standard of reception and floor defence, and the rules deliberately confine the role to defence. A libero cannot complete an attack on a ball that is entirely above the height of the net, cannot block or attempt to block, and generally cannot serve, though some competitions permit it in one rotation. If the libero uses an overhand finger-set to feed a hitter while standing on or in front of the attack line, that hitter may not attack the ball above net height. In exchange for these limits, the libero enjoys unlimited substitutions for back-row players and wears a contrasting jersey so officials can track the role easily.

For indoor competition the net is set at 2.43 metres for men and 2.24 metres for women, measured at the centre of the court; the two ends may sit fractionally higher but within a small tolerance. The men's height dates to the sport's early standardisation and has remained fixed for generations. Youth, seated and some recreational categories use lower nets. In beach volleyball the same 2.43-metre men's and 2.24-metre women's heights apply. The court itself measures 18 by 9 metres, split into two nine-metre squares by the net, with an attack line three metres from the centre dividing each half into front and back zones.

Most experts name Karch Kiraly of the United States, the only player to win Olympic gold both indoors, in 1984 and 1988, and on the sand, in 1996, and the figure FIVB honoured as the best male player of the 20th century. In the women's game the equivalent is Cuba's Regla Torres, a three-time Olympic champion whom FIVB named the best female player of the century. Beyond those two the debate is open, with the likes of Giba, Lorenzo Bernardi, Sergey Tetyukhin, Zhu Ting and Paola Egonu all in the conversation. Because volleyball is a team sport without a single career statistic, any ranking blends titles, longevity and individual dominance.