On Feb. 9, 1895, in a Holyoke, Mass., YMCA, a new game called Mintonette was born. The indoor sport allowed older members to get athletic but was less rough than the new-fangled sport called basketball. The rules called for a net, a court and any number of players. A match was nine innings with three serves for each team in each inning; and no limit to the number of ball contacts before sending the ball to the opponents’ court. A second serve was allowed if the ball hit the net on the first serve, but a ball hitting the net during play was a loss of point. After an observer noticed the volleying nature of the game, it quickly became known as volleyball and spread to other YMCA locations. The original rules allowed ladies to catch the ball and then throw it again to protect their fingers. But don’t tell that to Kerri Walsh and Misty May, Olympics beach volleyball gold medalists. They don’t need to catch the ball to win.
Source: Pinnacle West’s Newsline for Feb 9, 2006
