Volleyball Betting and Odds at NetBet Sport

Volleyball is an exciting game to watch. Players on one side hitting the ball with extraordinary power, while the opposition fling their bodies in front of the ball and try to regain control of the situation. Volleyball betting is just as exciting, with competitions all around the world for you to bet on, as well as a huge number of betting options. For many games, as well as betting on the outcome, you can set handicaps, wager on the outcome of individual sets and by how many goals the set is won, and a whole range of other options. No wonder then that it has become the fifth most popular sport in the world, with 900 million fans, many of whom are engaged in volleyball betting (volleyball betting being the sixth most popular type of sport gambling in the world).

History of Volleyball

The winters in Massachusetts toward the end of the 19th Century must have been something else. The region usually suffers badly during the winter anyway, with an average of 44 inches of snow falling every year. But this happens in a lot of places, where people are cooped up indoors for long periods with nothing to do. So what is it about Massachusetts that these winters inspired them to create not one but two entirely new sports over a five-year period?

The first to be invented was basketball, in 1891. But not long after, William G Morgan, working as a PE instructor just 10 miles down the road, invented another game he called Mintonette. It was designed to be less demanding than basketball, designed for older players who wanted to keep fit. The original rules would need a bit of refinement before they resembled the game we have today, but early spectators could not help but notice that volleying was the nature of the game, and the name stuck.

We think of beach volleyball as a relatively new variation of the game, but that is because it has only recently been taken seriously as a sport. It became an Olympic sport in 1996, with the indoor game having been played since 1956. But it was being played for fun as early as 1915, with the first examples occurring on Waikiki Beach in Hawaii. The rules were formalised by 1920, with courts appearing in Santa Monica. The game was an instant hit with nudists, who quickly adopted this game that did not really require much equipment and could safely be played without clothes while still allowing all your bits to jiggle disturbingly around. By 1960, just about every nudist colony in the US had a volleyball court. This would certainly add spice to any form of volleyball betting.

Indoors or Out?

There are different numbers of people in the game, depending on where the game is played. Indoors, you have six players a side, all with cool names. There are hitters, spikers, blockers, setters, and a mysterious character called the Libero, who has to wear a different uniform to the other players. On the beach, there are just two players in a team, which makes for a more dramatic game. The soft sand is more forgiving should you land on it, so players throw themselves around a lot more. And finally, there are three players per side if you are playing on snow.

This is a new development that was introduced in 2018 and was featured as an exhibition event at the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics. The first European Snow Volleyball Championship was held in Austria this year and was won by a team from Russia. It is being considered for official inclusion in the Winter Games, and it is yet to be seen whether it will catch on. After all, sitting on a hot beach watching tanned and athletic people is one thing, but standing in the snow might be a bit different. Perhaps a spot of volleyball betting courtside would heat things up a bit.

Legends of the Game

As with any game, legends rise, names that you need to keep an eye on when volleyball betting. One of the first to make a name for herself was “Jenny” Lang Ping, who came onto the volleyball scene in 1984. The Chinese Cultural Revolution had come to an end in 1976, and with it, China rejoined the world in sporting endeavours. They won the FIVB World Cup in Japan in 1981, and the next year, took the World Championships in Peru the next year before winning gold at the 1984 Olympics. Lang Ping hit the ball with such power, she was given the nickname “Iron Hammer”.

The impact of her contribution to Chinese sport cannot be understated. Before then, there really were not many sports that were played on an international level that China were any good at. They dominated table-tennis, but had always done so, and so this was not considered progress. With Lang Ping and the team winning championships and Olympic gold, they became one of the first ‘new’ world champions and Lang Ping was awarded top athlete of the year prizes from 1981 to 1986. Now the coach of the Chinese national team, she remains one of China’s most beloved sporting icons.

Lang Ping may have had a harder time winning gold had Cuba not been boycotting the Olympics. Cuban Mireya Luis is another beloved volleyball icon. Luis stood 5ft 10 tall, but could jump to a height of over 11ft, a 36-inch vertical leap. This made her attacks devastating and her blocking almost impossible to get past. She started playing at 10, and by 15 was a member of the national team. The Cubans dominated the sport during the 90s, winning the World Championships in 1990, 1994 and 1998 as well as the 1992, 1996 and 2000 Olympics gold medals. A dedicated team leader and role model, Mireya is beloved by her country and is a member of the IOC.