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Volleyball at the Olympics consists of two tournaments: one for the men, and one for the women. Each tournament is made up of 12 teams, which qualified for the Games by placing high enough in a previous tournament that served as an Olympic qualifier.
The Beijing Olympic volleyball tournament begins on Aug. 9, Day 1 of the Games, and concludes on Aug. 24, Day 16 and the final day of the Games.
Players
An Olympic volleyball team consists of 12 players. One of the players, other than the libero, is the team captain. Six of a team's players are on court at once, and they rotate positions (clockwise) every time their team wins back service from the opposition. Only the three players at the net can jump and spike or block near the net. The backcourt players can only hit the ball over the net if they are standing -- or they jump from -- behind the attack line, which separates the front and back part of the court.
Volleyball has developed into a very specialized sport. Most teams will include in their starting line-up a setter, two middle blockers, two receiver-outside hitters and a universal spiker. Only certain players will be involved with service reception. Players will also have specialist positions for attack and defense. Substitutions are allowed during the game. (See "Rules" for details on positions and rules.)
Team Captain: The team captain serves as the game captain while on the court. When not on the court, another player (but not the libero) assumes this role. When the ball is out of play, only the game captain is authorized to speak to the referees about the application or interpretation of rules, call timeouts, request substitutions, etc.
Libero: Before the 2000 Sydney Games, the FIVB introduced a new player role called the libero. This player is a defensive specialist designated by a team and can be substituted in the backcourt on an unlimited basis, without needing the referee's approval. Meaning "free" in Italian, the libero is not allowed to serve, to spike the ball over the net, or to rotate into one of the front-row positions. There must be at least one point played between a libero substituting off for a player and going back on the court for another player.
In the case of injury to the libero, the team coach, with the permission of the first referee, can appoint another player as libero for the rest of the game. However, the original libero cannot return to play again in the same match. The libero adds an extra dimension to backcourt defense, improving serve reception, lengthening rallies and providing a vital role to shorter players. The libero wears a shirt of a color distinct from the rest of the team.
Officials
Two referees supervise an Olympic volleyball match, in cooperation with a scorer and line supervisors. The first referee oversees the match from a perch above the net and has exclusive authority to issue warnings, sanction misconduct, call faults committed by the server or net players, settle disputes, etc.
The second referee, standing outside the court near the post opposite the first referee, is responsible for monitoring the use of timeouts and substitutions, calling violations committed on the court (i.e. penetration into the opponent's court), and controlling the work of the scorer.
Sitting at a table opposite the first referee, the scorer is exclusively responsible for registering lineups, recording the number/name of the libero, tracking points scored, noting timeouts and player substitutions on the scorecard, etc.
The line judges, placed in the free zone at each corner of the court, use flags to indicate whether a ball landing near a line is in or out. They also call foot faults on the server.
