History
By The New Encyclopeadia Britanica

Designed as an indoor sport for businessmen who found the new game of basketball too vigorous, volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, physical director of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Mass. He called it "mintonette," until a professor from Stringfield College (Springhield, Mass.), noting the volleying nature of play, proposed the name of "volleyball." The first rules were writtn by Morgan and printed in the first edition of the Official Handbook of the Athletic League of the Young Men's Christian Associations of North America(1897). The game soon proved to have wide appeal for both sexes in schools, playgrounds, industrial leagues, the armed forces, and other organizations in the United States, and it was subsequently introduced to other countries.
In 1916 rules were issued jointly by the YMCA and the National Collegate Athletic Asociation (NCAA). The first national U.S. tournament was conducted by the National YMCA Physical Edcation Committeee at the Brooklyn Central YMCA in New York City in 1922. Preceded by an informal National Volleyball Committee theat met during the mid-1920s, the United States Volleyballl Association )UsVBA was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rules' making, governing body in the United States. From 1928 the USVBA conducted annual national men's and senior men's age 35 and older volleyball championships excetpt during 1944 and 1945 and the end of World War II. It's women's (age 30 and older) was added in 1977. Other U.S.national events are conducted by member groups of the USVBA such as the YMCA and the NCAA.
Volleyball was introduced to Europe by U.S.troops in World War I and national organizations were formed. The International Volleyball Federation(Federation Internationalede Volleyball; FIVB) was organized in 1947 in Paris with the USVBA as one of the 13 charter members. FIVB membership grew to more than 145 member countries by the mid-1980s.The FIVB administrative offices are located in Lausanne, Switz.