Mathematics in volleyballNameInstitutionMathematics in volleyballA good serve in volleyball is important for a winning strategy. Either an effective serve will not be returned, leading to a point, or it will be returned with minimal force, providing an advantage to the serving team. One of the goals of a good serve is to give receivers as little time to react as possible. Forces and angles are the two main factors at play when relating volleyball to mathematics (Papageōrgiou & Spitzley, 2003). In short, to relate volleyball to mathematics, the force required to move the ball a certain height or distance, the angle required to pass the ball over the net, and the arrangement of the players, such that fewer players cover more ground, it needs to be well illustrated. This article links the concept of mathematics to volleyball by explaining various volleyball serving patterns in detail. To explain these patterns, the forces and velocities acting on the ball are described mathematically. The three most important forces considered here include the force due to gravity, the force resulting from rotation, and the force due to air resistance. Dimensions, parameters and notations To mathematically illustrate the placement of players it is necessary to understand the standard dimensions of a volleyball court. According to Lithio and Webb (2006), a standard volleyball court resembles a rectangle, 59 feet long, 29 feet wide, and 6 inches wide. A net, placed centrally, separates the courtyard into two squares. Extending from the end of each side of the volleyball court is an area from which the ball is served, at least 6 feet wide. A player can position himself anywhere in this area to serve (consider Figure 1) (Lithio & Webb, 2006). The radius, r, of the volleyball is light...... middle of the paper...... rotation the ball. Therefore, the serve that has the least time in the air is made when the volleyball is hit with topspin towards the baseline. Additionally, if the server likes to serve across the court, even if it doesn't affect the overall tempo, it can be used to serve the ball harder and perhaps catch opposing players by surprise, resulting in a pass. References Barrow, J (n.d.). Math in a Minute: Volleyball | Mathematics and Sports. Sports.maths.org. Retrieved May 14, 2014, from http://sport.maths.org/content/maths-minute-volleyballKenny, B., & Gregory, C. (2006). Volleyball (1st ed.). Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics. Lithio, D., & Webb, E. (2006). Optimizing a volleyball serve. Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Journal of Undergraduate Mathematics. Papageōrgiou, A., & Spitzley, W. (2003). Competitive Volleyball Manual (1st ed.). Oxford: Meyer and Meyer Sports.