Volleyball Ball

A Volleyball is the official ball used to play indoor Volleyball, beach Volleyball, and other variations of the Volleyball sport. A Volleyball has a sphere form and has 18 rectangular panels that are made of synthetic or genuine leather. The panels are arranged in 6 identical sections of 3 panels each.

Volleyballs have a diameter of 8.15”-8.39” (20.7-21.3 cm) and circumference of 22.59”-26.34” (65-67 cm). The mass of a Volleyball is between 9-10 oz (260-280 g) with a pressure between 4.26-4.61 psi (29.4-31.8 kPa).

Players ages 8 and under should use an oversized lightweight ball. It's critical we give younger players the right size ball. If we give them a ball that is too heavy for their shoulder and arms or a ball not big enough to help with their hand/eye coordination, they are more prone to injuries and won't have the success of passing and getting the ball over the net. We want to make sure to create a fun environment for these beginners!

Players ages 8-12 should use an official size lightweight ball. At age 8, kids graduate from an oversized to an official size ball because of their developed hand/eye coordination and knowledge for the game. At this age, they still are developing their strength, so a lightweight ball is needed to avoid injuries and encourage success.

Players ages 12 and up can use an official size and weight volleyball. At age 12, players have the required strength, skill, and size to handle the official size and weight.

The main components of a Volleyball are the bladder, the leather, and the glue.

Rubber Bladder: Polyisobutylene, also known as "PIB" or polyisobutylene, (C4H8)n, is the homopolymer of isobutylene, or 2-methyl-1-propene, on which butyl rubber is based. Butyl rubber is produced by polymerization of about 98% of isobutylene with about 2% of isoprene.

–(–CH2–C(CH3)2–)n–

Glue: Rubber Glue is an adhesive made from elastic polymers (typically latex, or C3H3N) mixed in a solvent such as acetone, hexane, or toluene to keep them fluid enough to be used.

Synthetic or Composite Leather: Synthetic leather is simply a man-made leather. Its texture and surface is produced to replicate the feel of natural leather, but is much cheaper. First, they must pump a petroleum based plasticizer into a mixing tub. They then add an ultraviolet light stabilizer to provide protection from the sun's rays and a flame retardant solution for fire-proofing. As the mixer blends it together they add powdered vinyl until the batch is about the consistency of pancake batter. Then take a large roll of paper with a leather like-texture to it so it unwinds into a coating machine. The vinyl coated paper then travels through an oven and the vinyl hardens taking on the papers texture. They then roll fabric backing onto the hardened vinyl and remove the paper revealing a textured leather.