History of volleyball at the Olympics:

Volleyball was invented by American William Morgan in 1895, a year before the first modern Olympics in Athens.

But the sport did not make an appearance at the Olympics until the Tokyo Games in 1964, when both men and women competed.

The Soviet Union won the first men's gold medal and Japan the first women's event, with both countries dominating the dais in both men's and women's tournaments at many of the following Games.

Originally all five sets were scored to 15 with only the team that was serving able to score.

But prior to 2000, the rules were changed so that first four sets were contested over 25 points with every rally counting towards a point, no matter who served. A fifth set, if needed, is decided over 15 points, with the winner needing a two-point margin.

United States are the defending men's champions while Brazil won in the women's event in Beijing.