Volleyball Rules and Regulations
Volleyball Rules and Regulations
Volleyball Rules and Regulations
There are
different versions available for specific circumstances in order to offer the versatility of the
game to everyone. The object of the game is to send the ball over the net in order to ground it
on the opponent’s court, and to prevent the same effort by the opponent. The team has three
hits for returning the ball (in addition to the block contact). The ball is put in play with a service:
hit by the server over the net to the opponents. The rally continues until the ball is grounded on
the playing court, goes “out” or a team fails to return it properly. In Volleyball, the team
winning a rally scores a point (Rally Point System). When the receiving team wins a rally, it gains
a point and the right to serve, and its players rotate one position clockwise.
(fivb.org/EN/Refereeing-Rules/documents/FIVB-Volleyball_Rules_2017-2020-EN-v06.pdf)
HISTORY
Volleyball was invented in 1895 by William G. Morgan, physical director of the Young Men’s
Christian Association (YMCA) in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was designed as an indoor sport for
businessmen who found the new game of basketball too vigorous. Morgan called the sport
“MINTONETTE,” until a professor from Springfield College in Massachusetts noted the volleying
nature of play and proposed the name of “volleyball.” The original rules were written 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, 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 Collegiate Athletic
Association (NCAA). The first nationwide tournament in the United States was conducted by the
National YMCA Physical Education Committee in New York City in 1922. The United States
Volleyball Association (USVBA) was formed in 1928 and recognized as the rules-making,
governing body in the United States. From 1928 the USVBA—now known as USA Volleyball
(USAV)—has conducted annual national men’s and senior men’s (age 35 and older) volleyball
championships, except during 1944 and 1945. Its women’s division was started in 1949, and a
senior women’s division (age 30 and older) was added in 1977. Other national events in the
United States are conducted by member groups of the USAV such as the YMCA and the NCAA.
(https://www.britannica.com/sports/volleyball)
BASIC VOLLEYBALL RULES
- 6 players on the floor at any one time - 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row
- Points are made on every serve for winning team of rally (rally-point scoring).
- Player may not hit the ball twice in succession. (A block is not considered a hit.)
- Ball may be played off the net during a volley and on a serve.
- A ball is out if it hits an antenna, the floor completely outside the court, any of the net
or cables outside the antennae, the referee stands or pole, the ceiling above a non-
playable area.
- A player cannot block or attack a serve from on or inside the 10-foot line.
- After the serve, front-line players may switch positions at the net.
- Matches are made up of sets; the number depends on level of play. 3-set matches are 2
sets to 25 points and a third set to 15. Each set must be won by two points. The winner
is the first team to win 2 sets. 5-set matches are 4 sets to 25 points and fifth set to 15.
The team must win by 2 unless tournament rules dictate otherwise. The winner is the
first team to win three sets.
(https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/basic-volleyball-rules-and-terminology/)
BASIC VOLLEYBALL RULE VIOLATIONS
- When serving, the player steps on or across the service line as while making contact
with the ball.
- Ball-handling errors. Contacting the ball illegally (double touching, lifting, carrying,
throwing, etc.)
- Touching the net with any part of the body while the ball is in play.
- When blocking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, it’s illegal to contact the ball
when reaching over the net if both your opponent has not used 3 contacts AND they
have a player there to make a play on the ball.
- When attacking a ball coming from the opponent’s court, contacting the ball when
reaching over the net is a violation if the ball has not yet broken the vertical plane of the
net.
- Crossing the court centerline with any part of your body is a violation. Exception: if it is
the hand or foot. In this case, the entire hand or entire foot must cross for it to be a
violation.
- Back-row player blocking (deflecting a ball coming from the opponent) when, at the
moment of contact, the back-row player is near the net and has part of his/her body
above the top of the net. This is an illegal block.
- Back-row player attacking a ball inside the front zone (the area inside the 3M/10-foot
line) when, at the moment of contact, the ball is completely above the net. This is an
illegal attack.
(https://www.theartofcoachingvolleyball.com/basic-volleyball-rules-and-terminology/)
Playing Area
In the vast majority of cases, indoor volleyball is played in a multi-
purpose gymnasium either at a school or university, and the court
lines are superimposed on the floor along with basketball,
badminton, handball, and so forth. In national and world-level
competition, the court surface is usually dedicated only to the sport
of volleyball.
Court
No matter the venue, the court dimensions are as follows:
The main goal of the free zone is to provide a safe area for players
to play the ball – stands for spectators, equipment and so forth
should not be in this area except for the volleyball net stands, the
referee stand, etc.
Variations
1.
1.
High school and University: at least 2 meters, 3
meters is preferable.
National / FIVB: minimum 3 meters, with a
minimum of 5 m from the side lines and 6.5 m from the end
lines for world and official tournaments.
Net Height
The official heights for the nets vary for men and women, but of
course you want to have success early on for beginner players so
by all means feel free to adjust the net height.
1.
1.
Men – 2.43 meters
Women – 2.24 meters
Variations
Below age 15, you can use:
1.
1.
Boys and Girls ages 13-14 – 2.24 meters
Boys and Girls ages 11-12 – 2.13 meters
Boys and Girls ages 10 and under – 1.98 meters
Serving Rules
The Actual Serve
The server must toss (i.e. release the ball), and then must contact
the ball behind the end line in the service area located behind Zone
1 (usually a 3 meter wide area). Neither foot may touch the line
during the contact. In the case of a jump serve, the jump takeoff
must be behind the line as well.
No Screening Allowed
The players on the serving team must not arrange themselves on
the court in such a way as to block the view of the server or the
ball, nor wave their hands or make other distracting movements.
variations
There are some minor volleyball rule differences regarding the
toss before the serve.
In FIVB, university and high school matches, the server must hit the
ball within 8 seconds after the referee whistles for service, and only
one toss is allowed.
For players under age 14 (i.e. middle school), the time is 5 seconds
from the whistle, but the server may have a second toss if the first
one was not effective, and lands without touching the server.
If the serving team wins the rally and maintains the serve, the
players on each team MUST go back to their original zones for the
service (then are able to move again).
This order must be maintained throughout the set.
Variations
According to volleyball rules, high school and middle school teams
will often play in a three-team round robin format, especially if
there are many teams in a league and court / gym venues are
limited in the area.
In this case, two teams play while the third team watches (or
perhaps is in another area practicing). There is some leeway in the
rules to play such that a match of 3 sets may be played, with all sets
to 25 points.
3. The ball must be hit cleanly – in other words, the ball cannot be
cradled, carried, caught, thrown, or directed. The ball must
rebound clearly off the player.
4. During the serve, the server’s foot may not touch the end line
during contact with the ball. The server’s teammates may not block
the opponent’s view of the server, the ball, the trajectory of the ball,
and so on, nor can they distract the opposing team.
5. The ball may be played within the court area, the free zone, and
beyond the free zone. It the latter instance, this area is called a
“non-playing area” and must be able to be safely navigated.
Variations
Middle and high school players, and university players must be
touching the playable surface to legally play a ball over a non-
playable area.
For FIVB players, the ball may be retrieved from beyond the free
zone when the surface change is lower by ½” or less, and the area
is free of obstructions.
If this condition does NOT exist, then a player must be touching the
playable surface to play a ball over a non-playing area. This
accounts for specific volleyball venues that may have a raised
playing surface.
During the Rally
At The Net
Variations
Middle and high school players can touch opponent’s court with
feet or hands, provided some part of the extremity is on or above
the center line. Contacting the floor across the centerline with any
other part of the body is a fault.
University and FIVB players can touch opponent’s court with feet
or hands, provided some part of extremity is on or above the
centerline.
Players may also touch the opponent’s court with an entire foot or
hand or any other body part(s), provided the encroachment does
not present a safety hazard, does not interfere with the opponents,
and some body part is on/over the center line.
6. In blocking, a player may not touch the ball beyond the net and
interfere with the opponent’s play before or during the opponent’s
attack hit.
3. A back-row player may not complete an attack hit from the front
zone, if at the moment of the hit the ball is entirely higher than the
top of the net.
5. A player may not hit the ball within the playing space of the
opposing team.
The Block
1.
A point and service awarded to the opponent.
The player positions must be corrected.
Substitutions
Players in the starting rotation may be substituted with other
players from the team, with certain restrictions.
1.
The offending team is penalized with a point
and service to the opponent, and the substitution must be
rectified.
The points scored by the team at fault since
the fault was committed are cancelled, while the
opponent’s points remain valid.
The Libero
You may recall that the Librero position is a designated defensive
specialist on the team. There is one Librero designated per set, per
team, in middle school, high school and university levels while the
FIVB allows up to 2 Libreros designated per set (with only one
Librero allowed on the court at any one time).
Libero Replacement
(https://www.volleyballadvice.com/volleyball-rules-regulations/)