Volleyball

TEAMS:

6 players on the court, however a team may play with one (5) or two less (4).

Specific rules for teams playing with 5 players:

• 1. Formation is 2 players in the back row, 3 players in the front row on the net.
• 2. The 2 back row players must abide by the rules for back row players. (See Hitting)
• 3. Team will rotate normally for service order.

Specific Rules for teams playing with 4 players:

• 1. There are no "back row" players.
• 2. All players are eligible to hit the ball from anywhere on the court.
• 3. The server will serve from the "middle back" position.

NET HEIGHT: The net will be set at a few inches below the men's height of 8 feet.

MATCH: A match will consist of three separate games (Sets). A team's total "Set" record will be used to determine who qualifies for the playoffs. This places equal importance on all three games.  (Ex. Team A beats Team B in set 1 and set 2, but loses in set 3, their record for the night is (2-1))

SCORING: Rally Scoring will be used.  Every time there is a kill, an out of bounds, or a call from the referee, a team will be awarded the point.  You do NOT have to serve the ball to earn a point.  Sets will be played to 25 points.  Teams must win by 2; there is no cap.

START OF MATCH: A coin toss with winner choosing either: serve or side of the court. Loser gets the remaining choice. Second game: the team that received serve in the first game will now serve first and both teams will switch sides. Third Game: If a team has lost both games they will serve. If a split has occurred, the team who served first the first game will serve. Teams will stay on the same sides on the third game.

SUBSTITUTIONS: Substitutions are allowed only when the ball is dead, and after the referee has signaled the sub(s) onto the court. All substitutions must be made within 10 seconds or the official will award the opponent a delay of game point. Only one request per team for substitutes is permitted per dead ball. Substitutes will take the position of the player that is leaving the game. There are unlimited substitutions. A player re-entering a game may only take their original position in the serving order.

ROTATION ON THE COURT: Rotation occurs when a receiving team has gained the right to serve. All players will rotate clockwise one position. Rotation does occur after the 1st sideout of the game.

TIME-OUT: Each team may use one time-out per game. The time-out is one minute long. Time-outs may only be requested by the captain on the court. The penalty for a second time-out is a point awarded to the opponent. A delay for an injury is an official's time-out.

SERVICE: One service tossing error will be permitted per service. The server may serve from anywhere behind the end line and within the sideline boundaries. WAIT FOR THE WHISTLE - then serve within 5 seconds. All players on the court must be in their proper rotation when the ball is served. The serve MAY hit the net, and if it lands on the opposing side unassisted, it is a legal serve. Serving out of turn results in loss of points and/or a side-out, depending on when it is discovered. Players may not: attack or block a served ball or screen the view of the server from opponent. After the serve, players may exchange positions for the play, a back row player may move to the front row to set, however, they may NOT block or spike in front of the attack line. When the ball becomes dead, all players must return to their original positions before the next serve is delivered.

PLAYING THE BALL: Maximum of 3 contacts per team. An attempt to block does not count as a contact. ALL CONTACTS with the ball must be clean and not held (including lifted, thrown, carried, pushed or caught). A player may not contact the ball twice in succession. Simultaneous contact of the ball by more than one player is considered one contact and either player may participate in the next contact. Any part of the body may be used for contact with the ball (including the foot) - as long as the contact is clean. COED: There is no rule regarding male/female sequence of hits.

CONTINUATION: An initial contact by a team that forces the ball out of bounds on the opposing side of the court MAY be played back to the initial team's side ONLY if it is played OUTSIDE of the antennas.

BLOCKING: The team that has partially blocked or tipped a ball, which remains live on their side of the court, has the right to a total of three other contacts in order to return the ball. The block or tip does not count as one of the team's three contacts. Any player may make the next contact with the ball. Double-contacts may occur during a single blocking action. A blocker's hands may break the plane of the net, BUT may NOT contact the ball until the opponent's have hit the ball in a return attempt. The blocker may NOT contact the net during the block attempt.  In order for the blocking team to earn a point, the blocked ball must land inside the court.  A block that hits the antenna, or lands out of bounds is a point for the hitting team.

OUT-OF-BOUNDS: A ball that hits on any boundary line is in-bounds. The entire ball must always pass over the net within the antennas to be in-bounds. A player cannot touch or catch a ball and call it out-of-bounds. The ball is dead if it touches anything outside of the court boundary lines. If the ball goes past the sidelines of the next court it is out-of-play. CEILING RULE: A ball that contacts the ceiling or any other overhead object is playable by the same team. You cannot play the ball into your opponent's court off the ceiling or an overhead object.   A ball that contacts either of the antennas is considered Out-Of-Bounds off of the last player to touch the ball.

CENTER LINE: The centerline is common ground for both teams. Any part of a player's body may touch the centerline. No player may cross the center line entirely.  In order to be called for a violation, the body part must by COMPLETELY over the center line.

VIOLATIONS:

-Contact with the net: No player may contact the net for any reason.  Contact with the net will result in a whistle, and the opposing team will receive the side out.

-Lift: Contacting the ball with your hand palms up, contacting the ball with 2 hands palms up below your waist.  The ball must not come to rest or be "lifted". 

-Throw: Contacting the ball from behind your head and "throwing" the ball instead of firm contact will result in a violation.

-Back Row Attack:  Players in the back row may attack the ball ONLY if they jump from behind the 10 foot line.  Jumping to contact the ball in the front row as a back row player will result in a violation.

-Serving out of order will result in a violation.

-Stepping on the end line during the service will result in a violation.

PLAYOFFS: The team with the best overall record at the end of the regular season will advance to the single elimination playoff bracket. Ex. A team that plays 5 regular season matches (3 games each) could finish with a 12-3 record. Playoff Format: will follow a traditional volleyball format - "Best of 3" games (25 pts, win by 2) with the Final Four being Best of 5.