Main Rules of Volleyball
Know the main rules of Volleyball. The main rules about the volleyball court and net, rotation and movements allowed in the game of Volleyball.
What is the Volleyball Court size?
The volleyball court is a rectangle and is 18 meters (59 feet) long and 9 meters (29.5 feet) wide.
The lines on the court are 5 centimeters (2 inches) wide.
What is the Volleyball net height?
- The height of the women’s volleyball net is 2.24 meters (7.35 feet) and the height of the men’s volleyball net is 2.43 meters (7.97 feet).
- The posts are 2.55 m (8.35 ft) high and are placed 0.5 m (1.7 ft) to 1 m (3.3 ft) outside the sidelines of the court.
- The volleyball net is 1 meter (3.3 feet) wide and 9.50 meters (31.2 feet) to 10 meters (32.8 feet) long.
How many players are there in a Volleyball team?
A complete Volleyball team has 12 players, with 6 players on court.
How many sets are there in a Volleyball match?
- A volleyball match has a minimum of 3 sets and a maximum of 5 sets.
- The team which first scores 25 points, with a difference of 2 points with respect to the other team, wins a set.
- If the game is tied at 24-24, the set will continue beyond 25 points, until one of the teams builds a two-point lead over the other and wins the set.
- The team who first wins 3 sets, wins the match.
- In the event of a tie at 2 sets each team, a 15-point tiebreak set is played.
- The team that first scores 15 points, with a two-point lead over the opposing team, wins both the tiebreak set and the match.
Positions and Rotation in Volleyball
- Three players must be positioned in the Attack Zone or Front Zone, position 4 (at the left side of the net), position 3 (at the center of the net), position 2 (at the right side of the net).
- And three players must occupy the Back Zone of the court: position 5 (at the left side of the backcourt), position 6 (at the center of the backcourt) and position 1 (at the right side of the backcourt).
Rotation in Volleyball
The order of rotation in Volleyball is defined by the team’s starting line-up in each set.
When the team that is RECEIVING the Serve wins the Rally, it gains the right to serve, and its players must rotate one position clockwise.
The player that was in position 2 goes to position 1, the player that was in position 1 goes to position 6, the player that was in position 6 goes to position 5, and so forth, until all of the players have advanced one position clockwise.
Important note! The player that occupied position 2 and advanced to position 1 will, necessarily, be responsible for the Serve that follows.
Hits by the Team
A team may touch the ball up to 3 times before sending it back to the opposing team. At blocking, the touch does not count as a touch by the team.
Double Contact Fault in Volleyball
A player may not hit the ball twice in succession. At blocking, the touch does not count as the first touch by the player.
Ball Carrying or Extended Contact in Volleyball
It is not allowed to push or throw the ball, it must be rebound or hit..
Penetration above the Net in Volleyball
Only during the action of blocking it is permitted to penetrate into the opponent’s court above the net.
Penetration under the net in Volleyball
It is permitted to penetrate into the opponent’s court under the net in the following situations:
- without interfering in the opponent’s play;
- maintaining part of the feet on or above the central line of the court.
Contact with the Volleyball net
- Contact with the net by a player, between the antennae, is always considered a fault, if it occurs during a playing action.
- When the ball touches the net and causes it to touch a player, it is not considered a fault.
- Touching the posts, the ropes that hold the net or the net itself is not considered a fault if it is done outside the limits of the antennae.