Understand what is a Positional Foult in Volleyball and what are the consequences of a position foul in the Volleyball game.
Volleyball Rotation Positions
At the moment the ball is hit by the server, each player, except the server, must be positioned within his court, according to the rotation order established before the beginning of the set.
The rotation positions of the players on the court are numbered as follows:
Three players along the length of the net form the front line and occupy positions 4 (front-left), 3 (center front) and 2 (front-right);
The remaining three form the back row, occupying positions 5 (back-left), 6 (back-centre) and 1 (back-right).
Corresponding Positions in Volleyball
Each player on the back row (defense zone or back row) should be positioned further away from the center line than his corresponding player on the front row. E.g.: Position 6 and position 3.
The players on the front line (attack zone) and those on the back line (defense zone), respectively, must be positioned laterally so as not to violate the rotation positions between them.
The players’ positions are determined and controlled according to the position of their foot contact with the ground (the last contact with the ground fixes the player’s position) as follows:
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Each player in the back row must be level or have at least part of his foot farther from the center line than the front foot of the corresponding front row player;
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Each player on the right (left) side must be on the same level or have at least part of one foot closer to the right (left) sideline than the feet farther from the right (left) sideline of the other players on the same line.
After the serving stroke, the players can move freely within their court as well as in the free zone.
The Positional Foult in Volleyball
A team commits a positional foult in volleyball if a player does not occupy his correct position when the ball is hit by the server. For example: if the player from position 6 is closer to the center line of the court than the player from position 3.
If the server commits a foul at the time of the service stroke, it overrides the position foul.
If the service becomes faulty after the server’s strike, the position fault overrides the Service fault.
Consequences of Positional Foult in Volleyball
The team that commits a positional foult in Volleyball is sanctioned with one point and the opposing team will have the right to the next serve.
In addition, the positioning of the players on the fouled team must be corrected.