Volley ball rules

Volley ball is an exciting sport played by two teams. The aim of volley ball is to land the ball into the opposing side’s playing area in order to score points. It is a basically simple game and is enjoyed by many people playing casually or at a competitive level. However volley ball is also an Olympic sport, and so has an extensive list of rules and strategies as laid down by the governing volley ball body, the FIVB – the Fédération Internationale de Volleyball.

Volley ball can be played either in an indoors court or outside, and one of the most popular variations of the game is beach volley ball where a drop dead gorgeous bikini or flattering pair of Speedos is the usual beach volley ball dress code!

Volley ball is usually played by teams of six players although other variations, such as a single player game and playing in pairs are also standard.

According to FIVB rules, the height of the volley ball net should be set at 7ft 4ins (225cms) for women’s’ games and 8ft (243cms) for men. The size of the volley ball court for both indoor and outdoor games should be 29ft 6 inches x 59ft (or 18 m x 9 metres).

Playing a simple volley ball game in the garden or at the beach is easy. As long as a boundary is roughly marked out and the net erected, two teams of an equal amount of players can enjoy a lively and competitive game of volley ball. For this purpose the rules in this guide are simplified and mainly follow the rules of beach volley ball.

A player on one of the volley ball teams begins by serving the ball from behind the back boundary line of the court, over the net and into the opposing team’s side of the court.

The opposing volley ball team must not let the ball touch the ground and can either return the ball directly (as in a tennis game) or pass it to another team member in order to set up the best possible return shot.

Each volley ball team may touch or pass the ball to each other twice before returning the ball over the net on the third touch. Usually the ball is passed twice to other team members in order to set up an attack. A volley ball attack or spike is when the ball is directed at force back over the net so that the opposing team is unable to stop it from hitting the ground in their side of the court.

A feature of volley ball is the rally which is when both teams hit the ball back and forth to each other before one is able to strike a killer shot. The team that eventually wins the rally is awarded a point and gets to serve next.

If a team commits a fault the point is awarded to the opposing team who then gets to serve. Common faults include:

• Catching and throwing the ball
• Double hit – where the same player makes two consecutive contacts with the ball
• Four contacts with the ball made by the same team.
• The ball is hit outside of the court boundary and touches the ground.
• The ball passes under the net to the opposing volley ball team’s area.

Beach volley ball is played up to 21 points for each set and matches are usually made up of three sets, with the winners being the team that wins two sets. To win a set, 21 points has to be reached with a clear two point advantage. If the volley ball match needs to go to a third tiebreaker set, then the first team to reach 15 with a 2 point advantage is the winner.

Indoor volley ball matches play up to 25 points played over 3 to 5 sets using the same rule of a 2 point advantage being necessary to win the set.

In outdoor or beach volley ball, teams should change ends regularly. This is to prevent any advantage or disadvantage of playing looking towards the sun. Volley ball teams change their playing side once a combined total score of 7 points is reached and this rule applies for both the first and second sets.

For example if one team has 6 points and the other team 7, adding up to 13 points in total, the next point won will cause the teams to change playing ends. If the volley ball game reaches a third set, the teams will change ends on the combined score of 5.

The volley ball team that wins a point, will make the next serve. If the same team had also won the previous point, the same team player serves again. If the team did not win the previous point and have won the service anew, then the server should change.

In indoor volley ball matches all the players rotate in clockwise direction around their side of the court, each time there is a change of service, but for casual games and beach volley ball, this is not the case.

However all players should take turns to serve and there is an order of serving that should be followed.

There are many different types of serve used in volleyball. The idea of a successful volleyball serve is to make a shot difficult for the opposing team to return or to score immediately – this is called an ace. Two simple serving techniques include the underhand serve in which the player holds the volley ball at waist level and strikes the ball from below, and the overhand serve, where the player throws the volley ball up in the air and hits it from above shoulder level. However there are numerous shots and techniques that can be employed to make a volley ball power serve or spin shot.

The underarm pass, sometimes called the bump is a regular volleyball passing technique. The hands are clasped together and the ball is passed by using the lower arms to bat it from below. The volley ball can also be batted by the palms of the hands or the fingertips in a pushing motion.

This is an attacking volley ball shot used to try and score a point by landing the ball in the opponents court. A typical spike will involve the player jumping to gain height over the volley ball net and then smashing the ball down into the opposing team’s area.

The dig is a defensive shot, usually made to prevent the volley ball from touching the floor. The player gets down low and propels the ball upwards in a digging motion. Sometimes a volley ball player will dive to achieve this and to save a point from being lost. Care has to be taken when diving in volley ball so that the player does not injure himself.

A block is a rehearsed move in which a group of players will all jump together with arms outstretched at the net to prevent the volley ball from being sent over the net. This can block the ball completely by sending it back over the net or will alter the force and direction of the path of the volley ball.

This is a rather spectacular looking move. Volleyball players use a series of secret signals to instruct their team mates when and how to block.

Volley ball is a great game that can be enjoyed by all levels of players. Equally popular with both men and women, volley ball has a wide appeal and fashionable image that seems likely to endure for many years to come.