15 club volleyball tryout tips from a Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee and elite club coach who's helped hundreds of athletes navigate tryouts successfully.

Basic Volleyball Rules and Regulations For Scoring, Rotation Serving and the Court

Beginner players get their frequently asked questions answered since they're trying to understand the basic volleyball rules when starting their playing career.

2017 NCAA Champion Nebraska Huskers court - photo by Manoosh - These questions about basic volleyball rules usually concern queries about what the various lines on the court mean, what's legal and allowed when contacting the ball, and what is illegal when touching or not touching the ball when competing, how does scoring work, and much more.

2017 NCAA Champion Nebraska Huskers court - photo by Manoosh - These questions about basic volleyball rules usually concern queries about court lines, what's legal and what's illegal when competing, how does scoring work, and much more. Photo by Manoosh

These questions usually concern queries about what the various lines on the court mean, what's legal and allowed when contacting the ball, and what is illegal when touching or not touching the ball when competing, how does scoring work, and much more.

Article At A Glance

Discover the essential aspects of playing volleyball with this comprehensive guide to the basic volleyball rules about the volleyball court, the lines on the court and the volleyball net.
Learn about the officials, the referees are the people that officiate the games during your tournaments and school competitions
Discover the basic volleyball rules starting from the number of players allowed on both teams, what the role of a captain is and what is the libero position about

Get a better understanding of what a game, a set, and what a match is in addition to how points are scored
Get a better grasp of what to expect during a volleyball match from the point scoring process to what actions are considered legal and what are illegal.

Even though there are different disciplines of the sport like two person vs. two person, four player vs four player, these rules focus on the six person vs. six person style normally played in high school and collegiate matches and competition.

Basic Volleyball Rules about the
Court, the Net, the Antenna

Basic Volleyball Rules: Each team plays on a half court 30 x 30 feet. The two half courts are divided by a net.

Each team plays on a half court 30 x 30 feet
The two half courts are divided by a net
The full court on which two teams compete against each other is 30 feet by 60 feet

The two sidelines are the longest boundaries on the court
The two endlines are the shortest boundaries on the court and they connect the sidelines
The centerline runs under and parallel to the net and divides the full court into two half courts.
A ten foot line appears on both half courts and divides each half court into one third which marks the front court area commonly called the front row

Basic Volleyball Rules: NFHS Court Diagram

Net height for high school girls is 7' 4 1/8
Net height for high school boys is 7' 11 5/8"
Two antennae are placed on each end of the net over the sidelines marking the vertical boundary of the court

Basic Volleyball Officiating and Rules about the Officials

Basic Volleyball Rules: The first referee calls the game from an elevated stand watching for common volleyball faults, calls volleyball fouls, assigns points and sideouts.

The first referee

calls the game from an elevated stand watching for common volleyball faults
calls volleyball fouls, assigns points and sideouts
final decision maker on questionable plays
assigns violations and issues red or yellow cards
calls timeouts when requested properly
watches the top of the net for adults during play
runs the coin toss between captains and instructs them about basic pre-game rules and rituals
check scoresheet and sign it

Improve Your Volleyball - Meet VolleyBragSwag's Referee Panda Monium

Second referee

Calls the game from the opposite side of the net across from the first referee while standing on the ground
monitors each team's rotation order while in serve receive
monitors scoring table, score and scoresheet
watches action on the bottom of the net
monitors substitution zone and libero entry and exit
checks scoresheet and signs it at end of the match

Basic Volleyball Game Rules

Basic Volleyball Rule: 3 players are allowed in the front row and 3 are backcourt players. Each team has 1 libero allowed to be on the court during a rally (ASR Photo)

A team can hold a roster of 12 -14 players
Only 6 players can be on the court to compete
Three (3) players are allowed in the front row and three (3) are backcourt players
Each team has one libero allowed to be on the court during a rally
Each team needs 1-2 players designated as a captain
Only the captain(s) represents the team during the coin toss to determine who serves first and when talking to the referee during a rally

Basic Volleyball Rules

A volleyball match is played with the best 2 sets out of 3 or the best 3 sets out of 5
A set is a game played between two teams until one team scores 25 points first
The winner of a match is the first team to win two sets out of three or three sets out of five
If playing a five set match, a team can lose 2 sets in a row but must win the remaining three sets to be declared winner of the match
At the end of playing four sets, if both teams are tied at two sets apiece a tie break set is played. The winner of the tie break set, is the winner of the match
Tie break matches are played to 15. The team that scores 15 points first, wins the match
In some competitions, when the first team scores seven points, the teams must switch sides before play is allowed to continue

Teams use rally scoring during competition where the team that wins the rally regardless of who serves wins a point

Basic Volleyball Rules: Teams use rally scoring during competition where the team that wins the rally regardless of who serves wins a point (White and Blue Review)

Basic Volleyball Rules
Legal Volleyball Hits

A player can score a point by contacting the ball with any part of their body,

Basic Volleyball Rules
Can a player contact the ball more than once?

Only one consecutive contact is permitted per player.
A player cannot contact the ball twice in a row.

The ball can contact the net and be played off the net during a rally
A player in the backrow can attack hit a ball as long as they take off from behind the ten foot line
A backrow hitter can land in front of the ten foot line as long as they have contacted the ball before they land in the front row
A setter can attack hit a ball as long as she is in the front row

Basic Volleyball Rules: A backrow hitter can land in front of the ten foot line as long as they have contacted the ball before they land in the front row (Michael E. Johnston)

A ball is out if:

it contacts the antenna before going out
it lands anywhere outside of the opposing team's court without being touched or landing on a boundary line

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Private or semiprivate volleyball indoor/sand lessons are an excellent way for young Las Vegas high school volleyball players to quickly improve their individual skills through a private or semi-private coaching experience. These lessons are conducted by former pro volleyball player, former USA Volleyball High Performance instructor and Evaluator and Tstreet Vegas 18s head Coach April Chapple on a weekly basis. Sign up now!

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I share alot of individual, partner and easy-to-do volleyball serving drills we do in class with my followers.

Many of these volleyball practice drills you can do at home by yourself or try at your next practice with your teammates.

If you're a B team or JV player trying to make varsity next year...your goal should be to complete 1000 reps a day of at least three of the basic skills on your own...volleyball passing, serving and setting should be at the top of the list.

Volleyball Rules:
Where Do You Go From Here?

Where do you need to go now?

Here are three options:

Learn more about Basic Volleyball Rules.
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap page Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the Rules section in the drop down menu at the top of the page.

Learn more from these volleyball rules pages!

Volleyball Serving Rules What Are The Rules When Serving A Volleyball?
Learn important volleyball serving rules and answers to basic serving volleyball questions about what's legal when serving a ball from behind the service line.
Dear Volleyball Mom Here's Why Volleyball Officials Are So Important!
Let me explain what the volleyball officials, referees, linesmen and scorers duties and responsibilities are during an official game or match or tournament.
What Are Beach Volleyball Rules For Setting? Bump Set Or Hand Setting?
What are beach volleyball rules for setting in the sand and why do most beach players choose to bump set in volleyball instead of hand setting in the wind.
Volleyball Rotation Rules What Happens After Your Team Wins A Point?
Understand what the volleyball rotation rules are after your team has won a rally which means they won a point the right to rotate and the right to serve.
Whats An Ace in Volleyball And Can You Score Points When You Serve?
Whats an ace in volleyball? When you a score a direct point with a serve that hits the floor before the other team can pass play or get the ball over the net.
Volleyball Basic Rules Learn To Play Volleyball First Learn The Rules
Before you learn how to play volleyball if you plan on being a serious player you need be very familiar with volleyball basic rules about playing and scoring.
The Rules of Volleyball: Learn The Volleyball Basics On How To Play
Beginners learning how to play will need to quickly understand the basics for the rules of volleyball in addition to the skills and positions of the game.
3 Ways to Sideout in Volleyball Use The Setter Dump, Overpass and Kill
Did you know there are several ways to sideout in volleyball? Your team can sideout in a rally when you're in serve receive with a setter dump, overpass or kill
Learn The Basic Rules of Volleyball All Varsity Players Should Know
The rules of volleyball are 6 players per team, 3 in the front row and 3 in the backrow. A rally begins with a referee whistle blow and 3 contacts per side.
Legal Volleyball Hits Volleyball Hitting Rules For Outside Hitters
What are the legal volleyball hits that players can use in a game? The bump, set, attack hit, spike, the tip, the down ball and roll shot are legal attack hits.

If your athlete struggles with consistent serve receive, gets subbed out, or is overlooked for playing time—this is the fix you’ve been looking for.

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From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Honored At UTK Champions Weekend

Lady Vol volleyball legend and record holder Coach April Chapple a University of Tennessee, Knoxville Hall of Fame Inductee, 3-time All American, 3-time SEC Champion, SEC Tournament MVP, 2-time All SEC Team is celebrated with her 1984 SEC champion teammates at Neyland Stadium during Champions Weekend on November 1-2, 2024.

utkaprilcollegepiconneylandstadiumvideoboard

Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee, Coach April Chapple is

the first First Round Draft Pick for the first American pro indoor women's league
named to the first First Team All-Pro team for Major League Volleyball in USA volleyball history
former USA National team member
one of the few American women players named as an Italian Pro League D-I Championship Finalist, Italian Cup Finalist and Cup of Cups Tournament Finalist

April Chapple The first First round Draft Pick For Major League Volleyball the first American Women's Pro League Honored At Athlete Unlimited Pro Volleyball Match

Coach April's 2025 Private and Semi private Volleyball Training

Pre-Registration now open for 2025 Private and Semiprivate Training Sessions with Coach April . Get prepared for club tryouts or train with me during club season!

Email now for information on semiprivate or private indoor skills, individual or small group training volleyball classes and my Breakfast Club for College Players training for 2025.

Invest in your improvement while preepping for your next level and college goals while working hard and training smart.

Email me right now to register or for more information.

info@improveyourvolley.com

Serving slang is not just about individual techniques; it also relates to overall game strategy. A coach might instruct a player to serve a "short serve" or a "deep serve" to target specific areas of the opponent's court or exploit weaknesses in their serve receive formation.

Ari, my private training client and I are working specifically on serving on jump float cross court serves ...short to Zone 2

There's so much we work on to get to this point where she can contact the ball with

the same toss height and same toss location
the same armswing speed
the same timing for when her serving hand contacts the ball
the middle of the hand contacting the middle of the ball every single time
getting use to watching her serving hand contact the ball at the highest point of her jump ...before she starts to land
and finally contacting the ball in the precise spot on the ball so it goes where the coach wants the player to put it so in this case ..a short serve in the farthest short right corner on the court also called Zone 2.

kamiminerpac12setteroftheyearformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

Tommi Stockham All Big West Conference sophomore former Coach April Chapple private client 3 years

katepriorallwestcoastconferencebyufreshmanformercoachaprilchappleprivateclient3years

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Dear Vegas Parent

Read my open letter to Las Vegas Jr high/high school volleyball parents about my predictions on individual and small group volleyball training trends for 2019/2021

Tennessee Athletics Honors April Chapple at Champions Weekend for Legendary Volleyball Achievements

From Lady Vol to Legend: Coach April Produces Powerful Passionate Players...is that you?

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Congratulations to my seven Boys-18s Vegas Volley club players who played in two state championship finals yesterday, the 3A and 5A State champinship finals at Sunrise Mountain High School.

TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS!

A-1 Vegas Volley VBC

In It To Win It Tournament

May 2 - 4, 2025 Tournament

Gold Medalists

18s Premier Division

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Making A-1 Vegas Volleyball history as the very first TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS! In the In It To Win It Tournament, May 2-4, 2025 Tournament, A-1 Vegas Volleyball Club Gold Medalists, 18s Premier Division