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.

Learn The Basic Rules of Volleyball All Varsity Players Should Know

Basic rules of volleyball are 6 players on a team, 3 in the front row and 3 in the backrow a rally begins with a referee whistle blow and 3 contacts per side.

During a rally a front row player can switch positions with a front row player on her team only after the head referee has blown the whistle to start the rally. (Craig Fildes)

With six players on a team, 3 stay in the front court and 3 in the backrow.

A rally begins with a head referee whistle blow and three contacts are allowed to each side.

Rules of Volleyball: A rally begins with a head referee whistle blow and three contacts are allowed to each side.

Players cannot switch from front court to back court.

A front row player can switch positions with a front row player on her team only after the head referee has blown the whistle to start the rally. (L. Mayer)

During a rally a front row player can switch positions with a front row player on her team only after the head referee has blown the whistle to start the rally.

Rules of Volleyball: The Rally

In the traditional game of six players vs. six players, a rally begins when one of the teams sends the ball over the net with a serve from their endline into the opponent's court and the opponent subsequently sends it back over the net on the first, second or third contact.

A rally begins when one of the teams sends the ball over the net with a serve from their endline into the opponent's court. (Ralph Aversen)

A rally continues when the teams are able to keep the ball from hitting the ground on their own court while sending it back and forth over the net.

Once the ball hits the floor the rally ends.

The two teams competing in the rally are composed of six players each, both facing each other from opposing sides of a net

The official net height for women is 7 feet 4 5/8 inch.

The official net height for men is 7 feet 11 1/8 inch.

The person who starts in or who has rotated to Zone One which is the right back position on each court is the server and initiates the rally by contacting the ball, so that it goes directly over the net into the opponent's court.

The server initiates the rally by contacting the ball, so that it goes directly over the net into the opponent's court. (Al Case)

A team is allowed to contact the ball a total of three times in their attempt to return the ball to the opponent's court during the rally.

Rules of Volleyball
Scoring: Four Ways A Team Can Score A Point

Rules of Volleyball: When can a team score a point?: When the ball they attack hits the floor inside the court of the opposing Team B during a rally.....find out more rules on Improve Your Volleyball.com

When can a team score a point?

Team A can score a point if:

the ball they attack hits the floor inside the court of the opposing Team B during a rally

the ball of the opposing Team B travels outside of the designated boundaries without any of Team A's players contacting it

Team B fails to return it to Team A's court in three contact attempts

if any member of Team B commits a fault

Rules of Volleyball
Common Faults Committed in Competition

What's a fault?

A fault is an error committed during a playing action. It's an action not permitted in competition as described by volleyball game rules.

When a team commits a fault, the opposing team gets the point and the right to serve the next ball.

The following actions are described as volleyball faults...

When a team commits a fault, the opposing team gets the point and the right to serve the next ball.

If the ball lands outside of the court, or in the same court as the team that touched it last
if the ball touches the "antennas"

If the ball passes outside the antennas even if it lands in the opponents court

If the ball is contacted more than three times before being sent to the other team's court because the same player touched the ball two times in a row

If a player "holds", "lifts" or "carries" the ball resulting in the ball remaining in contact with the player's body for too long or resulting in the ball coming to a complete stop

If a player touches the net with any part of the body or clothing (except her hair) while making a play on the ball
If the players on the team receiving serve don't touch the ball before it lands in their half of the court

If a backrow player tries to block an opposing team's attack by reaching above the top of the net
If a libero, a designated back row player jumps and attacks the ball, while the ball is above the top of the net

Rules Of Volleyball
Scoring; More Ways To Score Points

The traditional way of keeping score is called sideout scoring.

This was the original way of determining how a team earned their points.

With sideout scoring only the team that served the ball was able to score a point, so each team rallied to earn the right to serve the ball.

In the Rally Point System, the team that is in serve receive can earn a point if they win the rally.

The team that wins the rally

receives a point
they earn the right to serve the ball
they are required to rotate one position

A beginner's explanation of Olympic Volleyball Rules.

Watch this short video tutorial guide on how to play Volley ball under Olympic and FIVB rules.

Rules of Volleyball:
Where Do You Go From Here?

Fun stuff! Where do you need to go now? Here are your options:

Learn more about the Rules .
Follow the suggested reading on our Sitemap Learning How To Play (Sitemap)
Or visit the pages in the Volleyball 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
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.
Basic Beach Volleyball Rules New Sand Volleyball Players Need To Know
Here are some basic beach volleyball rules for setting, defense, passing, serving and more that will get you started on your beach volleyball education.

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

April Chapple

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