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1. Improve Your Volleyball with Coach April
2. Volleyball Serving Rules
3. The Rules of Volleyball

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. 

The Rules of Volleyball: Learn The Volleyball Basics On How To Play. Its very important that you Learn the rules of volleyball before stepping on the court (Andy Wilkes)

So you're interested in learning how to play volleyball?

First let's get you familiar with the rules of the volleyball game. Then you'll need to know the six basic skills before learning how to play volleyball.

Let's start with a simple list of the basic volleyball rules....

The Rules of Volleyball:When the ball travels back and forth over the net between the two teams that's called a rally or a volley

• Teams most commonly in school, club and international competition have 6 players vs 6 players or 2 players vs 2 players
• Each team can only contact the ball three times and the third contact must go over the net
• When the ball travels back and forth over the net between the two teams that's called a rally or a volley

The Rules of Volleyball: Each team can only contact the ball three times and the third contact must go over the net (Shaun Calhoun)

The Rally, The Referee, The Court

• A rally starts when the head official, usually placed on one end of the net on a referee stand across from a second official on the opposite end of the net, blows the whistle to indicate to the team that's serving, that their server can serve the ball over the net to start the rally
• The team that serves the ball is the team on defense
• The team that receives the ball is the team on offense
• On each team's court, there's a front row and a back row which is separated by a ten foot line also called the 3 meter line

Learning The Rules of Volleyball: The Front Row is marked in red on both sides of the court.

• Three players on a team stay in the front court and three players stay in the back court. 
• During a rally, players cannot switch from front court to back court. 
• 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
• In addition to front row and back row, there are six invisible zones on each court. 
  
  

The Rules of Volleyball: In the back row the right back area is Zone 1, the middle back area of the back row is Zone 6, the left back area is Zone 5, (LT Mayers)

• In the back row the right back area is Zone 1, the middle back area of the back row is Zone 6, the left back area is Zone 5, 
• Moving up to front row the left front area starting from inside the ten foot line to the net is called Zone 4, moving to the right to the middle of the net area is Zone 3 and again moving clockwise to the right is Zone 2. 
• Players rotate clockwise every time their team wins the rally. The player who rotates to Zone 1 is the player who serves to start the rally. Teams do not rotate until they win a rally

The Rules of Volleyball: To win a rally one team must put the ball down on an open spot on the opposing team's court floor without committing a fault

Errors, Points, Rotations and Scoring

• To win a rally one team must put the ball down on an open spot on the opposing team's court floor without committing a fault
• An error also known as a fault, occurs when a player touches the net, hits the ball out of bounds, commits a ball handling error, a service error like serving the ball in the net or any other action not permitted according to official volleyball rules. 
• Each time a team wins a rally they get a point and the right to serve.
• To win a game/set a team must be the first to score 25 points. 
• A team must win a set by two points ahead of the opposing team
• To win a match, a team must win three out of five games or sets or two out of three games/sets.
• International, high school and club matches are usually three out of five game matches while beach matches are two out of three game matches. 
• If teams are tied after playing four matches, then a tie break match is played to 15 in three out of five game matches. 
• During tie-break matches, half way through the match when the first team gets to 7, the teams will switch sides so both teams play on both sides during this shorter match.
  

For beginners plunging into the popular and fast-growing world of volleyball, understanding the rules of volleyball might seem a bit intimidating at first.

Say less, because I've got you covered. The section below answers some of the most frequently asked questions, asked by newbies and junior players when starting out.

By answering these seven questions I dive into the finer points of the game, highlighting what's legal, how the scoring works, and other aspects of the game beginners need to know.

Let's dive into these questions and help you master the rules so you can confidently continue your new journey in volleyball.

Illegal actions in volleyball refer to any actions that are not permitted according to official volleyball rules.

Some of the most common are:

• touching the net
• reaching over the net to hit the ball (unless in the act of blocking), 
• back row players attacking the ball above the height of the net while inside the front zone, 
• hitting the ball twice in succession (unless in a single attempt to play the ball)
• kicking the ball (in indoor volleyball). Also, a player cannot enter or cross the boundary lines until the player has made a play.

Yes, you can hit the ball with a closed fist because it is legal.

This is often seen when a beginner player is serving the ball in order to create more power on the ball with an underhand serve or if they're making an underhand pass because they haven't learned the proper technique yet.

However, it's important to make sure that the ball contact is clean, without any prolonged contact like lifting the ball or carrying the ball, because these actions are considered faults, which are reasons for the referee to blow their whistle.

3. How do you score in volleyball?

Scoring in volleyball occurs when a team wins a rally.

A rally is won when one team manages to land the ball on the opponent's court, or when the opposing team commits a fault or error.

This could involve

• hitting the ball out of bounds,
• committing a service error (like serving the ball into the net), or 
• a player touching the net

Each time a team wins a rally, they earn a point and the right to serve.

In volleyball, no part of the body is allowed to touch the net during play, except for the hair.

In other words, incidental contact of your hair with the net does not mean its a fault, or a reason for the referee to whistle against your team.

This happens a lot when a blocker wearing a ponytail lands from a block jump and turns to transition back behind the ten foot line to get into position to attack. 

But any other contact such as with hands, shoulders or feet is considered a net violation and results in a point being awarded to the opposing team.

In beach volleyball, you are allowed to kick the ball.

And yes also in indoor volleyball, Yes, you can!

In volleyball, any part of your body can legally come into contact with the ball, including your feet. However, players normally use their hands and arms as they offer better control.

In volleyball, cards are issued by the referee to penalize misconduct from players or coaches.

A yellow card serves as a warning and no points are deducted.

A red card results in a point and serve for the opposing team.

Yes, a team must win a set by at least two points. This rule is in place to allow for the potential of a "see-saw" set where teams can rally back and forth indefinitely until one team has a two-point lead.

If the score reaches a 24-24 tie, play continues until a team leads by two points. It doesn't matter how long this takes, the game goes on until this happens.

This rule applies to all levels of volleyball, from recreational play to the professional leagues and international competitions.

Great!

Now that we've discussed a few simple game rules, let's review the basic skills you need to know before learning how to play volleyball. 

What you just read was just  a warmup!

Just like in volleyball practice, you do a little stretching to warm up your muscles before getting into the real meaty part of practice.

Here.... you go through a light review of everything before you really begin to dig deep and take each rule, each position, each skill and really explore it, learn to do tons of reps and go over each drill repeatedly until you get it right. 

Read...  How To Play Volleyball and Win to get started...

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April Chapple is an elite private volleyball trainer, former USA National Team member, and University of Tennessee Hall of Fame inductee who has coached in Las Vegas for 15+ years, training hundreds of athletes and helping numerous players reach college volleyball, including Division I standouts.

She's also the head coach for girls and boys 18s at Squad VBC and offers coaches consulting on technical teaching and player development. Connect with April on LinkedIn or at ImproveYourVolley.com, where her eye for overlooked talent sets her apart.

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Ready to energize your volleyball mom journey?

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