Volleyball is a sport where two teams face each other across a raised net and hit, or volley, a large ball back and forth to each other. Volleyball is governed by a set of official rules that ensure a fair match for each team. The rules specify the number of players, the number of contacts with the ball, the size of the court and the specifications of the equipment.
Rules
Each team has six players with three players in the front row and three in the back row. To begin a new point, a player serves the ball to the opposing team. The serve can be overhand or underhand and is made from any position behind the back line of the court. The served ball can touch the net before dropping to the other side. A serve cannot be returned by an attack, an offensive shot designed to hit the ball in such a way that the other team cannot return the ball. Each team's players rotate clockwise each time they win the serve.
After a successful serve, the receiving team can contact the ball a maximum of three times before returning the ball to the opposite team. Each player cannot hit the ball twice in a row unless one of the touches is a block, which does not count as a ball contact. If two players hit the ball at the same time it counts as one play and either player can make the next ball contact.
A ball will be considered to be "in" if it hits within the playing area or if it hits court lines. A ball may be hit off the net if it hits the net between court lines. A ball is ruled "out" if the ball lands outside the boundary lines without touching an opponent. If the ball hits the ceiling it is considered "out" except in U.S. high schools and colleges where the ball remains in play if the ball hits the ceiling above the playable area.
According to Volleyballadvisors.com, it is no longer a violation if the ball hits any part of the body, including the foot and leg. Prior to this rule change, it was a violation to kick the ball.
The serving team scores a point when the receiving team misses the ball or the ball is hit out of bounds. The receiving team scores a point if the serving team misses the returned ball, makes an out of bounds hit or serves into the net. The game is played to 25 points. The winning team must win by two points.
Violations
The result of a rules violation is a point for the opposing team. It is a violation for a player to catch, hold or throw the ball or to hit or block the other team's serve from on or in front of the 10 foot attack line.
Additional violations include stepping on or over the back line while serving or failing to serve the ball over the net. No part of a player's body can touch the net while the ball is in play unless the force of the ball hitting the net causes the net to contact a player. When blocking a ball, no player may reach over the net unless he is following through on a hit, the opposing team has used all three ball contacts and either the opponent has already made contact with the ball or no opponent is in place to make a play.
Court and Equipment
According to the Ohio-based Westlake High School physical education department, the dimensions of the volleyball playing area for both indoor and outdoor courts are 29.6 inches by 59 inches or 18 meters by 9 meters. The net is placed at the halfway point on the court. Indoor courts also specify an attack area of 9 feet, 10 inches, or 3 meters, behind the center line. The net height for men, co-ed and outdoor games is 7 feet, 11 and 5/8 inches, or 2.43 meters high. For women-only games, the net height is 7 feet and 1/8 inches high.
The volleyball weighs between 9 and 10 oz. and is inflated to between 4.5 and 6.0 lbs.
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