Volleyball Rules For Middle School Girls

Volleyball, invented in 1859 by William G. Morgan, is one of the fastest growing Jr. High sports in the United States according to the American Sport Education Program. Take charge on the court by knowing the rules for middle school volleyball, from serving and passing to setting, attacking and blocking.

Positions

Official rules for middle school volleyball allow six players on the court, three in the back row and three in the front row. The players on the court line up in two lines, one in front of the other, parallel to the net. The girl playing in the right hand corner, serves the ball first. In rotation, players move to a different spot when their team regains the serve. They will rotate clockwise one position. For example, the player in the third spot in the front row rotates to the number one spot in the back row.

Basic Play

After the ball has been served, it stays in motion until a fault has been made. The team who is not responsible for the fault scores a point. The team is then allowed to serve until they make a fault. To win a set, a team has to score 25 points, but must win by two points, even if that means exceeding the 25 points. A match is won when a team wins two out of three sets.

Faults

A fault is when play stops and a team scores a point. For example, failure to successfully serve the ball over the net, touching or hitting the ball when you have stepped out of bounds, hitting the ball twice in a row, touching the net with any part of your body, or reaching over or under the net.

Hitting the Ball

When the ball has been put into play, the team cannot hit the ball more than three times before it crosses over the net. A player cannot hit the ball two times consecutively, and a back row player cannot attack the ball from the front row. The other team cannot complete an attack hit immediately after the ball has been served. When hitting the ball, the player must hit it with an open hand.

Scoring

Rally scoring is used in middle school volleyball, which means a point is scored with each play. To score a point, a team must win the rally. To do this, the server puts the ball into play, and the team scores a point if the other team cannot successfully return the ball, a ball is hit out of bounds, a fault is called on a player or a ball is hit down into the other teams court.