The action in volleyball gets furious at times, with players jumping and diving about in an effort to prevent the ball from touching down. When the speed of play picks up and pressure mounts, mistakes happen. Sometimes players misjudge a first touch, causing what's known as an overpass.
Identification
An overpass occurs when a player makes an error on her first touch, passing the ball over the net instead of to a teammate. A player might commit an overpass because of poor technique, a mistake in judgment or simply from a powerful hit striking her body and deflecting back over the net.
Opponents
Hitting an overpass leaves your team vulnerable and provides the opposition with an easy possession. Your opponents will be able to turn the soft overpass into an excellent scoring opportunity, orchestrating a controlled set play to produce the best scoring opportunity possible. Aggressive teams will even attack the overpass at the net, hoping to slam home a decisive spike for a gift point.
Net Violations
An errant overpass can lead to potential net violations for either side. Even though they might see an overpass as a gift, opponents must be patient and cannot attack the ball until it enters the net's vertical plane. If an opponent reaches over the net to hit the ball or to interfere with an offensive player's attempt to play the ball, she commits a net violation, forfeiting the rally. Likewise, an offensive player can't jump up and tip or spike an overpass that has already crossed the net's vertical plane. Doing so results in a net violation and forfeiture of the rally.
Held Ball
Some overpasses might fall just shy of the net, sending teammates scurrying to keep the ball alive. This desperation can lead to illegal contact with the net or to a ball handling violation, which typically results from accidentally pinning the ball against the net while trying to keep the ball in the air. Such held-ball violations forfeit the rally.
Back Row
An overpass can also lead to a back row violation. If a back row player jumps up from behind the attack line to play a ball that's higher than the net and accidentally hits an overpass, she commits a back row violation as soon as the ball crosses the net. The violation forfeits the rally.
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