Volleyball is played around the world by kids and adults, almost equally by males and females, and in outdoor and indoor settings. Depending on the format, the number of players varies. But for the most part, the rules of the game are pretty consistent and rather simple to follow around the world. The key elements to understand are the boundary lines, the serve and the play that follows, the rotation of players, a few common penalties, and scoring.
The Court
Whether it's staked off in the sand or marked off on a gymnasium floor, a volleyball court is a rectangle bisected by a net, the height of which varies for men's and women's games, as well as for junior and veteran players. The end lines mark both the out-of-bounds area and the line behind which the server must stay while serving the ball. According to Sport Encyclopedia, surrounding the court is an area, generally about 3 feet wide, called the "free zone," from which players may enter after the serve of the ball and where players can go to hit the ball to keep play alive.
Serve and play
To start play, a player on one team stands behind his end line and attempts to strike the ball so it goes over the net without going out of bounds or into the net. If the ball grazes the net, but still goes over, the ball is in play. During play, the ball can be hit no more than three times on a side, and no player can hit the ball twice in succession. Balls can be played off the net, but each hit must be clean. If a player appears to be carrying, palming or throwing the ball, play stops, just as it does when the ball strikes the ground either in bounds or out of bounds, according to the rules explained by USA Volleyball.
Scoring
Only the team that serves can win a point. If the team that received the serve allows the ball to hit the ground on its side of the court or hits the ball out of bounds (or commits a foul during play), the point is awarded to the serving team. If the serving team fails to return the ball cleanly, the serve is then given to the other team, but no point is awarded. Games are usually played to 25 points, and a team must win by two points, but those rules can vary. A ball that hits a boundary line is considered in bounds.
Penalties
Penalties or fouls include touching the net or reaching over or under the net during play, and, as mentioned above, carrying or throwing the ball. Other violations include stepping on or over the end line during a serve, failing to hit the ball over the net on a serve, and failing to rotate players correctly. All of these violations result in either a loss of point or loss of serve.
Rotating players
The rules for rotating players will differ with two-person beach volleyball compared to indoor, six-player volleyball. But in general, if the serving team continues to win points, the server will remain the same and players on both sides will retain their starting positions (three players in the front row and three in the back) until the serve changes. On a "side out" (the change of serve from one team to the other) players on both teams rotate in a clockwise direction. For example, the player in the left front position will move to middle front, and the player who was right front will move to right back and so on. The player in the right back position on the serving team will serve. Once play begins, players can alter their positions.
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