• A ball that lands in the court, or on a sideline or end line is “in”

• A ball that lands outside of the court, or touches the antenna is “out”

• Volleyball court and net

• Volleyball (indoor or beach)

• Knee pads (recommended)

• Two teams of 6 players each are separated by a net on a court.

• The object of the game is:

  • To ground the ball in the opponent’s court, and

  • To keep the ball from being grounded in your own court

• To start the game, toss a coin.The winner of the toss decides who serves first, or their side of the court.

• The game and subsequent rallies is initiated with a serve. The server:

  • May use any part of the hand or arm to serve

  • Is allowed to have one toss (dribbling and moving the ball in the hand is permitted)

  • May stand anywhere behind the end line

  • May jump and land inside or outside the court after hitting the ball

  • Has 8 seconds to serve

• In serve reception, the general movement of the ball is to the net, along the net, and over the net.Players typically bump, set (volley), and attack (spike or tip) the ball.Hence, each team is allowed to have up to 3 hits (excluding the block) with any part of the body.

• Teams rally (i.e., hit the ball back and forth) until a point is scored.

• A rally ends when the ball is grounded, or a fault is made, which results in a point.

• A set is won by the team that scores 25 points first (21 points for beach) with a 2 point lead.  A deciding set is played until 15 points with a 2 point lead.  There is no cap.  Games (matches) consist of the best 2 of 3, or best 3 of 5 sets, depending on the level of play. 

• A point is scored after each rally (rally points).  The team that wins the point serves next. 

• A team scores a point:

  • By successfully putting the ball on the opponent's playing court

  • When the opponent team commits a fault

  • When the opponent team receives a penalty

• Faults in Playing the Ball

  • Four Hits – a team hits the ball four times before returning it

  • Assisted Hit – a player takes support from a teammate or structure to reach the ball within the playing area

  • Catch – a ball is caught and/or thrown

  • Double Contact – a player hits the ball twice in succession, or the ball contacts various parts of the body in succession

• Faults at the Net

  • A player touches the ball or an opponent in the opponent’s space before or during the opponent’s attack hit

  • A player interferes with the opponent’s play while penetrating into the opponent’s space under the net

  • A player’s food penetrates completely into the opponent’s court

  • A player interferes with an opponent’s play by:

    • Touching the top band on the net

    • Taking support from the net with playing the ball

• Serving Faults

  • The server:

    • Violates the service order

    • Does not execute the serve properly

  • The ball is served “out” or passes over a screen

• Attacking and Blocking Faults

  • The ball is hit “out” on the attack or lands “out” off of the block

  • A backrow player contacts the ball above the top line of the net in the front zone (between the centre line and the attack line)

Ly, N. (2015, February 15). The rules of volleyball – Explained. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9g7nYQv-kPM

Ly, N. (2015, February 16). The rules of beach volleyball – Explained. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RRoJt99uVss

Ontario Volleyball Association. (2014). Coach & player resources. Retrieved from http://www.ontariovolleyball.org/programs/indoor-youth-competitions/indoor-coach-player-resources

Paralympic Games. (2016, April 15). Paralympic sport a-z: Sitting volleyball. [Video File]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uXLSzwJoT4M

Sports Court. (2015). Volleyball. Retrieved from http://www.sportscourtdimensions.com/volleyball/

Volleyball Canada. (2016). 2012-13 Indoor volleyball rulebook. Retrieved from http://www.volleyball.ca/content/how-play

Volleyball Canada Development Model. (2016). Teaching the skills – Indoor. Retrieved from http://www.vcdm.org/teachers/view/all-ages1