Volleyball Rules

Volleyball is a team sport played by two teams of six players on a court divided by a net. The objective of the game is to score points by grounding the ball on the opponent's side of the court, and to prevene from happening on your own side.

Here are the basic rules of volleyball:

The Court and Players

• Teams: A team consists of six players on the court at a time, with three players in the "front row" near the net and three in the "back row."

• Net Height: The top of the net is set at 2.43 meters (about 7 feet, 11 5/8 inches) for men's competition and 2.24 meters (about 7 feet, 4 1/8 inches) for women's competition.

• Positions: Players have specific roles, including setters, outside hitters, middle blockers, and liberos. The libero is a defensive specialist who wears a different colored jersey and has unique rules governing their play.

Gameplay

• The Serve: A rally begins with a serve from the back of the court. The server must hit the ball from behind the end line and get it over the net and into the opponent's court.

• Rotation: When a team wins a point after the opposing team served, they get to serve and must rotate their players one position clockwise.

• Three Hits: A team is allowed a maximum of three contacts with the ball to return it over the net. A contact is any legal touch of the ball by a player.

• Legal Contact: The ball can be legally hit with any part of the body, as long as the contact is not a "carry," "throw," or "lift" (holding or pushing the ball).

• No Double Hits: A single player cannot hit the ball twice in a row, with the exception of a block, which does not count as one of the team's three hits.

• Ball on the Line: If a ball hits any part of a boundary line, it is considered "in."

Violations (Faults)

• Touching the Net: Players are not allowed to touch the net while the ball is in play, especially during a play on the ball.

• Center Line Violation: A player cannot completely cross the center line into the opponent's court.

• Back Row Attack/Block: A back-row player cannot attack the ball from in front of the 3-meter attack line if the ball is entirely above the height of the net at the moment of contact. A back-row player is also not allowed to block an opponent's attack.

• Illegal Serve: This includes stepping on or over the end line during the serve, or failing to get the ball over the net.

• Four Hits: A team touching the ball more than three times before sending it over the net is a fault.

Scoring

• Rally Scoring: A point is awarded on every rally, regardless of which team served.

• Winning a Set: In most formats, a team must score 25 points to win a set and must have a two-point advantage.

• Winning a Match: Matches are typically played as the "best of five" sets. The first four sets are played to 25 points, and a fifth, deciding set is played to 15 points, with a two-point winning margin required in all sets.