VOLLEYBALL

A. Position of Players and Officials in

Volleyball
B. Simplified Rules and Terminologies
C. Hand Signals in Volleyball
 BASIC RULES AND REGULATIONS
IN VOLLEYBALL

1. To score a point
A team scores a point by:
 successfully grounding a ball on the
opponent’s court;
 when the opponent team commits a fault;
or
 when the opponent team receives a penalty
FAULT
• A team commits a fault by making a playing action
contrary to the rules (or by violating them in some
other way).

The referees judge the faults and determine the

consequences according to the rules:
 If two or more faults are committed successively, only
the first one is counted; or

 If two or more faults are committed by opponents

simultaneously, a DOUBLE FAULT is called and the rally
is replayed
 RALLY AND COMPLETED RALLY
• A rally is the sequence of playing actions
from the moment the service ball is hit by
the server until the ball is out of play. A
completed rally is the sequence of playing
actions which results in the award of a
point.

 If the serving team wins a rally, it scores a

point and the service of ball continues;
 If the receiving team wins a rally, the team
scores a point and must serve next.
2. TO WIN A SET
• A set (except the deciding 5th set) is won by a
team which scores 25 points first with a
minimum lead of two points.
In the case of 24-24 tie, play is continued until two
point lead is achieved (26-24; 27-25; …)

3. TO WIN THE MATCH

• The match is won by the team that wins three
sets.
In the case of 2-2 ties, the deciding 5th set of 15
points with a minimum lead of 2 points is played
for decision.
4. THE TOSS
• Before the match, the 1st referee conducts a toss
coin
to decide who shall do the first service and the sides
of
the court in the 1st set.

If the deciding set is to be played, a new toss will

carried out.

 The toss is taken in the presence of the two team

captains.
 The winner of the toss chooses:
EITHER the right to serve or to receive the
service, AND the side of the court to take.
The loser takes the remaining choice.

5. POSITIONS
At the moment the ball is hit by the server,
each team must be positioned within its court in
the rotational order (except the server).
The position of the players are numbered as
follows:
 The three players along the net are front-row
players and the occupy positions 4 (front-left),(front-center),
and 2 (front-right);

 The other three are back-row players occupy

positions 5 (back-left), 6 (back-canter), and 1 (back-right)

 Relative position between players:

Each back-row player must be positioned
further back from the center line than the corresponding
front-row player; The front-row and the back-row players,
respectively, must be positioned laterally in order
indicated in 1st rule.
The positions of players are determined and
controlled according to the positions of their
feet contacting to the
ground as follows:

 Each front-row player must have at least a part of

his/her foot closer to the center line than the feet
of the corresponding back-row player;

 Each right (left) side player must have

at least a part of his/her foot closer to the right (left)
side line than the feet of center player in that row
After the service hit, the players may move around
and occupy any position on their court and the free zone.

5.1 POSITIONAL FAULT

 The team commits positional fault, if any player is not in
his/her correct position at the moment the ball is hit by
the server. This includes when a player is on court through
illegal substitution.

 If the server commits a serving fault at the moment of the

service hit, the server’s fault is counted before a positional
fault.
If the service becomes faulty after the service
hit, it is the
positional fault what will be counted.

A positional fault leads to the following

consequences:

• The team is sanctioned with a point and service

to the opponent; or
• Player’s positions must be rectified
5.2 ROTATION

The rotational order is determined by the team’s

starting line-up and controlled with the service order
and player’s positions throughout the set.

When the receiving team has gained the right serve,

its players rotate one position clockwise: the player in
position 2 rotates to position 1 to serve;
the player in position 1 rotates to position 6, etc.
5.3 ROTATIONAL FAULT

 A rotational fault is committed when the SERVICE is

not made according to the rotational order.
It leads to the following consequences:

• The team is sanctioned with a point and service

to the opponent;
• The player’s rotational order must be rectified;
• In addition, the scorer should determine the exact
moment the fault was committed, and all points
scored subsequently by the team at fault must be
cancelled. The opponent’s score remain valid; or

• If that moment cannot be determined, no point(s)

cancellation takes place, and a point and service to the
opponent is the only sanction.
TERMINOLOGIES
 
A. PLAYING AREA

Volleyball is just like any kind of sport that needs

a specific area of play. Unlike basketball however,
there are specific areas where players should be
doing their moves to avoid error and failures.
The foregoing are the areas you should always
consider in playing volleyball.
1. Attack Area is also known as restricted area in the court
that
is marked between the centerline and the restricted line
wherein spiking is executed.

2.Attack line is a line which limits the play of spiking that lies
three meters away from the centerline.

3. Back Area is also known as back court.

4. Back Court is also known as back area that measures 6

meters
away from the restricted area back to end line.
5. Boundary Lines are side and end lines that limit the playing
court into 9 x 18 meters.

6. Centerline is a 5cm-line that divides the court into two (2)

equal areas located directly under the net.

7. Court is the 9m x 18m playing area where the volleyball is

being played.

8.End Lines are lines that limit the length of the playing court,
9 meters in width.
9.Front Court is also known as attack area or restricted area
that measures 3 meters away from the centerline.

10. Restricted line is a line which prohibits the back players to

participate in spiking or blocking that drawn 3 meters away
from the centerline.

11.Service Area is an area which the service must be made.

It is located at the right back corner outside of each court..

12.Service Line are lines that limit the service area.

Stepping on these lines are prohibited.

13.Side Lines are lines that limit the width of the playing area,
18 meters in length.
 B. THE OFFICIALS OF THE GAME
• Linemen positioned at the end corner of the court carefully
watch out the exact landing point of the ball whether in or
out of bounds of the court.

• Referee has the over-all control and authority in the conduct of

the game. He can be viewed across the top of the net making
him possible to see all the areas of the court and all moves of the
players.

• Score or Scorekeeper is the official responsible in keeping

the accurate information from the scores to all other
needed information about the game.

• Umpire is also known as second referee who assists the referee and
positioned on the floor opposite the referee.
He is also accountable in decision making and ruling the game
6. CONTACT OF THE BALL
 
• Contacted ball is the act of touching or delivering the ball
through hitting or receiving it with any part of the
body above the waist.
• Dig is the act of recovering a hard driven ball
from the opponent by the defensive player or team.
• Dig pass is the underhand pass using the forearm
to hit the ball.
• Double hit is the act of touching the ball more
• than once with any part of the body.
 Held ball refers to the act when the ball comes to
rest momentarily in the hands or any part of the body
above the waist more than 1/10th of second.

 Holding is an act of contacting the ball with a momentary

rest on any part of the player’s body
above the waist other than 1/10th of a second. It may be
scooping, lifting, pushing, carrying, or throwing.

 Lifting is an act of contacting the ball when it

momentarily in the player’s arm and
hands in a lifting position.
 Pass is an act of contacting the ball to either a
teammate or to the opponent’s court.
 Pushing is an act of contacting the ball when it
Is pushed, where the hand or arm goes with the ball momentarily.

 Scooping is an act of contacting the ball when it rolls in the player’s

arms.
 Service is the act of putting the ball in play by a player who delivers
the ball from the service area sending it over the net into the
opponent’s court.

 Set is the act of delivering the ball above and near the net
In preparing the spiker to the hitting the ball.

• Set pass refers to the ball passed in the air for a teammate’s kill
attack that it will descend near the net usually the second pass to
the series.
• Short or low set is a set made by very low in height and directly in
front of the set-up man; also used for Chinese kill.
7. SPIKING AND BLOCKING

• Area block is a block that covers a specified

area against all tracks.
• Attack is the hard driven ball hit above
the net by an offensive player.
• Attack block is a block that attempts to attack
the ball and is not limited to cut off the specified area.
• Block is an act of attempting to stop or
intercept the ball above the net aims to prevent the ball
to enter into the team’s court.
• Checked ball is a ball deflected from the blocker’s
hand usually the last touched.
• Fake spike is an act of approaching the net and
executing a spiking motion to confuse the defensive
team.
• Fielding the ball is retrieving or recovering the ball on
volley or spike from the opponent, frequently after it
has been blocked.
• Hard block is an attempt on the part of the
defensive team to stop the ball forcibly back to
their opponent’s court.
• Reach over or over reach is an act of crossing the
arms above and across the net before an opponent
touches the ball within his court.

• Soft block is a block whose purpose is to deflect

the ball up in the air to set it into a teammate.

• Spiked ball is a ball that is hit by force over the net.

8. TECHNICAL TERMINOLOGIES

• Ball in play is the period from the time ball is served until a
fault has been committed by any of the players in the game.

• Charge time out is the break or rest requested by coaches

intended for playing style instructions to the player.

• Coed game is a game event jointly participated by men and women.

• Courtesy hand shake is done at the center of the court

before the match as an act of sportsmanship and courtesy to
the opponent.
• Cross court refers to the diagonal exchange of the ball to the
opponent’s court.
• Crossing (at the center line) is an act of crossing and touching
the opponent’s court either by mistake or intention.

• Dead ball is officially declared by the whistle of the officiating

official when a violation in the transfer of gibing the pitch
has been committed to the opponent’s court.

• Defaulted game or match is declared in the non-appearance

or late reporting after 15 minutes grace period of
any team in the match. This automatically awards
the win to the team that is present.

• Defense is the act of the team who is not in possession or

not in service of the ball to get the ball and not commit error for
point/score purposes.
• Double fault is a simultaneous error between the two opposing teams

• Down the line refers to the hit or spike or the ball falling directly on
the line at the side of the court. The point goes to the team
which strikes the ball.

• Five minutes rest is the period given to opposing teams when the
fifth set is needed four rounds of the game or when there is a tie.

• Foot fault is a foul committed by a server stepping on the

side or end lines during the service.

• Forfeited game is a decision proclaimed when players do not reach the

minimum number of six players to play the game,
late or non-appearance of the team for the game, or walk out or
non-confirmation of the players to the decision of the referees.
• Formation is the arrangement or alignment of the players
either on offense or defense.

• Game (or set) is termination of a set or inning after a team scored

25 points or an advantage of two points is earned
to terminate the play.

• Game over is a term used to indicate that the match has ended either
by 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5 sets.

• Game point is the point gained by the team leading to the

termination of the set or game.

• Good ball is the ball landing within the boundary limit of the
court of the opponent which they fail to get, thereby a considered fault.
It is known as good shot for the server
• Libero is a defensive specialist player in a team.
• Line ball is a good ball, ball hitting, or landing on the
boundary lines of the opponent’s court.
• Match refers to the number of games or sets
completed in a contest usually 2 out of 3 or 3 out of 5.
• Offense is a term used when the team is in possession
of the ball or a serving team who makes the point.
• Out of bounds is the ball that hits or touches any
surface of the floor outside the court; ball
that touches the ceiling during indoor game;
touches the antenna; or does not pass over
the net limited by an antenna.
• Play can be preliminary action or follow up movements or
contacting the ball to regain equilibrium, spiking and blocking
constitute a single play. Players are the athletes playing inside
the playing court.

• Play over is the proclamation done when the last serving of the ball is
successfully executed without awarding or penalizing a side-out point
giving the final point for the final set.

• Point is called when the serving team successfully played the

ball or when the receiving team failed to return the ball to the\
serving team.

• Ready position is the position in the court assumed by all

players as quickly as possible after the ball crosses into the
opponent’s court.
• Red card flash is the disqualification called
by the referee to any member of a team preventing the
player’s privilege to continue to play.

• Referee’s time out is the term used when a referee

or any official stops the play for valid reason usually not
charged to any team.

• Rotation is the shifting of players in a clockwise shifting movement of t

players done in every service of the ball.
• Screening is the attempt by players of the serving team to
hide or screen or conceal the server.
• Serving order is the arrangement of service to be done by the players
according to the list entered in the score sheet and to
the position indicated in court.
• Substitution is the act of switching or changing players from the
• playing court.
• Switch is the act of changing positions immediately after a service is
made, i.e., front line player going to the back line area or vice-versa.
• Three-minute rest us a grace period given by the referee in
• order to assess injury of a player and his physical condition to
continue playing game.
• Toss coin is the act of choosing the right to serve or choose the side
of the court to play usually done every beginning of the first and
fifth game/set.
• Touch the net is the act of unintentional touching the net or its rope
by any part of the body or the clothes.
• Two-minute rest is the period allowed to players to rest after a set is
completed.
• Weak area is the area on the court which is either conceded or
retrieved difficult to move in due to light or space.
• Yellow card flash is the first warning given to a
player/coach/manager by the referee reminding them of the
technical fault committed.
•  
 HAND SIGNALS IN VOLLEYBALL

Referee is the one that uses hand signals in volleyball game.

By using the whistle, it serves as the sign to start and to end the game.
It is very important in every sport for the players to be
aware of what faults or violations they committed during game and
which team won a point.

Here are some hand signals in playing volleyball:

1st Referee
 
1. Authorization for service – move the hand sideward right or left to
indicate direction of service. This will be the hand signal of referee
if he/she wants the server to begin in serving.
 
 
 
2. Change of courts - raise the forearms front and back
and twist them around the body.
This will be the hand signal of referee if the set is done.
3. Expulsion – show both cards jointly to show expulsion.
This will be the hand signal of referee if you were being sanctioned
by expulsion and shall not play for the rest of the set due to
offensive conduct
4. Disqualification – show red and yellow cards separately for
disqualification. The first physical attack or implied or threatened
aggression is sanctioned by disqualification with no other
consequences and must leave the competition control
area for the remainder of the match with no other consequences
5. Ball not tossed or Released at the service hit –lift the arm,
the palm of the hands is facing upwards.
-This will be the hand signal off referee if the server did
not tossed the ball before serving.
6. Delay in service – raise eight fingers, spread open.
This will be the hand signal of referee if the server delayed his serve in
the service line for 8 seconds.
7.Catch – slowly lift the forearm, palm of the hand is facing upwards.
According to the FIVB Rules of the Game, the ball is a catch if it does
not rebound from the contact, meaning
that it bounces off the fingers and/or hands.
8. Double contact – raise two fingers, spread open.
This will be the hand signal of referee if the same player touches
the ball twice in succession.
9. Reaching beyond the net – place a hand above the net,
palm facing downwards. This will be the hand signal of
referee whenever the player reaches his hand aggressively
beyond the opponent’s side
10. Double fault and replay – raise both thumbs vertically.
• This occurs when players of opposing teams simultaneously
commit faults. A replay is called for double faults
11. Delay warning / Delay penalty – cover the twist with yellow card
(warning) and with a red (penalty). The warning and penalty of the
referee if the team is late to come up in match
1st and 2nd Referee
 
12. Team to serve – extend the arm to the side of team that will serve
. This hand signal is tend to point the serving team.
13.Time-out – place the palm of one hand over the fingers of the other,
held vertically (forming a T) and then indicate the requesting team.
This hand signal is for time-out.
14.  Substitution – circular motion of the forearms around each other.
This will be the hand signal of referee is the there is a team who wants
to substitute the player inside who is playing.
15. Misconduct warning –
show a yellow card for warning. This occurs when a player shows an
unsportsmanlike conduct or in other words not a friendly behavior
16. Misconduct penalty- show a red card for penalty.
This occurs when a player shows an unsportsmanlike
conduct or in other words not a friendly behavior.
17. End of the match – cross the forearms in front of the chest, hands open.
This occurs when the game is over and there is already a winner.
18. Blocking fault or screening – raise both arm vertically,
palms forward. This happens is the blocker
commits fault on blocking.
19. Positional or rotational fault – make a circular motion with the forefinger.
This will be the hand signal of referee if the team will not follow the
proper rotation.
20. Ball in – point the arm and fingers toward the floor.
•This will be the hand signal of referee if the ball is inbounds.
21. Ball out – raise the forearms vertically, hand open,
palms towards the body. This will be the hand signal of
referee if the ball is out-bounds.
22. Four hits – raise four fingers, spread open.
This will be the hand signal of referee if the team commit
s 4 touches that the ball is on their side.
23. Net touch by player or served ball fails to pass to the
opponent through crossing space –
indicate the relevant side of net with the corresponding hand.
24. Attack hit fault – make a downward motion with the forearm
hand open. This occurs when A back-row player completes an 
attack-hit from the front zone, when, at the moment of the 
attack-hit,The ball is entirely above the top of the net.
25. Ball touched – brush with the palm of one hand fingers of the other, held
vertically. This occurs when the blocker touches the opponent’s
spiked ball and touches his hand and eventually it goes on their
side all the way out.
Line judge
• 26. Ball in – point down the flag.
This will be the hand signal of line
judge if inbounds.
27. Ball out – raise flag vertically.
•This will be the hand signal of line judge if out-bounds.
28. Ball touched – raise flag and touch the top with the palm of the free hand.
This will be the hand signal of line judge when the blocker touches the opponent’s
spiked ball and touches his hand and eventually it goes on their side all the way out.
29. Judgement Impossible – raise and cross both arms and
hands in front of the chest. This will be the hand signal of
line judge if he or she is undecided or unable to evaluate a
fault.