Volleyball Rules in 3 Minutes
First time at a match? Remember these six things and you can cheer along with the crowd.
How many players are on court?
Each team has 6 players on court: 3 in the front row and 3 in the back row, with the net in between. Only front-row players may jump to attack and block at the net; back-row players must take off from behind the 3-metre line to attack.
How do you score?
Every rally ends with a point (rally scoring). You score when the ball lands in the opponent's court, the opponent hits it out, or the opponent commits a fault. The team that scores serves next.
- A ball touching the line is in
- A ball touching the ceiling or the stands is out
- A ball that touches the net and goes over stays in play as long as no player touches the net
How many sets in a match?
Best of five. The first to 25 points wins each of the first four sets; a deciding fifth set goes to 15. A set must be won by 2 points, which is why you see scores like 26:24 or 30:28.
Three touches
A team may touch the ball at most three times before sending it over the net, usually receive, set, attack. The same player may not touch the ball twice in a row, and a block touch does not count as one of the three.
Rotation and positions
Each time a team wins back the serve, all six players rotate one position clockwise, and the player who moves to the back-right serves. That is why the same player attacks in the front row one moment and defends in the back row the next.
- Setter: runs the offense and decides who gets the ball
- Outside hitter / opposite: the main attacking firepower
- Middle blocker: blocks at the net and hits quick attacks
- Libero: the back-row defensive specialist in a different-colored jersey; does not attack or block and can enter and leave without a formal substitution
Common faults
When the referee whistles and signals, it is usually one of these:
- Net touch: touching the net while playing the ball
- Catch: holding, catching or throwing the ball
- Double contact: the same player touches the ball twice in a row
- Four hits: a team touches the ball more than three times
- Positional fault: players out of rotation order at the moment of serve
- Back-row attack fault: a back-row player attacks from in front of the 3-metre line