VOLLEYBALL LESSON
RULES
Teams
• A team consists of 6 players on their side of the court at one time. Player positions are: right front - RF, center front - CF, left front LF, right back (serving position) RB, center back - CB, and left back - LB.
• All players must be on the court during the serve, except the server.
• After the serve, all players are allowed to go out of bounds to hit the ball.
Basic Volleyball Hits
• Bump/Forearm Pass/Underhand Pass – Used to pass the ball to a teammate. Hands together; keep arms straight; bend your knees, do not swing your arms; contact ball with the flat part of your forearms
• Set/Overhead Pass/Fingertip Pass – Used to set up a teammate for a spike. Create a triangle with your hands, elbows out, bend your knees, use fingertips, and pop the ball up in the air
• Spike – A ball which is hit from above the net in a downward manner, into the opponent’s court
• Underhanded Serve – Keep the ball at waist level, do not toss the ball, step with your opposite foot, and contact the ball with the wrist area of your arm.
• The most successful 3-hit succession is PASS - SET - SPIKE.
Playing the Game
• A point is scored on every play/serve; and a score is worth 1 point.
• The ball is served by the player in the RIGHT BACK position, and s/he will continue serving the ball until that team fails to score a point.
• When one team loses their serve it is called a side out, and the other team will rotate positions and then
they get to serve the ball.
• You only rotate when you win the serve (which is a side out); and your team will then rotate one position in a clockwise direction.
• Before each serve, the server will call out the score of the game by saying his/her team’s score first, followed by the score of the other team. So if your team has 2 points and the other team has 1 point, you would say “2 serving 1 ,” and then serve the ball.
• Three hits are allowed on each side, but no more than 3. A team can hit the ball less than 3 times per side.
• A game consists of 25 points, and you must win by 2.
• A match consists of 3 games to 25 points. The team who wins 2 out of 3 games wins the match.
Rules
• The ball can touch the net at any time and still be in play.
• A player cannot touch the net or go over the middle line at any time during the game.
• The same person cannot hit the ball twice in a row.
• The service line is 10 yards away from the net, and the server must stand behind this line.
• A foot fault occurs when the server steps on or over the service line.
• The sidelines mark the left and right sides of the court, and they are 10 yards apart.
• All lines are “in,” so any ball that hits the line is considered good or in-bounds.
Volleyball Vocabulary
ACE - A serve hit so well it is not returned
BASELINE - The back line on a volleyball court
BLOCK - To stop the ball from coming over the net
BUMP - The first of three hits in volleyball, when you put your hands together and lift the ball with your forearms DIG - To dive for a ball, reaching out and hitting the ball up with one hand, keeping the ball alive
DINK - To barely tap the ball over the net
FOOT FAULT - To step on or over the baseline while serving
KILL - A successful spike
RALLY - Both teams successfully hitting the ball back and forth over the net
RECEIVING TEAM - The team receiving the serve
ROTATE - The team moves clockwise, every time it receives the serve
SERVE - The ball is hit from behind the baseline over the net to the opposing team, to begin play
SERVING TEAM - The team serving the ball
SET - The second hit of three hits, where the ball is positioned high and near the net for a player to spike
SIDEOUT - This is the name in volleyball for when the receiving team wins the serve
SIDELINE - The boundary line on the side of the court
SPIKE - The third hit of three hits designed to win the rally by hitting the ball down to the floor on the opponent’s side
SPIKING LINE - The line ten feet from the net which back-row players may not cross, to spike the ball
VOLLEY - To hit the ball before it hits the floor