Volleyball Rules — Nashville’s Home for Adult Sports Leagues

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Sand League Rules

SAND 6V6 STYLE

A minimum of 1 female is needed on the court to play; if 2 females are present then both must play, but only 1 is required to avoid a forfeit situation. All teams must have 2 females on the court during the playoffs. If a team only has 1 female on the court, they can only have a maximum of 3 males and will be required to play with 4 until the 2nd female arrives. *If you only have 1 female, you can only play with 4 players max, once the 2nd female arrives, you can add another male and play with 6. TEAMS MUST HAVE 2 FEMALES IN THE PLAYOFFS.

SAND 4V4 STYLE

A minimum of 1 female is needed on the court to play and teams can play with as few as 2 people to avoid a forfeit.

SAND 2V2 STYLE

ALL Rules listed below are specific to 2v2, outside of these specific rules, standard MSSL volleyball rules will apply.

Players: 2 players on the court, gender does not matter.
2v2 Officiating: All games are self-officiated (no referees), therefore, teams are required to call their OWN violations, are expected to be honest and keep a high level of sportsmanship at all times. If you feel that your opponent is not being accountable, your team captain may politely intervene to discuss fouls called or uncalled. We rely on your spirit of sportsmanship and honesty to keep the matches pleasant for all. If there is a dispute, please re-serve the point.
2v2 Play:
1. A player may never block a serve.
2. A player may never use an open hand to volley a serve nor can a player execute an open-handed volley on first contact (every time the ball crosses the net, including free balls) with the ball unless it is hard-driven (the serve is never considered a hard-driven ball regardless of its velocity).
3. A hard driven ball is classified as a ball hit with a full swing and has very little arc.
4. “Sets” that drift over the net are permitted.
5. Lifting, scooping the ball and double hits are not permitted.
6. A block is counted as a hit.
7. A ball may be volleyed over the net only if you are square to the direction of the ball.
8. No “open-handed” tipping: players who contact the ball with one hand and are putting the ball over the net, must cleanly hit it with the heel or palm of the hand (a roll shot), with straight, locked fingers and a locked wrist (a cobra), knurled fingers (a camel toe) or with the back of the hand (locked wrist and locked fingers/knuckles). One-handed placement or redirection of the ball with the fingers (dink or open-handed tip) is a fault. Players may not set the ball over the net (Hands over net).
9. Players may play the ball off any part of their body, including feet.
10. You do not have to rotate your players around the court, but you must rotate your servers.

ROSTERS

Teams must submit a copy of their roster prior to the first game (maximum of 9 players per team). Teams may add additional players in the regular season but cannot do so prior to playoffs.

ROTATION

Although rotating position is not required, you must rotate your serving order. If rotating additional players into the order, that player must enter into the serving position. Once substitution is started, it must be continued. If a player arrives late and is necessary to complete a full team, said player may rotate in by requesting a substitution. If a player arrives late and the team is full, said player may rotate in on the serve. Failure to keep the proper rotation will result in loss of rally.

BEHAVIOR

Teams will be penalized points or serve for bad mouthing the ref or other unsportsmanlike conduct. Referees will explain in greater detail if the occasion occurs. Any player or fan is encouraged to root for their own team but rooting against teams or use of disparaging language is discouraged and could result in penalties of players or dismissals of fans. Refusal to leave could result in forfeiture of games.

SCORING

Match play will be best 2 out of 3 games. Games will be played via RALLY SCORING. First 2 games to 25 points, winning by a 2-point advantage. A third game will be played regardless to either 15, 21, or 25 points depending on time. It is not necessary for this game to be won by 2 due to time restraints. If a team wins the match 2-0, the 3^rd game can still count towards tiebreakers at the end of the season.

CONTACT WITH THE BALL

A player may touch the ball with any part of the body.
A player may have successive contacts with the ball during a single attempt to make the team’s first contact provided the fingers are not used to direct the ball.
It is legal to receive a served ball using the fingers in a setting action, provided that there is not a double contact or a held ball. A double contact or held ball with the fingers in a setting action receiving the ball is illegal.
The ball must be contacted cleanly and not held, lifted, pushed, caught, carried or thrown. The ball cannot roll or come to rest in any part of the body. It can rebound in any direction. An exception shall be allowed during the defensive play of a hard-driven ball (an attack-hit or blocked ball traveling at a high rate of speed), as judged by the referee. In that case, the ball may be momentarily lifted or pushed.
Plays involving finger action require special attention. If the play is defensive and reactive in nature, as in the case of a hard-driven ball, momentarily held or double-contacted balls are not considered faults. Furthermore, this may apply to the second touch of a team if the block contact was slight and the ball is still a hard-driven attack, or to the defensive action (team first contact) after a ball has been blocked. If the player decides/intends to employ finger action, as in the case of off-speed attack defense or setting, the action must be “clean.”
Rotation of a set ball may indicate a held ball or multiple contacts during the set, but in itself is not a fault.
In our 4v4 & 2v2 leagues when contacting the ball with one hand, other than for setting the ball to a teammate, the ball must be cleanly hit with the heel or palm of the hand (a roll shot), with straight, locked fingertips (a cobra), knurled fingers (a camel toe) or with the back of the hand from the wrist to the knuckles. One-handed placement or redirection of the ball with the fingers (a dink or open-hand tip) is a fault (In the recreation league dinks and open-hand tips are legal).
A blocking contact is not counted as a team contact. The blocking team will have three contacts after a blocking contact.

SERVES

LET SERVES ARE LEGAL. Any served ball that contacts the net and continues over is considered a live and legal serve. Service Foot Faults will be called in all levels. The server must contact the ball within five seconds after the referee authorizes service via whistle. There is no requirement to “toss” the ball and hit out of the air, but if it is “teed” off, the ball MUST be stationary when hit. If the ball, after having been tossed or released by the server, lands without being touched or is caught by the server, the player will get ONE retry only. Serve will be determined for the first game based on ‘rock, paper, scissors’ between 2 captains. During playoffs the team with the higher seed will get choice in first game of serve or side. If seedings are not known, then “odd-even” will be used.

INTERFERENCE & SCREENING

If a player steps on or crosses into an adjacent court the ball is considered dead and out-of-play. Under the Net Violations will not be called as long as you do not interfere with anyone on the opposite side of the net. The teammates of the server must not prevent the opposing team, through screening, from seeing the server or the path of the ball. On the opponent’s request, they must move sideways to allow view.

TIMEOUTS

One, 30-second time out per game is allowed per match. A time out must be called before the service has been authorized. Prolonging a time out will results in one warning then loss of rally for subsequent offenses.

RULE CLARIFICATIONS

When in doubt, outdoor USAV/AVA rules will be enforced. If there are any questions or concerns please have your team captain or team representative speak with the official directly. Your referees will be happy to answer any questions or explain any rules to your team. Feel free to contact the office with any questions.

OFFICIAL GAMES

In the event of a rain shortened game, MSSL reserves the right to declare an official game if 1 set is played to a minimum of 15 points. If it works out in the season schedule, MSSL prefers to pickup the match in the next set declaring only a winner from the first set instead of the game. For example, if the score is 22-19 in the first set and the remainder of the game is rained out, MSSL CAN declare it an official match and not make it up. However, if the schedule allows MSSL will declare the team winning 22-19 as the winner of the first set and pick it up 1-0 on a makeup day.

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Indoor League Rules

PLAYING RULES

Net height: 8’
A team shall be composed of 6 players. A minimum of 2 females must be on the court at all times. A minimum of 4 players are required to start a match. In the regular season teams are permitted to play with one female to avoid forfeits but must can only have a maximum of 3 males. When playing with 1 female teams can only have a maximum of 4 players on the court. *If you only have 1 female, you can only play with 4 players max, once the 2nd female arrives, you can add another male and play with 6. Teams MUST HAVE TWO FEMALES IN THE PLAYOFFS.
SUBSTITUTIONS can only occur in the serving position. Once a player enters the game he/she must go through the entire rotation before exiting the game.
An unlimited number of substitutions are permitted.
A ball hit into the net, other than a serve, may be recovered provided a player does not make contact with the net or cross the centerline.
A player may not play the ball in succession, unless played once by another player. Exception: One player can make contact with the ball twice if initial contact is a block or simultaneous hit with another player.
A team must return the ball across the net within three or fewer contacts. A block does not count as a contact.
If a player is hit by the ball or touches the ball, it is considered legal contact and to have been played. Legal contact is a touch of the ball by a player’s body, which does not allow the ball to visibly come to rest or involve prolonged contact with a player’s body.
Any ball that makes contact with the backboards or ceiling/light fixtures will be considered out of play EXCEPT when the ball hits the ceiling and remains on your own team’s side.
Timeouts: 1, 30-second timeout per set
A 5-minute grace period will be in effect for the 1st game of the night only. Once a team has 4 players (with at least one of those being a female) they are required to start.

SERVING

A coin toss shall determine the team that serves the first and third game. The opposing team will receive the serve in the 2^nd game.
The first server of the game is the player in the right back position. Thereafter, when a team is awarded a side‐out, the player in the right front position rotates to the serving area. For example, the first server of the game for Team A will be their right back positioned player. After a side‐out, Team B will rotate before serving. Team B’s first server will be the player that started the game in the right front position.
Each member of the team shall serve in turn and may have one chance to hit the ball over the net on the serve.
A re‐serve shall be called when the player releases the ball for service and then lets the ball drop to the floor (the ball may be caught by the player). The official will cancel the serve and direct a second and final attempt at serve. Only one re‐serve is permitted per player per turn in rotation at service.
The ball may be served underhand, overhand or sidearm and may be hit in any manner by the hand. The receiving team may not block or spike a served ball.
Any serve that hits the net and continues into the receiving team’s court shall be ruled a good serve.
Before the serve, all members of both teams must be in their respective positions on the court. After the ball is served, players may move out of any position, except a back row player may not attack or block from in front of the 10’ line.

FOULS/VIOLATIONS

If a team commits a foul, the opposite team will be awarded a side‐out and one point. The following are fouls or violations:

Serving illegally or out of turn.
Touching the net or reaching under the net to interfere with an opponent playing the ball.
¾ Stepping over the centerline into the opponent’s court. A player may step on the line, but not completely over.
Spiking or blocking the ball in front of the 10’ line when playing in a back row position.
Contacting the ball twice in succession unless the first contact is a block or a simultaneous hit with another player.
Catching or holding the ball while playing it.
Contacting the ball in an underhand motion with an open hand or hands (slapping/scooping/lifting).
Failure to return the ball over the net in 3 or fewer contacts.
A player that blocks or interferes with the intended set of the opposing team.

SCORING

Rally scoring will be employed during all matches.
The team that scores 25 points with a two-point advantage wins a game.
All teams will play three games per match regardless of the outcome of the first two matches. The 3^rd game of any match may be shortened to 15 or 21 points if time is running out. All matches must end no later than 55 minutes after the start of the match. In the event of a tie game at the 55‐minute mark, play will continue and the next point will win the game (2‐point advantage is not necessary in this situation). If a team wins the match 2-0, the 3rd game will still be played. Though one team has already been declared the winner of the match, the winner of the 3rd game could determine a tie breaker at the end of the season. EVERY GAME COUNTS!!!

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