Indoor Volleyball Rules
Overview
Regular season games consist of three games played to 25 with a cap at 27. Each game counts separately in the standings, so all three games will be played regardless of the outcome of the first two. Rally scoring is used, meaning that a point is awarded after each rally. All matches have an allotted amount of time of one hour to play all three games. Warm-up time is included within this hour, so be sure to warm up as much as possible before the actual start time. If, prior to the third game, the official decides that time won’t allow for a complete third game, he may inform the teams that the game will be played to 15. Playoff games are played best two out of three games to 25 without a cap.
Beginning of the Game
The official will call both captains to the net at the beginning of the game to clarify any court rules and conduct a coin flip. The winning team can choose to serve, receive, or pick a side to play on. The losing team then picks the remaining choice. Prior to the second game, teams will switch sides and the serving team from game one will receive and vice versa. Another coin flip will take place prior to game three and will mirror the coin toss prior to game one.
Team Size
Coed 6’s – Each team consists of six players on the court at a time, with a maximum of three males on the court at a time. A team may play with a minimum of four players and a minimum of two females. If a team has fewer than these minimums, the game will be forfeited.
Coed 4’s – Each team consists of four players on the court at a time, with a maximum of two males on the court at a time. A team may play with a minimum of three players and a minimum of one female. If a team has fewer than these minimums, the game will be forfeited.
Mens 4’s – Each team consists of four players on the court at a time. A team may play with a minimum of three players. If a team has fewer than three players, the game will be forfeited.
General Rules
- Whenever Player Sports Group rules don’t address an issue, USA Volleyball rules will be used as a default set of rules. Click here for USA Volleyball Rulebook.
- Each team has one timeout per game that they may choose to use (thirty seconds in length).
- Let serves (serves that contact the net and then cross to the receiving side) count as legal serves
- A double contact by the same player while making one attempt to play the ball is allowed on the first contact on a side. This applies each time the ball crosses the net to the other side.
- There are no male/female attacking rules in coed leagues
- A block does not count as one of a team’s three contacts.
- A player may not block a serve or attack a serve above the plane of the net.
- No player may touch the net during a play, unless the ball or an opposing player causes the contact with the net. Player contact with the net in a manner not directly relating to or affecting the course of play is NOT a violation.
- Players may reach over the net to block any attack or attempt to play the ball over the net. Other contacts can be played only once they cross into the plane of the net.
- If games are being played on adjacent courts, players may not cross into another court. If a player crosses into an adjacent court either before, during, or after playing a ball, he or she will be called out of bounds with the point awarded to the other team.
- Subbing is allowed in between points. All subs must be made in a consistent manner throughout a game. Traditional subbing rules will not be followed, as long as the team does not gain an unfair advantage from a type of substitution. The official will determine what forms of subbing are acceptable.
- Officials will call to the level of play, meaning that matches will be called more tightly in “A” and “BB” leagues than in “B” and “Rec” leagues.
- Officials will look for and call the following faults:
Carry/lift, double contact, 4 contacts, foot fault (on serve), out of bounds, back row attack, net violation, center line violation, over the net (roofing)
- Officials can issue yellow and or red cards at their discretion. Players Sports Group reserves the right to suspend any player receiving a red card.
- The Libero is NOT allowed in Players Sports Group leagues.
Specific Rules
Coed 6’s – Players must rotate clockwise through each rotation. Open hand tipping is allowed. There are no restrictions on the direction you must face when setting the ball over the net.
If a 6’s team has 4 or 5 players, no ghost rule will be used. If the team has 4 players, two players must be back row players at all times, with normal rotation being used. If a team has 5 players, they rotate through the five rotations normally with three players in the front row and two in the backrow.
Coed 4’s – There must be one back row player that is not allowed to hit or block in front of the ten foot line. This player must be announced by the receiving team before the first serve of each game. After that, the player who most recently served is the designated back row player. THIS RULE IS STILL IN EFFECT FOR TEAMS WITH ONLY 3 PLAYERS. No open hand tipping is allowed. Players must set the ball directly forward or directly backward when setting the ball over the net.
Mens 4’s – There are no restrictions on the amount of players allowed to attack the ball in the front row. No open hand tipping is allowed. Players must set the ball directly forward or directly backward when setting the ball over the net.
Forfeits
Teams will forfeit one game every ten minutes past the designated start time that they do not have the legal amount of players. If ZERO players from a team are present after fifteen minutes, the team will forfeit all three games. All teams consenting to play a legal game with their opponents having less than the allowed minimum waive their right to a forfeit win. Teams are allowed to pick up players during the regular season in order to field a full team. Substitutes from other teams will not be allowed during playoffs. There are no protests once a match begins. All issues of player eligibility must be addressed with the official before the match starts.
If your team forfeits a match during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of three games and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss of three games and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs with no refund for games not played.
Third Offense: Automatic removal from the league with no refund for games not played.
If you know in advance that your team will be forfeiting a match, we encourage you to call our office so we can let your opponent know that you won’t be showing up.
Waivers
In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the second night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating. Players must play in a minimum of two regular season games to be eligible for playoffs.
Playoff Information
All teams make the playoffs. Teams will be seeded based on the following criteria:
1) Game record is used to determine place in standings and will be used to determine playoff seeding.
2) If two teams are tied in game record:
a. Head to head result(s)
b. Least number of forfeits
c. Overall match record
d. Combined winning % of opponents
e. Earliest sign up date/time
3) If three or more teams are tied in game record:
a. Head to head game record versus all tied teams
b. Head to head match record versus all tied teams
c. Least number of forfeits
d. Combined winning % of opponents
e. Earliest sign up date/time
