The sole intent of these rules and their administration is to provide a safe, enjoyable, high quality league for all of its participants through consistent and fair officiating.  Any rules not covered herein will be governed by current USAV Rules.

1. OFFICIALS 

1.01    Officials will be provided by the managers of the recreational facility.  

1.02  All decisions by the officials are final and not subject to protest during the match. The team captain is the only player that may address an official.  Other players approaching an official may result in a side-out of a point or loss of serve. 

1.03  Unsportsman-like conduct and/or use of profanity will result in the appropriate penalties as established by USAV guidelines (e.g. Yellow and Red Cards). If the player or players are overly and/or continually abusive, they can be (at the discretion of the official) ordered from play and the gym. If they refuse to leave, their team will automatically forfeit all games that evening. Depending on the severity of the offense, the player or players may be forced from the league for the remainder of the year. 

1.04  If the official's view of play is blocked and as a consequence he/she cannot make an accurate call, the point will be replayed. 
 

2. TEAMS/ROSTERS AND PLAYERS 

2.01  A team will consist of six (6) players, at least two (2) being female. The roster may contain a minimum of 4 players and as many as 12.  Rosters must be submitted by the first week of play. 

2.02  A team will be allowed to play with five (5) players.  If playing with five (5) players, a minimum of two (2) players must be female.  The two back row players will be adjacent side-to-side to each other and front-to-back to the two outside front row players. 

2.03    In the event a team can only field four (4) players, at least one (1) must be a female.  With four (4) players, the server is the back row player and normal back row rules apply.  The back row player is adjacent front-to-back with the middle front row player.

2.04  If a team cannot field the minimum number of players, they will be forced to forfeit the game and/or match. 

2.05  A team starting play with four (4) or five (5) players will add a newly arrived player(s) to field five (5) or six (6) players as long as it meets the criterion of 2.02. The new player(s) must rotate into the center-back position when the next side-out occurs for their team, and can only enter the game at that point.  Only one player can enter the game on that teams side out at a time. 

2.06  If an injured player cannot either resume play or remove himself/herself from the court within 30 seconds, that player’s team will be charged with a timeout and the clock shall be stopped.  If the player cannot resume play within two minutes, the player must leave the playing area and the game resumed.  If the team has no remaining timeouts, the clock is still stopped, but no additional penalty is assessed.  The injured player cannot return to that game, but may return to subsequent games of the match.  A player from the sidelines may exchange places with the injured player, as long as 2.01 and 2.02 are followed.   

2.07  Players from another team may substitute on another team during the regular season.  For the tournament, a player may only play for one team.  Any team who plays with a player who has previously played for another team will forfeit their match.    

3. THE MATCH 

3.01    The best of three (3) matches will consist of two (2) games to 25 and one (1) match to 15 points via rally scoring if necessary. Games one (1) and two (2) are both won by at least a two point differential.  If a deciding third match is needed, for the competitive and intermediate leagues, the third game is also win by two.  For the recreational league, the third game is capped at 15 points.  If the third game is a non-deciding match, the game may be played at the referee’s discretion if time allows (see 4.02). 

 4. TIME ISSUES 

4.01  The first game of each match is to start at the appointed time.  Inclement weather is the only excuse for a late arrival and that will be at the discretion of the referee.  Ten (10) minutes after the called start of the game, a team shall forfeit that game if they cannot field a proper team. Fifteen (15) minutes after the called start of the match, they shall forfeit the second game if they cannot field a proper team. The official score of forfeited games is 25-0. 

4.02 Matches will be forty-five (45) minutes long. 

4.03  A five (5) minute warm-up period will always be given prior to a called start of the next match.  

4.04    One (1) 30 second "time-out" is allowed per team per game. During a time-out, the ball must be returned to the referee. The referee will notify the opposing team before play has resumed.   A time-out will not affect the match time (see 4.02). 

4.05  Game scoring for playoff matches may vary.  Team captains will be informed of the scoring system used before the start of their first match.

  5.  POSITIONING OF PLAYERS 

5.01  The server shall be the back right player, and shall serve from within the 9 meter-wide area behind the end line and between a lateral extension of the sidelines. 

5.02  All players (except the server) will be on the playing area in their respective positions at the time of a serve. 

5.03  A team must rotate each time it wins service. Rotation shall be accomplished by each player moving one position in a clockwise direction.  

5.04    Substitution will only be made by rotation method.  A player can enter the game only by rotating into the middle back position. Any order of substitution may be used by a team, but the order must be consistent throughout a game.

 6. SERVING 

6.01    For the first game of a match, a coin will be tossed (or equivalent method) to determine which team will serve first. The first serve will then alternate between teams for the subsequent games. 

6.02    When serving, a player must toss the ball into the air and then hit the ball. 

6.03    Only one (1) service attempt will be allowed.  A player is not allowed to let the ball hit the floor or catch the ball after tossing the ball – this will result in a side-out.  The server has 8 seconds to serve the ball.   

7.      PLAY 

7.01  Each team is allowed three (3) hits to return the ball over the net. A hit is defined as an instantaneous contact between the ball and a player. Any contact of the ball by a player that in the judgment of the official is not a hit (or a block) shall be an infraction.  

7.02  A carry shall be defined as any non-instantaneous contact with the ball while the hands are moving in an underhand motion. A carry is an infraction. 

7.03  A throw shall be defined as any non-instantaneous contact with the ball while the hands are moving in an overhand motion. A throw is an infraction. 

7.04  Successive hits by a player (exception 7.05) is an infraction. A block is not a hit. 

7.05  A receiving opponent player may have successive contact with the ball on the first hit as long as the player is making one attempt at playing the ball during the successive contacts.  (Note:  This includes every first ball over the net, not just serve) 

7.06  Contact of the ball with any part of the anatomy is legal regardless if the touch is done in an active or passive way.   

8.      NET PLAY 

8.01  Contact with the net by a player is not a fault, unless it interferes with the play.  Some actions of playing the ball may include actions in which the players do not actually touch the ball. Faults at the Net: Contact with the top band of the net is a fault. A player touches the ball or an opponent in the opponents’ space before or during the opponents’ attack hit. A player interferes with the opponent’s play while penetrating into the opponent’s space under the net.  A player takes support from the net simultaneously with playing the ball or creating an advantage over the opponent, or making actions which hinder an opponent’s legitimate attempt to play the ball.  

8.02  Contacting the ball over the net on the opponent's side of the net can only be done by executing a legal block. 

8.03  A player cannot contact the ball on the opponent's side of the net on a serve.  To block an opponent’s service is forbidden.  No player is permitted to complete an attack hit on the opponent’s service. 

8.04 Only a player positioned in the front row may block. The block does not count as one of the three hits allowed in returning a ball.  

8.05 A back line player returning the ball to the opponent's side while forward of the attack line must contact the ball when at least part of the ball is below the level of the top of the net.  This does not apply if the back line player clearly jumps from behind the attack line before hitting the ball. 

8.06 Any part of a player's body may touch the center line during play. In addition, a foot (feet) may contact the playing area of the opponent, provided that some part of the foot (feet), remains on or directly above the center line.  To touch the opponent’s court with any part of the body above the feet is permitted provided that it does not interfere with the opponent’s play.   

8.07 The antennae is considered out-of-bounds. Any ball that touches the antennae is out of bounds and dead.    

9.      OTHER PLAY 

9.01 Simultaneous contact of the ball with two or more parts of the player's body is allowed. 

9.02    Simultaneous contact of the ball by teammates is allowed and considered as one hit.  Any player on the team (including the two that just contacted the ball simultaneously) is eligible for the next contact. 

9.03  Simultaneous contact of the ball by opposing players, such as at the net, (“jousting”) is not considered a contact by either team, nor is it a penalty.  Either team has 3 remaining hits to use.  If the ball goes out of bounds, it is considered the fault of the player on the opposite of the court from which the ball lands. 

9.04    A ball, other than a serve, may strike one or more times on a ceiling or fixture and still be in play if the fixture intrudes on the height of the official playing area on one side of the net. This rule does not apply, however, if after such rebounding the ball falls on the opponent's side of the net. If the ball becomes wedged or for another reason fails to fall, it shall be a dead ball.  If in the referee’s opinion, the ball had a reasonable chance at being played, then a replay shall occur. 

9.05    DELIBERATE distraction of an opposing player is an infraction. A "non deliberate" distraction will result in a replay.  

9.06    A ball is out of play and a playover directed if it contacts overhead object(s) or the supports (e.g. basketball backboard) less than 4.6 m (15’) above the playing area and would have been remained playable if the object had not been present.

  10. SAFETY 

10.01  For the purpose of safety, a ball shall be returned to the server by being rolled on the ground under the net.  Do not purposely kick the ball back to the opposing side (exception: it is legal to use the feet to make an attempt to play the ball). 

10.02 Players will not be allowed to play in street shoes.