Basic Volleyball Rules

Volleyball- The Game
Volleyball is a famous indoor ball game played in a court in which 2 teams, comprising of six players each, play against each other. Volleyball is a highly recognized game and is also an Olympic sport. It has been played widely across the world.

Basic rules
The game is played in a rectangular court. One of the teams start with the serve and the basic idea is not to ground the ball during the process of the game. Whichever team gets to 25 points with a minimum point difference of two is declared the winner. There are certain prescribed rules for scoring points, rotation and violations during the game.

The Ball
The game is played with a spherical ball made of synthetic and flexible leather whose inner segment is made of a rubber material. The ball has a circumference of 65 cm approximately and weighs about 275 grams. The internal pressure of the ball is prescribed to be 0.325 kg/cm2.

The Playing Court
The court is rectangular in shape, with dimensions of 18*9 m. The court is dived into two equal halves by the net, which is set vertically above the centre line of the court. The top of the net is set to 2.43 meters for men and 2.24 meters for women. There are no limits for the lower end of the net, although most of the nets measure a length of one meter. Besides the central line, there is another line called the attack line, which is drawn 3 meters below the centre line on both sides of the net. In addition, the width of each of the line should be 5 cm.

Serving
A volley initially decides the first server and whoever wins it begins the match by serving. The server can serve the ball underhand or overhand while standing behind the end line until the serve is completed. The only limitation in a serve is such that the ball must go over the net to the other side and is allowed to graze or touch the net during the process. No player must attack a serve on the first touch and he can only bump it.

Scoring
Each proper serve will result in a point being scored by one of the two teams. Whichever team misses the ball or hits it out of the opponent’s court, have to give away a point to the opponent. Rally method of scoring is used here, by which the one who wins the opponent’s serve will earn a point and at the same time wins the next serve too. The team, which reaches the mark of 25 points and with a minimum advantage of 2 points adrift, will be declared the winner.

Players’ Rotation
Whenever a side wins a point on serve, the six players on their side should make a clockwise rotation of their positions. This continues until one of the teams reach 25 points and win that current game. The failure of the players’ rotation shall lead to a foul.

General Rules
During a volley, there can be a maximum of only three hits and no player should make two successive touches. When two players touch the ball at the same instance, it will be considered as a single hit only. They players are allowed to make a hit using any part of the body above the waist. The only goal is to hit the ball on or within the boundary line.

Certain limitations are there in the game. The ball should not be carried or thrown using the palm while making a hit. At no instance can the net be touched and the central line shouldn’t be crossed too. Players are allowed to go outside the court to pick up a hit during the process of a volley.

These are the basic rules that one should follow while playing volleyball.