How to Use a Live Volleyball Scoreboard

Creating a volleyball scoreboard takes about 5 seconds:

1. Go to the Free Scoreboard page on JudgeMate.
2. Select Volleyball from the 22 available sports (as of 2026).
3. Tap "Create Scoreboard".

The system instantly generates two links:

• An admin link (with a secret token) — this is your control panel. Bookmark it.
• A spectator link (no token), this is what fans and players see.

Important: The admin link is the only way to control the board. If you lose it, you cannot regain access. Save it to your bookmarks or send it to yourself before the match starts.

No account registration is needed. No app download. The scoreboard works entirely in the browser on any device — phone, tablet, laptop, or Smart TV.

After creating the board, you'll see the Setup Screen where you configure the match before going live:

Team Names:

• Type up to 20 characters per team.
• Default names are HOME and GUEST — change them to the real team names.

Team Colors:

• Pick from 12 preset colors: red, orange, amber, lime, green, teal, cyan, blue, purple, pink, gray, white.
• Colors appear on the spectator screen as team identifiers.

Start the Match:

• Tap "Start Game" when both teams are ready.
• While in setup, spectators see a waiting screen: "Game Starting Soon — Waiting for the host to start..."
• Once you tap Start, the board goes LIVE and spectators see the score in real-time.

You can take your time in setup — there is no time limit. The match only begins when you tap Start.

The score area is split into two zones:

• Left half — Home team
• Right half, Guest team

Each side has:

• A large "+" button to add 1 point.
• A smaller "−" button to subtract 1 point (for corrections).

Key behaviors:

• The score never drops below 0 — tapping minus at 0 does nothing.
• Every tap updates the spectator screen instantly, there is no delay.
• Points are tracked per set. When a set ends and a new one begins, both scores reset to 0.

Unlike basketball (which has +1/+2/+3 buttons), volleyball uses simple +1 scoring because every rally is worth exactly 1 point.

Tip for fast-paced rallies: The buttons have generous tap targets and respond immediately. You can keep up with even the fastest exchanges without missing a beat.

Volleyball is one of 9 sports in JudgeMate without a game clock (as of 2026). Football counts up, basketball counts down, ice hockey counts down — but volleyball tracks points and sets.

This means:

• The clock controls section is hidden in the admin panel — no START/PAUSE buttons, no time adjustment, no quick-jump buttons.
• The spectator view shows only the score, set count, and serve indicator, no time display.
• There is nothing to start, pause, or manage time-wise. You only interact with the score buttons and set management.

This keeps the volleyball board simple to manage. If you have never used a digital scoreboard before, volleyball is an easy starting point — add points and the system handles the rest.

JudgeMate's volleyball scoreboard handles set transitions intelligently:

Auto set-end detection: When a team reaches the target score with the required 2-point advantage, the set closes on its own with that point. The target scores are:

• Sets 1-4: 25 points (with 2-point advantage)
• Set 5 (Tiebreak): 15 points (with 2-point advantage)

The set closes as soon as the winning conditions are met, for example at 25-23, 26-24, 27-25, or 15-13 in the tiebreak.

If the score is 25-24, the set does not close because the 2-point advantage is not yet achieved. The system knows the rules.

What happens when a set closes:

1. The set score is recorded in the history (e.g., Set 1: 25-23).
2. Both scores reset to 0-0.
3. The set counter advances to the next set.
4. The team that did not serve first in the set just finished serves first in the next one, as FIVB rule 12.1.2 requires (serve indicator switches). Set 5 starts after a new toss, so tap the serve indicator if the toss gives the serve to the other team.
5. If it is now set 5, the display updates to show "Tiebreak" and the target changes to 15.

Set History Display: Completed sets appear as a running log visible to both admin and spectators:

• Set 1: 25-23
• Set 2: 24-26
• Set 3: 25-20
• ...

Match end: When either team wins 3 sets (best of 5), the board stops accepting points and shows a "Match ended" card with an "End match" button. Tap it and tap again to confirm. The scoreboard status then changes to ENDED and the score freezes for all spectators.

A yellow dot on the scoreboard shows which team is currently serving. This is visible to both the admin and all spectators.

How to use it:

• The serve moves on its own to the team that wins each rally, so a side-out needs no extra tap.
• Tap the serve indicator to open the serve correction and pick the serving team if the indicator is ever wrong.

Automatic behavior:

• When a set ends and the new set begins, the serve indicator automatically switches to the team that did not serve first in the previous set, as FIVB rules require for sets 2–4. Set 5 follows a new coin toss, so tap the indicator to correct it when needed.

Why track the serve? The serve indicator is useful for:

• Spectators watching remotely who cannot see which team is serving.
• Coaches and scorekeepers tracking serve rotations.
• Tournament organizers who need an official record.

The board tracks which team serves. There is no player rotation tracking, so the teams handle individual rotations themselves.

Sharing the live score: Tap the "Share" button in the top bar to open the share modal:

• QR Code — spectators scan it with their phone camera to open the live scoreboard.
• Link, copy and send via any messenger (WhatsApp, Telegram, SMS, email).
• Native share, use your phone's built-in share sheet (if supported by your device).

The spectator link looks like: judgemate.com/{language}/scoreboard/live/volleyball/{boardId}

Anyone with the link can follow the match. No login, no app download — just open it in a web browser. Works on phones, tablets, laptops, Smart TVs, and projectors.

Font size remote control: As the admin, you control the text size on all spectator screens:

• A− / A+ buttons adjust the font scale.
• Range: 50% to 300% of the default size.
• This is ideal for venues where the scoreboard is displayed on a large screen, projector, or jumbotron — scale up so everyone in the venue can read the score.

Spectators can also adjust their own local font size (range: 70%-160%) by tapping their screen, but the admin's global setting takes priority and applies to all connected spectator screens.

When the match is decided: When a team wins its third set, the board stops accepting points and shows "Match ended" with an "End match" button. Tap it and tap again to confirm; the board then moves to the ENDED state.

Manual ending: You can also end the match at any time with the "End match" button at the bottom of the panel. The first tap arms it, and a second tap within a few seconds confirms. Ending the match freezes the score for all spectators.

What happens after the match ends:

• The score is permanently frozen — no one can modify it.
• Spectators see the final score with an "ENDED" label.
• The admin panel shows a match summary with all set scores (e.g., Set 1: 25-23, Set 2: 24-26, Set 3: 25-20, Set 4: 25-22).

Post-game actions:

• "Share" opens the share sheet so you can send the final score to fans, players, or tournament organizers.
• "Save to my matches" keeps the match in your account. If you are not logged in, you see "Log in to keep this match" and "Not now" instead.
• When you are logged in, "My matches", "My leagues" and "Add to a league" appear as well.

There is no rematch button. For the next match, create a new board.

How long does the board last? Completed scoreboards remain accessible for up to one week. After that, the board expires and spectators see a "Session Expired" message. Save or screenshot the final results if you need a permanent record.