Volleyball Glossary

A flexible fiberglass rod, 1.80 m long and 10 mm thick, fastened at the outer edge of each side band (Rule 2.4). Its top 80 cm stands above the net in 10 cm stripes, usually red and white. The antennae count as part of the net and close the crossing space at the sides, so a ball that touches an antenna is out (Rule 8.4.3).

The official seated beside the scorer at the scorer's table (Rule 28). The assistant scorer records Libero replacements on the Libero control sheet, runs the manual scoreboard on the table, keeps the reserve score sheet and takes over if the scorer cannot continue. At FIVB, World and Official Competitions the role is compulsory.

Every action that sends the ball towards the opponent, except a service and a block (Rule 13.1.1). It is complete when the ball fully crosses the vertical plane of the net or an opponent touches it. A tip is legal only if the ball is cleanly hit and not caught or thrown (Rule 13.1.2).

The line whose rear edge is 3 m from the axis of the centre line. It closes the front zone (Rules 1.3.4 and 1.4.1), and back-row players must take off behind it to attack a ball that is entirely above the net. At FIVB, World and Official Competitions it continues outside the side lines as five 15 cm dashes, 1.75 m in total.

One of the three players in positions 5, 6 and 1 (Rule 7.4.1.2). A back-row player may attack at any height from behind the front zone, but from inside it only if part of the ball is below the top of the net at contact (Rules 13.2.2 and 13.2.3). Completing a block is forbidden (Rule 14.6.2).

Spherical, with a leather or synthetic leather case, 65–67 cm round and 260–280 g in weight, inflated to 0.30–0.325 kg/cm² (Rule 3.1). All balls used in one match must share the same standards (Rule 3.2). At FIVB, World and Official Competitions five balls are used, with six ball retrievers around the court (Rule 3.3).

The action of players close to the net who reach higher than the top of the net to stop the ball coming from the opponent (Rule 14.1.1). Only front-row players may complete one. A block contact is not one of the team's three hits, so the team still has three after it, and the blocker may take the first (Rule 14.4). Blocking a service is a fault (Rule 14.5).

The player marked as team captain on the score sheet, with an 8 × 2 cm stripe under the chest number (Rules 4.1.2 and 4.3.4). The captain takes part in the toss and signs the score sheet before the match. On court the captain is the game captain, the only player allowed to speak to the referees while the ball is out of play (Rule 5.1.2). When the captain goes to the bench, the coach or captain names another game captain from the players on court.

A fault: the ball is caught and/or thrown and does not rebound from the hit (Rules 9.2.2 and 9.3.3). Fans and commentators call it a carried or lifted ball. The ball may touch any part of the body, so the call depends only on whether it rebounds cleanly.

The teams change courts after every set except before the deciding set, which starts with a new toss (Rules 7.1 and 18.2.1). In the deciding set they change once the leading team reaches 8 points and keep their positions (Rule 18.2.2). A missed change is made as soon as it is noticed, and the score stays as it was.

Directs the team from outside the court: picks the starting line-ups and the substitutes and requests time-outs, always through the 2nd referee (Rule 5.2.1). Before each set the coach hands in the line-up sheet (Rule 5.2.3.1). During play the coach may stand or walk in the free zone in front of the team bench, from the extension of the attack line to the warm-up area (Rule 5.2.3.4).

A rectangle of 18 × 9 m surrounded by the free zone (Rule 1.1). The centre line splits it into two 9 × 9 m halves; all lines are 5 cm wide and are drawn inside the court, so a ball touching a line is in (Rules 1.3 and 8.3). The court dimensions guide has the full layout.

The fifth set, played when the sets stand at 2-2 (Rule 6.3.2). It goes to 15 points instead of 25, still with a two-point lead. A new toss decides the first service (Rule 7.1), and the teams change courts at 8 points (Rule 18.2.2).

The sanction for a team's second and every later delay in the match: a point and the service to the opponent (Rule 16.2.3). Delays include prolonging an interruption after being told to resume, requesting an illegal substitution and repeating an improper request (Rule 16.1). Delay sanctions belong to the team, last the whole match and go on the score sheet.

The sanction for a team's first delay in the match (Rule 16.2.2). It costs no point, but it stays in force until the end, so the next delay of any kind by any team member brings a delay penalty. A delay sanction given before or between sets applies in the following set (Rule 16.2.4).

The heaviest misconduct sanction (Rule 21.3.3). If on court, the team member is substituted legally or exceptionally and leaves for the dressing room for the rest of the match. A first physical attack or threatened aggression is enough, and so is a second offensive conduct or a third rude conduct by the same person. The referee shows the red and yellow cards separately (Rule 21.6).

A fault: one player hits the ball twice in succession, or the ball touches several parts of the body one after another (Rule 9.3.4). Two exceptions allow consecutive contacts within one action: at the block and on the team's first hit (Rule 9.2.3). A reception can therefore brush the forearm and the shoulder and stay legal, while the same touch on the second hit is a fault.

A substitution beyond the normal limits, allowed when an injured, ill, expelled or disqualified player cannot be replaced legally (Rule 15.7). Any player not on court at that moment may come in, except the Liberos and their regular replacement player. The player who leaves cannot return in the match, and the scorer counts the change in the set's total of substitutions.

A misconduct sanction that removes a team member for the rest of the set (Rule 21.3.2). A player on court is substituted at once and waits in the dressing room until the set ends, with no other consequence. A first offensive conduct, or a second rude conduct by the same person, brings expulsion. The referee shows the red and yellow cards together (Rule 21.6).

Directs the match from a referee's stand at one end of the net, eyes about 50 cm above it, on the side opposite the scorer (Rule 23.1). The first referee whistles every service, has the final word during the match and may overrule any other member of the refereeing team (Rule 23.2.1). At the end, the first referee checks and signs the score sheet.

A team that refuses to play after being summoned, or does not appear on court on time without a valid reason, is declared in default and loses 0-3, with every set recorded 0-25 (Rules 6.4.1 and 6.4.2). An incomplete team is a separate case: it loses the set or the match but keeps the points and sets it has already won (Rule 6.4.3).

A fault: the team plays the ball four times before sending it back (Rules 9.1 and 9.3.1). The limit is three hits, and a block contact does not count towards it (Rule 14.4.1). When two teammates touch the ball at the same moment, that counts as two hits (Rule 9.1.2.1).

The area around the court, at least 3 m wide on every side, under at least 7 m of obstacle-free height (Rule 1.1). At FIVB, World and Official Competitions it measures 5 m from the side lines and 6.5 m from the end lines, with at least 12.5 m of free height. During a time-out the players in play go to the free zone near their bench (Rule 15.4.2).

A time-out or substitution requested at the wrong moment or by the wrong person: during a rally or after the whistle to serve, by a team member with no right to ask, as a second substitution in the same interruption, or after the team has used up its time-outs or substitutions (Rule 15.11.1). The first one in the match is rejected and noted on the score sheet without other consequence. Any later one is a delay (Rule 15.11.3).

The break between sets, three minutes long (Rule 18.1). The teams change courts and the scorer records the line-ups for the next set. At the organiser's request, the competent body may extend the interval between the second and third sets to 10 minutes.

A specialist defensive player in a uniform of a different dominant colour from the rest of the team (Rules 19.1 and 19.2). A team may name up to two on the score sheet; at FIVB senior competitions two are compulsory when more than 12 players are listed. Only one Libero is on court at a time. The Libero replaces back-row players and may not serve, block, try to block or complete an attack hit on a ball entirely above the net (Rule 19.3.1).

How the Libero comes on and off, kept apart from a substitution (Rule 19.3.2). Replacements are unlimited and do not count against the six substitutions per set, but a completed rally must separate two of them. They happen through the Libero replacement zone on the bench side, between the attack line extension and the end line, while the ball is out of play and before the whistle for service.

Four or two officials with 40 × 40 cm flags who signal ball in and out, touches by the receiving team, balls touching the antenna and the server's foot faults (Rule 29). Two line judges stand at the corners closest to each referee's right hand; at FIVB, World and Official Competitions four of them stand 1 to 3 m from each corner on the extension of the line they watch.

Won by the team that wins three sets (Rule 6.3.1). At 2-2 the deciding set is played to 15. The Official Volleyball Rules describe only the match to three winning sets.

Hung over the centre line with its top at 2.43 m for men and 2.24 m for women, measured at the centre of the court (Rules 2.1.1 and 2.1.2). Over both side lines it must be the same height and no more than 2 cm above the official one. The net is 1 m wide and 9.50 to 10 m long, with 10 cm square black mesh (Rule 2.2). Youth heights are set by national federations.

Contact with the net between the antennae during the action of playing the ball (Rule 11.3.1). That action runs from take-off through the hit or attempt to a safe landing. Touching the net outside the antennae is not a fault unless it interferes with play (Rule 11.3.2). The neighbouring fault under the net is a whole foot landing in the opponent's court (Rule 11.4.3).

The first step of the misconduct sanction scale: a point and the service to the opponent, shown with a red card (Rules 21.3.1 and 21.6). It is given for the first rude conduct in the match by any team member. On the JudgeMate volleyball scoreboard, a red card adds the point to the opponent automatically.

At the moment of the service hit, a player of the receiving team is out of rotational order relative to the teammates beside, in front of or behind them (Rules 7.4 and 7.5.1). The opponent gets a point and the service, and the positions are corrected (Rule 7.5.4). No earlier points are cancelled, which is the difference from a rotational fault.

The six numbered places on court: 4, 3 and 2 along the net from left to right, and 5, 6 and 1 at the back (Rule 7.4.1). At the service hit the receiving team must keep its rotational order, judged by the feet on the floor: each back-row player further from the net than the matching front-row player, each side player closer to the side line than the middle one (Rules 7.4.2 and 7.4.3). Under the 2025-2028 rules the serving team's players may stand anywhere on their court, and after the service hit everyone may move. The playing roles, such as setter or opposite, are explained in the positions guide.

The sequence of play from the service hit until the ball is out of play (Rule 6.1.3). Every completed rally gives a point to its winner. When the receiving team wins it, the team also gains the service and rotates (Rules 6.1.3.2 and 7.6.2).

When a team wins the service back, its players move one position clockwise: the player in position 2 goes to 1 and serves, the player in 1 goes to 6, and so on (Rule 7.6.2). The order comes from the starting line-up and holds for the whole set. The JudgeMate volleyball scoreboard shows the serving team's rotation number, 1 to 6, counted from the side-outs in the set; it does not know which player stands where. The rotations guide shows all six on court.

The service is not made in the rotational order (Rule 7.7.1). The scorer stops play with the buzzer, the opponent gets a point and the service, and the order is corrected. The scorer then looks for the exact moment of the fault: every point the faulty team scored from then on is cancelled, and the opponent's points stand (Rule 7.7.2). If that moment cannot be found, the point and service are the whole sanction.

The official record of the match. It lists the players, team officials, the captain and the Liberos, and only listed players may play (Rule 4.1.3). The base rule allows a team of up to 12 players, while FIVB senior competitions allow up to 14 on the sheet (Rule 4.1.1). The scorer enters points, substitutions, time-outs, sanctions and protests, and once the coach and captain have signed the team list, it cannot be changed.

Fills in the score sheet from the scorer's table, facing the first referee (Rule 27). The scorer records the points, checks the service order and signals an error right after the service hit, announces substitution requests with the buzzer, and tells the referees when a set ends and when the 8th point is scored in the deciding set.

Hiding both the service hit and the flight path of the ball from the receivers, by one player or a group, is forbidden (Rules 12.5.1 and 12.5.2); if either one stays visible, there is no screen. The 2025-2028 rules add an objective test: no player of the serving team may raise hands above the head during the service until the ball has passed beyond the net (Rule 12.5.3). A service that passes over a screen is a fault (Rule 12.6.2.3).

Stands outside the court near the post, opposite and facing the first referee (Rule 24.1). The second referee authorises time-outs and substitutions and counts them, checks the line-ups against the court, and whistles penetration under the net, positional faults of the receiving team and net contact mainly on the blocker's side (Rules 24.2 and 24.3). If the first referee cannot continue, the second takes over.

Putting the ball in play by the back-right player from the 9 m wide service zone behind the end line (Rules 1.4.2 and 12). The server hits the ball with one hand or arm after a single toss or release, within 8 seconds of the first referee's whistle (Rules 12.4.1 and 12.4.4). At the hit or take-off the server may not touch the court or the floor outside the service zone.

Won by the first team to 25 points with a two-point lead; from 24-24, play continues until one team leads by two, with no cap (Rule 6.2). The deciding fifth set goes to 15. The scoring guide walks through a full set.

The Official Volleyball Rules do not award table points; competition regulations do. The usual scale gives 3 points for a 3-0 or 3-1 win, 2 for a 3-2 win, 1 for a 2-3 loss and 0 for a 0-3 or 1-3 loss (PZPS competition regulations §51; FIVB Club World Championship 2022 ranking system). Ties are broken differently: the FIVB event ranks by number of wins first, the Polish federation by points first. A volleyball league on JudgeMate uses the 3/2/1/0 scale by default.

The six players who begin a set, in their rotational order (Rule 7.3.1). Before each set the coach gives the line-up sheet to the second referee or the scorer, or sends it electronically (Rule 7.3.2). From then on, a change needs a regular substitution. A discrepancy found before the set starts is corrected without sanction (Rule 7.3.5.1).

A player other than the Libero leaves the court and another takes the position, once the scorer has recorded it (Rule 15.5.1). Each team has six per set (Rule 15.1). A starting player may leave and come back once per set, only to the same position, and a substitute may enter once per set and be replaced only by that starting player (Rule 15.6). The substitution rules guide covers the procedure.

A 30-second interruption requested with a hand signal while the ball is out of play and before the whistle for service (Rule 15.4.1). Each team has two per set (Rule 15.1), requested by the coach or, in the coach's absence, by the assistant coach or the game captain (Rule 15.3.1). For FIVB, World and Official Competitions the FIVB may approve a different length at the organiser's request.

The system that lets a team ask for a video review of a referee's call, run under the FIVB Video Challenge System Regulations. Wherever it is used at FIVB, World and Official Competitions, a Challenge referee is compulsory (Rules 22.1 and 25). That referee works from a separate booth, supervises the challenge process and tells the first referee the nature of the fault.

A formal warning for minor misconduct, the second stage after a verbal warning given through the game captain (Rule 21.1). It is not a sanction and costs no point, but it goes on the score sheet and shows that the team member has reached the sanctioning level for the match. The JudgeMate volleyball scoreboard logs a yellow card as a warning without a point.