The RTP Volleyball League uses the Official USA Volleyball rules for all league play with some exceptions, which are listed below.
Contact the Rules Committee Chair concerning any questions about league rules.
The RTPVL is a self-officiated league. Players are expected to call their own faults (nets, lifts, etc.) and not those of the opposing team. If you think that the opposing team has committed a fault, continue playing until the ball is out of play. Then your team captain should discuss the perceived fault with the other team's captain. If the captains cannot agree, replay the point.
A legal team is required on the court for all games. A legal RTPVL team for regular season and tournament games consists of:
When playing with 4 or 5 players, the RTPVL requires a team to rotate into service position and maintain back-row rules just as in 6 player games. With 4 players, the server is considered the single back-row player.
Players must be listed on the team roster and must have submitted a signed waiver form in order to compete in RTPVL play.
Players must compete in at least 3 regular season matches in order to play in the season-ending tournament.
Players are allowed to play in the competitive and intermediate leagues. A player in the intermediate league may be listed on two intermediate team rosters, provided one team plays on Wednesday and the other on Thursday nights. During the intermediate league tournament, the player listed on two rosters may only play on one team.
Teams play 2 matches per night. A match consists of 3 games scored from 0 to 25, rally score. Teams must win by at least 2 points. The visiting team has choice of side, and the home team has the first serve in the first game. Choice of side and serve alternate in the second and third games. In the third game, the teams will change sides after 13 points are scored by either team.
There is no score cap in rally games - a team must win by 2 points.
The league issues volleyballs to every team. A non-league volleyball may be used for league play only if both captains agree.
These are some abbreviated rules. See the Official USA Volleyball Rules for more detail.
Service: Service can take place anywhere behind the end line and between the two sidelines.
Contact with the ball: A team has 3 contacts to return the ball to the opponents. A block does not count as a contact. The ball may contacted multiple times on 1) a block, and 2) on the first contact, provided that the player makes only one attempt to play the ball. The ball may be contacted on any part of the body. Also, the ball must be hit cleanly, not be caught, lifted or thrown.
Attack-hit: This means the ball is directed towards the opponent from above the height of the net. On an attack-hit, the hitter's hand may pass beyond the net, provided the attack-hit occurred within the playing space of the hitter or within the plane of the net. An attack-hit of the serve, unless it has completely passed the plane of the net, is illegal. Several teams are now playing with a back-row setter. Please be aware of the rules for an illegal back-row attack by the setter or any other back-row player (see rule book).
RTPVL: Since outdoor nets do not have antennas, the ball must pass between the poles.
Block: An action that deflects the ball coming from the opponent by (a) player(s) close to the net and reaching higher than the net. A blocking contact may occur with any part of the body. Only front-row players are allowed to complete a block (watch out back-row setters). A blocker may contact the ball beyond the plane of the net, provided the blocker does not interfere with the opponent's play (i.e., does not block the set unless the ball has penetrated the plane of the net). Since the block does not count as a contact, the person who blocked the ball may make the first contact.
RTPVL: Because the RTPVL is a self-officiated league blockers are expected to call out touches of balls that are hit out of bounds, even if the contact is not obvious.
It is illegal for a player to contact the net except for incidental contact by a player's hair and insignificant contact by a player not involved in the action of playing the ball. When the ball is driven into the net and causes it to touch an opponent, no fault is committed.
RTPVL: Players must call their own net violations. If there is a disagreement on the fault, replay the point.
RTPVL courts have no center line under the net.It is not a fault to cross under the net, but it is a fault to interfere with an opponent's play of the ball. It is also dangerous to cross under the net and therefore discouraged.
The boundary lines are part of the court. The ball is considered "in" if it strikes a boundary line or causes the line to move. Note that a players foot, and not the ball, may at times cause the line to move. If there is a disagreement, replay the point.
A team may call 2 time-outs per game.
Legal contact of the ball, particularly during a hand set, is probably the most difficult part of the game to self-officiate. The ball must be contacted cleanly (one contact on the second and third hit) and not held, lifted, pushed, caught, carried or thrown. The ball cannot roll or come to rest on any part of a player's body. Rotation of a set ball may indicate a held ball or multiple contacts during the set, but in itself is not a fault. Since the RTPVL has different categories of skill, there are differences in how strictly this rule is applied. The more strict you are with your team, the more likely the team's skill will improve. If a captain feels that another team is constantly setting the ball illegally and not calling it, it is better for the captain to point out the fault early in the game and not wait until the score is 14-14.
We want to reemphasize that a team calls it's own faults. If the opposing team believes there was a fault, only the team captain may ask if one a fault has occurred. If there is a disagreement over the call, replay the point.