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:
With the exception of Sunday quads, 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 in 6-player leagues, 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.
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 set, once the leading team reaches the half-way point (11 if playing to 21, 13 if to 25, etc), the teams change courts without delay and the player positions remain the same. If the change is not made once the leading team reaches the half-way point, it will take place as soon as the error is noticed.
In order to keep everyone on the same schedule, there is a cap of 27 in rally games.
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.
USAV Rules
TEAM HITS
A hit is any contact
with the ball by a player in play. The team is entitled to a maximum of three hits
(in addition to blocking, Rule 14.4.1), for returning the ball. If more are
used, the team commits the fault of: “FOUR HITS.”
9.1.1 CONSECUTIVE
CONTACTS
A player may not hit the
ball two times consecutively (except Rules 9.2.3, 14.2 & 14.4.2).
9.1.2.2 When two
opponents touch the ball simultaneously over the net and the ball remains in
play, the team receiving the ball is entitled to another three hits. If such a
ball goes “out,” it is the fault of the team on the opposite side.
FAULTS IN PLAYING THE BALL
9.3.1 FOUR HITS: a team
hits the ball four times before returning it.
9.3.3 CATCH: the ball is
caught and/or thrown; it does not rebound from the hit
9.3.4 DOUBLE CONTACT: a
player hits the ball twice in succession or the ball contacts various parts of
his/ her body in succession.
REACHING BEYOND THE NET
11.1.1 In blocking, a
blocker may touch the ball beyond the net, provided that he/she does not
interfere with the opponents’ play before or during
the latter’s attack hit.
11.1.2 After an attack
hit, a player is permitted to pass his/her hand beyond the net, provided that
the contact has been made within his/her own playing space.
PENETRATION UNDER THE NET
11.2.1 It is permitted
to penetrate into the opponents’ space under the net, provided that this does
not interfere with the opponents’ play.
CONTACT WITH THE NET
11.3.1 Contact with the
net by a player IS A FAULT. (See meeting
minutes, Fall 2011)
11.3.2 When the ball is
driven into the net and causes it to touch an opponent, no fault is committed.
PLAYERS’ FAULTS AT THE NET
11.4.1 A player touches
the ball or an opponent in the opponents’ space before or during the opponents’
attack hit.
11.4.2 A player
interferes with the opponent’s play while penetrating into the opponent’s space
under the net.
11.4.3 A player’s foot
(feet) penetrates completely into the opponent’s court.
11.4.4 A player
interferes with the opponent’s play by (amongst others):
- touching the top band
of the net or the top 80 cm (2’ 7.49”) of the antenna during his/her action of
playing the ball, or
- taking 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.
EXECUTION OF THE SERVICE
12.4.1 The ball shall be
hit with one hand or any part of the arm after being tossed or released from
the hand(s).
12.4.2 Only one toss or
release of the ball is allowed. Dribbling or moving the ball in the hands is
permitted.
12.4.3 At the moment of
the service hit or take-off for a jump service, the server must not touch the
court (the end line included) or the ground outside the service zone.
SCREENING
12.5.1 The players of
the serving team must not prevent their opponent, through individual or
collective screening, from seeing the server or the flight path of the ball.
12.5.2 A player or group
of players of the serving team make a screen by waving arms, jumping or moving
sideways, during the execution of the service, or by standing grouped to hide
the flight path of the ball.
ATTACK HIT
13.1.1 All actions which
direct the ball toward the opponents, with the exception of service and block,
are considered as attack hits.
13.1.2 During an attack
hit, tipping is permitted only if the ball is cleanly hit, and not caught or
thrown.
13.1.3 An attack hit is
completed at the moment the ball completely crosses the vertical plane of the
net or is touched by an opponent.
RESTRICTIONS OF THE ATTACK HIT
13.2.1 A front-row
player may complete an attack hit at any height, provided that the contact with
the ball has been made within the player’s own playing space (except Rule
13.2.4).
13.2.3 A back-row player
may also complete an attack hit from the front zone, if at the moment of the
contact part of the ball is lower than the top of the net.
13.2.4 No player is
permitted to complete an attack hit on the opponents’ service, when the ball is
in the front zone and entirely higher than the top of the net.
FAULTS OF THE ATTACK HIT
13.3.1 A player hits the
ball within the playing space of the opposing team.
13.3.2 A player hits the
ball “out.”
13.3.3 A back-row player
completes an attack hit from the front zone, if at the moment of the hit the
ball is entirely higher than the top of the net.
BLOCKING
14.1.1 Blocking is the
action of players close to the net to intercept the ball coming from the
opponents by reaching higher than the top of the net, regardless of the height
of the ball contact. Only front-row players are permitted to complete a block,
but at the moment of contact with the ball, part of the body must be higher
than the top of the net.
BLOCKING WITHIN THE OPPONENT’S SPACE
In blocking, the player
may place his/her hands and arms beyond the net, provided that this action does
not interfere with the opponents’ play. Thus, it is not permitted to touch the
ball beyond the net until an opponent has executed an attack hit.
BLOCK AND TEAM HITS
14.4.1 A block contact
is not counted as a team hit. Consequently, after a block contact, a team is
entitled to three hits to return the ball.
14.4.2 The first hit
after the block may be executed by any player, including the one who touched
the ball during the block.
BLOCKING THE SERVICE
To block an opponent’s
service is forbidden.
BLOCKING FAULTS
14.6.1 The blocker touches
the ball in the opponents’ space either before or simultaneously with the
opponents’ attack hit.
RTPVL rules:
Since outdoor nets do not have antennas, the ball must pass between the poles.
Opposing teams must rotate after every side-out, including the first serve.
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.
RTPVL: Players must call their own net violations. If there is a disagreement on the fault, replay the point.
Forfeiture:
We do have a forfeit rule, and it is 10 minutes just like the official USAV rules.
· No legal team by 5:40, set 1 is forfeit.
· No legal team by 5:50, set 2 is forfeit.
· No legal team by 6:00, set 3 is forfeit.
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.