INDOOR VOLLEYBALL GAME RULES
START OF GAME:
Rock/Paper/Scissors will be played between the two captains, with the winner choosing to serve first or which side of the court to start on; best two out of three wins. Teams will rotate after the completion of each game.
# OF PLAYERS ON THE COURT:
There are 6 players maximum on the court at one time (at least 3 of which must be female). There is no maximum to the number of women on the court.  Legal game must start with a minimum of four players (minimum 2 females) and fill in with “ghost players”. Example: Only two girls are present. Team plays with 3 guys, 2 girls, and one ghost player.
SCORING:
All games are rally scoring. In the “rally” game, points will be awarded on both the service and service receive side (ex. Server hits ball into the net, point and serve go to the opposing team). Each match will consist of the best of three games to 21 points. Play continues until a two point advantage is reached or until a team scores 25 points. If time is short, the referee may declare the third set be played to 15 (win by two), or until a team scores 21 points. The team that wins two games first shall be declared the winner. Teams may play a third consolation game if a winner has already been declared and time permits.
TIME OUTS:
Each team is allowed one (one-minute) time-out per game. No carryovers.
GENDER RULE:
A woman must hit the ball before it is returned over the net, unless the ball goes over on the first hit. A gender fault will occur (side out) if this does not happen.
SUBSTITUTIONS:
After each side out, players must rotate from the front right to back right position. Substitutions can ONLY be made at this point in the rotation. The substitute is now the server.
SUBSTITUTION PENALTY:
If a team illegally substitutes a player (not replaced from the right front position), that team will lose their serve immediately. All players must relocate to their original position.
BALL IN PLAY:
Points earned on a service made before the referee’s “ready for play signal” will not count. Server has 10 seconds to serve the ball after the “ready for play signal”. Teams will lose serve if player holds balls later then 10 seconds.
BALL “IN”:
The ball is “in” when it touches the floor of the playing court including the boundary lines.
A ball which hits the ceiling or overhead structure on your side and returns to your side of the court is playable.
BALL “OUT”:
A ball is “out” when the part of the ball which contacts the floor is completely outside the boundary line, touches any object outside the court, or touches the rope, post, net, antenna, etc., outside of the sidelines.
A ball is “out” when it hits the ceiling or overhead structure, then goes over to your opponent’s side.
TEAM HITS:
The team is entitled to a maximum of three hits (in addition to blocking) for returning the ball. If more are used, the team commits the fault of “four hits”. The hits of the team include not only intentional hits, but also unintentional hits.
A player may not hit the ball two times consecutively.
The ball may touch any part of the body.
The ball must be hit, not caught and/or thrown.
FAULTS IN PLAYING THE BALL: (SIDE OUT)
Four hits
Back row player spikes the ball in front of the 10′ line.
Catch/throw.
Double contact; hits ball twice or ball contacts various parts of body in succession.
Not using a female on one of the three hits (unless over on first hit).
Illegal rotation (substitutions made anywhere other then the front-right line).
No “prolonged contact” between the player and the ball, otherwise known as a lift. The contact should continue in one fluid motion and the ball should not come to rest at any time in that motion.
BALL AT THE NET:
The ball sent to the opponents court must go over the net.
The ball may touch the net, including the service.
A ball driven into the net may be recovered within the limits of the three hits, except the service.
PLAYER AT THE NET:
A player can break the plane on a spike and a block, as long as you do not interfere with the opponent.
A side out will occur if a player touches the ball or an opponent in the opponent’s space before or during the opponents hit.
Any contact with the net is a fault, except when a player not attempting to play the ball accidentally touches the net.
Any part of player’s body crosses completely over the center line located under the bottom of the net. (A players hands or feet may touch the line provided that some part of the hand/foot remains either in contact with or directly above the center line).
When the ball is driven into the net and causes it to touch an opponent, no fault is committed.
SERVICE:
No “jump” serves are allowed.
When the serving team wins the rally, the player who served before, serves again.
When the receiving team wins the rally, it gains the right to serve and rotates before actually serving. The player moves from the front right position to the back right position to serve.
No receiving player may leave his or her feet to block a serve.
The server must not touch the end line or a “foot” fault will be called.
BLOCKING:
A block contact is not counted as a team hit, and a team is entitled to three hits to return the ball.
The first hit after the block may be executed by any player, including the one who blocked the ball.
PLAYER(S) EJECTION:
General unsportsmanlike conduct towards opponent, referee, etc.
Player(s) ejected will be suspended for the current game and the following week’s game.
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LEAGUE POLICIES
GAMES:
During the regular season games are to be played within time allotted (warm up time is included).
Referee:
A referee will be provided by the Sport & Social Clubs to supervise the game. It will be the referee’s responsibility to coordinate and run the games, which include the following tasks:
• Starting games on time.
• Calling outs, making final calls on any disputed balls or strikes.
• Settling all disputes or disputed calls.
It is understood that refs will assist in the tracking of the score (i.e. Announcing it between innings) and assist in any discrepancies with regards to the coed line-up ratios. However, it is the responsibility of both teams to maintain their respective line-ups and scores each inning.
FORFEITS:
If your team forfeits a game during the season, the following rules apply:
First Offense: Loss of game and warning issued.
Second Offense: Loss of game and staff reserves the right to remove team from playoffs.
Third Offense: Removal from the league.
If you know in advance that your team is going to forfeit a game, we encourage you to call our office so as to help us schedule your opponent a game. This will still be considered a forfeit, but is a courtesy to your opponent.
Teams have until ten minutes past the designated start time to field a full squad (minimum numbers of players required to play according to the rules). Refer to rules regarding the guy/girl batting ratio. Anything less then the minimum must be approved by the staff and opposing team.
STANDINGS:
The updated standings will be posted weekly, displaying each teams rank within its skill level. Rank is based on winning percentage.
POINTS AWARDED:
Win – 2 points…Tie – 1 point… Loss – 0 points
PLAYOFFS:
All eligible teams make the playoffs (teams that have not abused any policies or forfeits are eligible).
In certain situations teams at or near the bottom of the standings may not advance to the playoffs. Check with RGVSSC league coordinator to see if this applies to your league.
Playoffs are single elimination.
Seeding: Teams are seeded according to winning percentage and strength of schedule.
Teams may be dropped from their regular season level based on the above criteria. Teams may be moved to a higher division during the playoffs only if permission is granted.
Skill levels may be divided into separate divisions based upon size of level.
Teams may play more than one game per day.
Any questions regarding rules, policies, or eligibility must be addressed before the start of the game. RGVSSC reserves the right to schedule playoff games on days other than your regularly scheduled league night.
WAIVERS:
In order to participate in the league, each participant must sign the team waiver. Waivers are provided and must be completed and handed in no later than the first night of play. Players not present the first week of play will still be required to sign a waiver with our staff before participating.
PLAYER ELIGIBILITY:
A formal protest may be filed before a game if an opposing player’s eligibility is in question. The player in question will be required to provide his/her player information (name, address, phone #, signature) in writing to a RGVSSC staff member prior to the start of the game. This qualifies as an official protest. The game will then be played in its entirety as scheduled. Teams will be notified of all rulings on the identified eligibility discrepancy by the following business day – decisions will not be made on site. If the protest is proven to be legitimate, it will result in the forfeiture of the game in question. Games subsequent to the protested game may be rescheduled.
The above procedure will also apply for any other “logged” protests. All rulings by RGVSSC staff are considered final.
SPORTSMANSHIP:
The purpose of RGV Sports and Social Club is to have fun. We hope that all participants keep that in mind when becoming involved. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league.
STAFF:
To coordinate and run the league, our refs and/or staff will be available at all times to help the league run as smoothly as possible. If you have questions regarding schedules, policies, rule interpretations, directions to the bar, etc. please ask.
LEAGUE CANCELLATION/RAINOUT:
Leagues may be cancelled due to existing weather conditions, dangerous or unplayable field conditions, facility constraints, etc. RGVSSC staff makes every effort to play all scheduled games, thus we will not cancel games until absolutely necessary. Therefore, if you are calling concerning a decision on a cancellation, remember we will not have an answer until close to the start of the league.
If the league is cancelled, RGVSSC staff will change the voicemail immediately. RGVSSC will then call all of the captains. If a league is cancelled on site, RGVSSC staff will attempt to contact those teams still scheduled to play the remainder of the league day/night. Depending on the time of cancellation, some teams will have to be notified on site. If we do cancel, follow next week’s schedule (ex. If April 13 is cancelled teams should follow the April 20 schedule for their next game). The games that are cancelled will be made up at the end of the season if time allows. In extreme circumstances, RGVSSC reserves the right to run a shortened season without a refund of schedule matches on days other than our regularly scheduled league day/night.
PRIZES/ T-SHIRTS:
Each team will receive one shirt for every paid player on the roster.  Rosters will be considered final by the second week of the league and used for distribution of T-shirts. The shirts will be handed out at the sponsor bar during the season. Please look for the announcement at the league designating which nights the shirts will dispensed. Those teams unable to pick up their T-shirts at the sponsor bar must call the office to make arrangements to pick them up at the office. Unfortunately, T-shirts cannot be brought out to the leagues. The RGVSSC cannot guarantee the availability of T-shirts after the last week of regular season, so please pick them up at “T-shirt night” or soon after.
The top teams in each division will receive a prize of great emotional, spiritual, and most importantly, social value.
These policies are designed to make the league run as smoothly and safely as possible, and provide continuity for its participants. Each player in the league is responsible for this information: please advise your team of these rules and thanks for playing.
