Indoor volleyball has a reputation for being simple to play and confusing to referee. Most disputes come from a handful of rules: when a set ends, what counts as a legal contact, who may attack from where, and what happens at the net. This guide summarises the FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025–2028, which govern international play and most national leagues, with notes for players in the UK and US, where school and college competitions use their own rulebooks. If you keep score at club level, our online scoreboard has a volleyball mode that tracks sets and the two-point margin for you.
The basics: team, court and net
A team has six players on court and may list up to 14 players on the score sheet, including up to two liberos. The court measures 18 × 9 m, split by the centre line into two 9 × 9 m halves. The attack line sits 3 m from the centre line on each side and separates the front zone from the back zone.
| Item | Men | Women |
|---|---|---|
| Net height | 2.43 m (7 ft 11⅝ in) | 2.24 m (7 ft 4⅛ in) |
| Court | 18 × 9 m | 18 × 9 m |
| Attack line | 3 m from centre | 3 m from centre |
Youth competitions usually lower the net; national federations publish the heights for each age group.
Scoring: rally points, sets and the deciding set
Volleyball uses rally point scoring: every rally produces a point for one team, whoever served.
- Sets 1–4 are won by the first team to 25 points with a two-point lead. There is no cap, so 31–29 is a legal set score.
- A match is best of five; the first team to win three sets wins.
- If the match reaches 2–2, the deciding fifth set is played to 15, again with a two-point lead.
- In the fifth set, teams change ends when the leading team reaches 8 points.
A worked example: Team A wins sets 25–21 and 23–25, then 27–25, loses the fourth 22–25 and wins the fifth 15–12. Final score 3–2 in sets. Many leagues award points in the standings by set score (for example 3 points for a 3–0 or 3–1 win, 2 for a 3–2 win, 1 for a 2–3 loss); see our league tiebreakers guide for how those tables are ranked.
Timeouts: each team has two timeouts per set, 30 seconds each. Substitutions: six regular substitutions per set; libero replacements are unlimited and do not count toward that limit.
Serving rules
The server has 8 seconds after the referee’s whistle to hit the ball, from the service zone behind the end line. The ball must be tossed or released and hit with one hand or arm. A serve that touches the net and still crosses into the opponents’ court is legal and stays in play.
Common service faults:
- Stepping on or over the end line at the moment of the hit.
- Taking longer than 8 seconds.
- Serving out of rotational order.
- The ball failing to cross the net through the crossing space between the antennae, or landing out.
What changed in 2025–2028
The current edition abolished positional faults for the serving team. At the moment of the serve, the server’s teammates may stand anywhere on their side of the court. The receiving team must still be in correct rotational order at the serve. After the hit, both teams can move freely. The full detail of the receiving team’s alignment is covered in our volleyball rotation and positions guide.
Playing the ball: three hits and legal contacts
Each team has up to three contacts to return the ball. The rules that matter most:
- The ball may touch any part of the body, including the feet.
- The ball must be hit, not caught or thrown. A held ball is a fault.
- A player may not touch the ball twice in a row. Two exceptions: a blocker can play the ball again after a block, and during the team’s first contact (for example receiving a hard serve or spike) the ball may touch several parts of the body in one action.
- A block contact does not count as one of the three hits, so the blocking team still has three contacts afterwards.
Referees at lower levels often disagree about “double contacts” on setting. Under FIVB rules, first-contact flexibility is wide; on the second and third touches, the ball must leave cleanly from one action.
Net, centre line and attack restrictions
Net touch: touching the net between the antennae during the action of playing the ball is a fault. Contact outside that action (for example brushing the net while walking away) is normally not penalised, unless it interferes with play.
Centre line: a player may cross into the opponents’ space under the net as long as it does not interfere with the opponent. Touching the opponents’ court with a foot is allowed if part of the foot remains on or above the centre line.
Back-row attacks: a back-row player may complete an attack hit from behind the attack line. From the front zone, a back-row player may not complete an attack when the ball is entirely above the top of the net. A back-row player may not block.
Reaching over: blockers may reach beyond the net as long as they do not interfere with the opponent’s play before or during their attack hit.
The libero
The libero wears a contrasting shirt and is a defensive specialist. Under FIVB rules the libero:
- may replace any back-row player without it counting as a substitution;
- may not serve, block or attempt to block;
- may not complete an attack hit when the ball is entirely above the net;
- if the libero sets with overhand fingers from the front zone, a teammate may not complete an attack on that ball when it is above the net.
Most teams use the libero for a middle blocker when that player rotates to the back row. Tracking how well the receivers pass is easier with our volleyball stats calculator, which also gives hitting percentage.
Common faults at a glance
| Fault | Result |
|---|---|
| Four hits by one team | Point to opponents |
| Same player touches twice in a row (not after a block) | Point to opponents |
| Ball caught or thrown | Point to opponents |
| Net touch while playing the ball | Point to opponents |
| Ball lands outside the lines | Point to the team that did not touch it last |
| Server foot fault or 8-second delay | Point to receivers |
| Receiving team out of rotation | Point to servers |
The ball is “in” if any part of it touches the court, including the lines.
UK and US notes
In England, Volleyball England competitions follow FIVB rules with local regulations for youth age groups. In the US, high school volleyball follows the NFHS rulebook and college volleyball follows NCAA rules. Both differ from FIVB in details such as substitution counts, libero options and timeout rules, so if you coach or officiate in the US, check the current-season book for your level.
Beach volleyball is a separate discipline with two players per team, a smaller 16 × 8 m court and sets to 21 (the third set to 15). It also has its own contact rules, notably stricter handling on sets. For indoor, use the rules above.