Volleyball Leagues

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Rules of Play

Ball Control – Here are the basics: Each team is allowed three hits before sending the ball over the net.  (This does not include a block.)  As a player, you cannot lift, double contact, or throw the ball.  A double Contact is only allowed on a ball that was hit with such force that it had no ‘arch’ while in flight.  (Considered ‘Hard Driven”.)  When hand passing or setting the ball, both hands must touch the ball simultaneously (in and out) and never allow the ball to come to rest.  You cannot receive a serve with open hands even if the contact was ‘clean’ unless the hands were together and the contact was not a lift, double, or throw.  A spike is to be done with one hand, not two.  Players are not allowed to chase a ball onto another court.  Once a player has stepped onto another court (provided there is a scheduled match on that court), then he/she is considered out of play and the play is over.  This is regardless of whether or not they have made contact with the ball prior to stepping onto the other court.

“Ball On” – In order to maintain everyone’s safety, “ball on” is a yell that should tell everyone on that court to stop play so that no one steps or trips over the offending ball.  While this is very necessary when a person is in danger, such as a ball rolling into the middle of the court, this call is also sometimes abused.  If a ball happens to be rolling by the back of the court, away from any play, or can be quickly knocked or tossed out of the way avoiding any possible danger, then please do not yell “ball on”.  (Teams have made a habit of using any random ball nearby to help them get a replay when their team is not playing well.)  However and again, if there is any danger with a ball coming towards players, please help everyone remain safe by stopping the ball or yelling “Ball On!”  When this happens, the play will be replayed and no points awarded.

Matches – A regular league night match will consist of three games regardless of the outcome of the first two games (no best of three). All games count towards the teams’ points and ultimately toward teams’ standings in the league.

Match Time – All match times are posted on the website and on the patio volleyball board at Yucatan. Match time is the time your game starts, so your team should be present and warmed up prior to match time. Start times are usually announced over the loud speaker, but please do not depend on the announcement, rather, be at your assigned court ready to play at match time. Teams that are late have 15 minutes to field enough players to start the first game before the first game is considered a forfeit. The same late team has 5 minutes to field a team for the second match before it is considered a forfeit. At 25 minutes past the first game’s start time, the entire match is forfeited.
* Only the league director can call forfeits. It is up to the team in waiting to contact the director in cases of a possible no show.

Referee – With the exception of the 6x6 C league matches, all games are self-refereed. This means that teams call violations on themselves, it is not the responsibility of the other team. Violations include touching the net, throwing the ball, open hand serve receive, and determining if the ball was in or out of bounds. Any discrepancies should result in a replay of the point. If this is not sufficient, please find the league director before taking further action.

Scoring – All games will be RALLY SCORING to 19, win by two, cap at 21. This means that every time a ball is served a point will be awarded to the winning team. There is not a freeze at game point – rally score to the end of the game.

Scoring for C Leagues – In the C league games, all games will be RALLY SCORING to 19, win by two, cap at 21. This means that every time a ball is served a point will be awarded to the winning team. There is not a freeze at game point – rally score to the end of the game. At 45 minutes into the match, the third game will be played to 15 and games are still won by two with a cap at 17.

Net Serves – Because all games are rally scoring, any time a serve hits the net, and goes over, the ball is still in play.

Coed Rule – For the matches in any Coed League, except for the C league, the coed rule must be followed. The coed rule is as follows: Any time a ball is touched more than once on one side of the net, one of the touches (it doesn’t matter which touch) must be by a girl. Failure to follow this rule results in the opposing team winning the point.

Schedules – Schedules are posted on www.champagnevolleyball.com/yucatanbeachclub.htm and on the patio volleyball board at Yucatan, providing game times, dates and opposing team names. Court assignments are generally written on the schedule posted on the patio volleyball board, where the wins are recorded after the match.
*At the start of the season, only the first week’s schedules are posted to allow for any adjustments or corrections. The remainder of the season will be posted shortly after the first night of play.

Match End – The match is over when all three games have been played, OR, when match time expires. A 5-minute warning will be given over the loudspeaker near the end of match time. At the end of the five minutes, the team that has the lead wins. If teams are tied, one additional point will be played. This enables teams to stay on schedule so teams playing later are not delayed.

Recording Wins – At the completion of a match, a representative from the team, preferably the team captain, must report/record the wins/losses of the games. These are to be recorded in the “Wins” section of that match as indicated on the Schedule (the ones posted on the patio volleyball board under the Yucatan sign). Record the team number in the box for the games won, and the opponent’s team number in the box for the games they won. All games count toward your team’s seeding in the playoffs. Seedings will be posted each week both on the website and on the patio volleyball board.

Forfeited Games –If a team fails to show for a match, all games will be recorded as losses.  However, the team may contact their opponent to see if they are willing to schedule a makeup match (which usually must be played on a non-league night due to court availability).  The opposing team must still show up at the scheduled game time in order to claim the 3 wins from the other team's forfeit.

Playoffs – The exact number of teams that make it to the playoffs is determined on a league-by-league basis. Not every team will make playoffs. Generally, only the top half of any particular league advances to playoffs. Each winning team will be awarded the number of shirts that equals the number of players on the court.