Volleyball Violations

Volleyball faults and most common mistakes that cause your team to lose points

Most Common Violations in Volleyball

1. Multiple Touches. A player may not make contact with the ball twice in succession except when blocking. The one other exception is during the first team contact, provided the contacts occur during one action. On the first ball during a single attempt, the ball can rebound multiple times. Two separate attempts to make the play is an illegal double contact.



2. Four Hits. It's a violation for a team to hit the ball 4 or more times before returning it to the opponent.



3. Assisted Hit. It's illegal for a player or any object to assist a teammate in playing the ball. For example, if there is a curtain or ball net separating the courts, a teammate can't move the curtain to assist a teammate in making a play on the ball. However, a player may assist herself.



4. Catch and Throw. It's illegal for the ball to come to rest during a catching or throwing action. In other words, the ball must rebound from the contact. This is also referred to as prolonged contact.



5. Ball Crossing the Net Outside the Antennae. The ball must cross the net within the crossing space. The ball must cross over the net, between the rods and their imaginary extension. The ball also can't come in contact with ceiling or any other object as it's being sent to the opponent.



6. Reaching Over the Net. There are certain situations where playing the ball near the opponents playing space is illegal. 



7. Penetration Under the Net. Rules for volleyball and crossing the centerline rules differ from organization to organization. Basically, in mainstream volleyball, it's legal for a player to step under the net into the opponents court provided that some part of the penetrating hand or foot is in contact with or is directly above the center line. Volleyball violations occur when any other body part crosses the line.
For NCAA, the player can cross the centerline provided some part of the body remains above the line and doesn't cause a hazard.


8. Contact with the Net. Again, official volleyball rules for contacting the net aren't the same across the board. In high school volleyball rules, any contacting of the net is a violation. In NCAA, contact made with the net is only a fault if contact is made during the action of playing the ball or if it interferes with play. In USAV, it's just illegal to contact the top of the net.



9. Server Foot Fault. The server can't step on the court line or floor outside the service zone when contacting the ball for service. However, after contact, the server may step or land outside the service zone or inside the court.



10. Attacking Violations.
    The following are volleyball violations for attacking...
    
    
    • Attacking the ball while a player is back row. If at the moment of contact the ball is entirely above the top of the net and the player is on or in front of the attack line. 
    
    
    
    • Attacking a served ball when the ball is in the front zone and the ball is entirely above the top of the net.
    
    
    
    • The libero completes an attack hit while the entire ball is above the top of the net at the moment of contact.
    
    
    
    • The libero uses finger action (hand setting) to direct the ball to a teammate. The player completes an attack hit on the ball while the ball is entirely above the top of the net.



11. Blocking within the Opponents Space. A blocker can legally reach over the net to block, provided this action doesn't interfere with the opponent. In the following scenarios it's not volleyball violations to block beyond the net.
    
    
    • The ball would have crossed the net untouched by the opponent and no member of the attacking team was in position to make a play.
    
    
    
    • The ball falls near the net and no player on the attacking team is in position to make a play.
    
    
    
    • Contacting the ball after 3 team contacts.

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