Unless otherwise noted below, FXA Sports will follow the rules as per the Official United States Volleyball (USAV) rulebook
TEAMS
- Each team must consist of a minimum of 6 players and a maximum of 12 players.
- Players must be 18 years of age or older.
- There must be a minimum of 5 players on the court.
- Each team must have at least 2 females on the court at all times, with a max of 6 females.*
- Each team can have a max of 3 males on the court at all times.*
- If a team has fewer than these minimums, the match will be forfeited.
GUEST PLAYERS
- Guest players are only allowed for regular season games; only rostered players are eligible for playoffs.
- No more than 2 guest players may be used in a game.
- All guests must have signed the guest waiver: www.fxasports.com/guest.
INDOOR COURT LAYOUT
The playing court is a rectangle shape measuring 60’ x 30’
EQUIPMENT
FXA provides the following equipment: nets, boundary and attack lines, and score keeping equipment for each match. Teams must bring their own volleyball.
MATCH LENGTH
- Games that are scheduled 45 minutes apart will play 3 sets or 45 minutes which ever comes first. The first two sets will be to 21, with the third set to 15. Teams must win by 2, with a cap of 22 for the first to sets and 18 for the third.
- Games that are scheduled 60 minutes apart will play 3 sets to 25 or will play for an hour, whichever comes first. Teams must win by 2. There will be a cap at 30, at which point it becomes win by 1.
- If time runs out, the match will end with the current score. (winning by two).
- Every regular season match will consist of 3 sets, regardless of who won the first two. Every set counts during the regular season. Total games win-loss records will be used to determine regular season standings. Match play (best 2 out 3 games) will be used in the postseason tournaments with the 3rd set to 15 points.
- In the event of an emergency or some other unforeseen problem with the time limits, the referee and/or the tournament director may impose a 3 game match consisting of 2 sets of 21 points, with the same 2 point cap tie breaker rule as above, and the third game winner being the first team to reach 15 points.
- The referees will be the official timekeepers and are responsible to see that the matches start and end on time. A 2 minute warning will be announced verbally by the game official prior to the expiration of time.
- Breaks between games during a match will not exceed 3 minutes.
PRIOR TO THE MATCH
Before the match, the 1st referee carries out a coin toss to decide upon the first service and the sides of the court in the first set. There is another coin toss before the third set.
GAME RULES
- The serving (rotational) order of positions on the court will alternate between male and female players.*
- If a team is playing 4 females and 2 males, the males must be opposites of the court. If the team is playing with 5 females and 1 male, the male can start in any position in the rotation.*
- When the ball is played more than once by a team, a female player must make at least one of the contacts. Contact of the ball during blocking shall not constitute playing the ball. There is no requirement for a male player to contact the ball, regardless of the number of hits by a team.*
- Substitutions must be made gender for gender.*
- Each team will have two, 30 second timeouts per set.
- The team that is in the lead of the third set will not be able to use a time out in the last 5 minutes of the scheduled game time. If the lead changes within the last 5 minutes, the team unable to take the time out also changes. Only the team with less points in the third set can call a time out in the last 5 minutes of game time.
- FXA will use rally point scoring.
- There is no libero
- “Ghost Rule”: The team with fewer than 6 players will be playing with a ghost rule. This means that when it comes time for the missing player(s) to serve that team will lose the service, and a point will be awarded to the opposing team.
SUBSTITUTIONS
During a game, there are two ways in which a player may be substituted onto the court – player for player positional substitutions OR continuous rotation. Only one of these methods may be used by a team in a given set. The Captains/Coaches must declare which substitution method they would like to use before each set, and continue it throughout the entire set.
- Positional Substitutions
- Substitutes may enter the game in the position of a teammate in the starting lineup. Each re-entry must be for the same player or position in the rotation. More than one substitute may enter the game at a time. The player or players subbing in must stand in the substitution area between the 10 foot line and the net. An unlimited number of substitutions are allowed. Captains/Coaches are responsible for tracking their own substitutions by name (on a pad or clipboard).
- Continuous Rotation
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- Continuous rotations will be allowed. Once a continuous rotation has been declared, the team is committed to the continuous rotation for the entire game. NO substitutions will be allowed, except for an injury (the exceptional substitution). The point of entry and exit must stay the same throughout the game. If a player is not involved in the continuous rotation and will be sitting out the entire game, the captain/coach must let the referee and opposing captain/coach know in advance.
- If a player is injured and there is only one substitute available, that sub may enter the game for the injured player, regardless of where he/she subbed in before (the exceptional substitution).
- An illegal substitution, whether intentional or not, will result in a loss of rally for the offending team with a point awarded to the opposing team. If the offending team is serving, the opponent also receives the ball. The team must also make the correction in rotation or position immediately.
THE SERVE
- The server must always wait for the referee to signal for serve, prior to the serve. If a serve is executed before the signal to serve, the referee will signal a re-serve. The server is allowed 8 seconds to serve the ball once the official has signaled for the serve.
- The server is not allowed to let the ball drop after it has been tossed, indicating a re-serve.
- A team serving out of rotation – whether intentional or not – will result in the loss of the rally with the opposing team receiving one point and the serve.
THE PLAYING AREA
- The lines on the court are considered part of the playing area. If any portion of the ball falls on any portion of the line, that ball is IN.
- When in the down position, all basketball backboards, rims, and anchoring equipment attaching them to the ceiling are out-of-bounds if closer than 6’ to the court . If the backboards are raised into the up position, they become part of the ceiling and balls touching them are playable.
- A ball hitting the overhead gym divider, ductwork, or ceiling/rafters is out-of-bounds. A ball that contacts the walls of the gym is out-of-bounds. A ball that goes in the bleachers is out-of-bounds. The rest of the gym is considered playable. A ball is out if it hits the antenna or if it crosses the net outside of the antenna.
- If during a volley, the ball hits the gym divider, ductwork, or ceiling/rafters, and comes back to the team that hit it, they may continue to play it, as long as they are still within their 3 hit maximum. If during a volley, the ball hits the gym divider, ductwork, or ceiling/rafters, and goes over to the other team, the ball is out and a point is awarded to the opposing team..
*Only applies to Co-ed leagues. Women’s, Men's, and Open indoor 6v6 rules are the same with the exclusion of the gender rules.