Volleyball rules rules, for watching

Start with how a match works. Then the rules you see every few minutes, then the ones that change results.

Checked 13 October 2026

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Where these rules come from

Tag	Document
V plus number	FIVB Official Volleyball Rules 2025-2028 (indoor), Rules 1 to 29, read in full; hand signals 6 to 8 and 25 read from the text of Diagram 11
BV plus number	FIVB Official Beach Volleyball Rules 2025-2028: the clauses on court, ball, team, sets, positions, hits, net, serve, attack, block, time-outs, delays, injuries and switches
R	"Why the rule exists", or a point reasoned from the rule, not stated in it
C	Common usage or general knowledge, not a rule

All checked on 13 October 2026. Not covered: the FIVB Video Challenge regulations (number of challenges and what may be challenged); the FIVB casebook and refereeing guidelines; the Specific Competition Handbooks; earlier editions of the rules; national federation, school and college rule sets; age-group net heights; sitting volleyball and snow volleyball. The court diagrams were not read as images: sizes come from the text of Rules 1 and 2.

Not covered: the FIVB Video Challenge regulations (number of challenges and what may be challenged); the FIVB casebook and refereeing guidelines; the Specific Competition Handbooks; earlier editions of the rules; national federation, school and college rule sets; age-group net heights; sitting volleyball and snow volleyball. The court diagrams were not read as images: sizes come from the text of Rules 1 and 2.