🏐Official Indoor Volleyball Rules🏐 

*Reminder Everplay is Recreational & Social League- Play Safe, Play your best, Have fun.

Sportsmanship Policy: Everplay Sport & Social Club is dedicated to providing a safe and fun sporting environment. All participants should keep this in mind when joining any Everplay League or Event. Because we encourage competitive play while maintaining good sportsmanship, any behavior deemed unacceptable by the Everplay staff may result in consequences such as ejection from the game or event, suspension from the current season, or potentially being banned entirely from Everplay as an organization. This includes actions and behavior toward umpires/referees/field managers, opposing players, and/or teammates. Some examples of unacceptable behaviors include shouting, cursing, physical altercations, and intimidation. Everplay reserves the right to determine actions as violations of the sportsmanship policy and to deal with each instance accordingly. Everplay appreciates it’s participants love for the game and has the ultimate goal of maintaining it’s motto: Play sports, Have fun, Stay social.

Team:

1. Team rosters shall include a minimum of the 8 players, including at least 3 of each gender:
2. The maximum number of players on the court is 6 per team.
3. If a team does not have 6 players and at least 2 players of each gender, they may start with as few as 4 players.  If a team has less than 6 or the gender requirements are not met at game time, they will suffer a 3 point deficit for every match that they are short.  If a player comes late, the 3 point penalty can be waived for the remaining games, but not any games in progress.
4. Teams can play with up to 4 of a Gender.  If they are short the Gender Requirements, they need to follow the Gender Short Requirement Rules (See Bullet Point 7 below).
5. All players must be registered with the League to play with the team. Unregistered substitutes are not permitted. Any team found to be playing with an unregistered player will receive a 10 Mach Penalty to each Match and the unregistered player will be removed.  Any team with multiple illegal players will forfeit the game.  In the Playoffs, any team with illegal players will suffer a forfeit.
6. Team Captains reserve the right to do a Roster Check of the Opposing Team if there is suspected illegal players. 
7. When a team has fewer than the required number of players of a specified gender available, players of one gender may not be substituted for members of another gender. For example, if a team has 6 total players available at game time, but only 1 is female, the team must play short with 5 players (Ex: 4 male / 1 female).  As noted in bulletpoint 4 above, if a team has less than 6 or the gender requirements are not met at game time, they will suffer a 3 point deficit for every match that they are short.  If a player comes late, the 3 point penalty can be waived for the remaining games, but not any games in progress.
8. Effective March 1st, 2020, teams must have at least 1of each gender play or the game will be a forfeit.
9. Players arriving late may join a game in progress by being put in the out-of-bounds rotation into the serving position.
10. All players present during the match may, but are not required to, play in each set of the matches/games.  Those who predetermine to participate in the sets must remain in the continuous rotation until sets are final (unless injury or other circumstance take them away from the set).  Captains must communicate with staff and opposing captains with any rotation updates.  We as a staff are not responsible for keeping up with rotations (this is a honor system rule, any teams violating this policy may be subject to forfeiture).  Please understand this policy and help us from having to do this.     
11. The player order for the purpose of rotation must be determined before each game, however it may be altered between sets.  
12. Late Registration: a team may add players to the roster through the 3rd scheduled match provided the team captain approves, with the league fee pro-rated for the remainder of the season. All players must be formally registered with the League and paid in full prior to playing.

Officials:

1. Each game shall be officiated by a League-assigned referee.
2. Referees are responsible for:
   1. Keeping game time.
   2. Enforcing all game rules.
   3. Calling points and errors.
   4. Recording the game score.
3. The staff shall eject a player from the game if the player engages in any unsportsmanlike behavior.  If a player is ejected from a game, they are suspended for a FULL week (if they participate in more then one league they are suspended ALL all those league games).  If in Playoffs, they are suspended for the entirety of the Playoffs.  If a 2nd Ejection occurs during the Season, that Player is suspended for the remainder of the season.
4. An ejected player must leave the field and facility immediately; failure to do so may result in removal from the league and automatic forfeits for their team.
5. Ejected players will receive emails from the leagues ownership team with ruling on suspension or potentially being banned entirely from Everplay Sport & Social Club.  (Any players suspended for games or leagues must not show to participate or spectate or their team will automatically forfeit those games).

Playing Area:

1. The volleyball court shall measure approximately 60 feet long by 30 feet wide and include a center line. 
2. The net shall measure approximately 7 feet, 10 inches in height.

Equipment:

1. Games will be played with a regulation indoor volleyball provided by the League.
2. Players must wear their League-Provided T-Shirts of the appropriate color for their team.  Beginning the fourth week, any team that has more than 1 player playing in the game that is not wearing their League T-Shirt will receive a side out penalty each time that player(s) comes to service.  This can be waived by the league on special occasion nights, theme nights chosen by the league.
3. Players must either wear soft-soled, close-toed shoes (indoor and grass) or be completely barefoot (sand).

Game Clock:

1. Each match shall be completed within 45 minutes or after the three games are completed.  *Tri City closes at 10pm sharp so please understand we are doing our best to get 3 sets in.
2. Each team is permitted one 1-minute time-out per game. Unused timeouts do not carry over into subsequent games.

Service:

1. A coin toss shall determine which team makes the first serve. The losing team of each match will receive the first serve of the corresponding match.
2. The server must await the referee's whistle before serving and must proceed with service within 5 seconds of the whistle.
3. Server must be delivered from behind the boundary line.
4. Served balls that contact the net on the way over are considered live and may be played.
5. Served balls are dead, and a side-out and point awarded to the opposing team if:
   1. The ball fails to cross the top of the net.
   2. The ball makes contact with the ceiling or other obstruction.
   3. The ball lands out of bounds.
   4. The ball contacts a serving team's player prior to crossing the net.

Returns:

1. Any part of the body may be used to contact the ball, including feet.
2. Serves may not be attacked or blocked; i.e. they may not be returned when the ball is higher than the top of the net.
3. The ball must be returned with no more than three hits.
4. A player may not hit the ball twice in a row.
5. A player in the back row may not spike or block the ball from in front of the attack line.
6. No part of a player's body is permitted to break the plane of the net (the area above the net) for any reason, including when blocking on a return.
7. A ball that hits the ceiling or any objects attached from the ceiling (basketball backboards, light fixtures, scaffolding, etc.) above the playing area shall remain in play provided the ball remains on the hitting team's side of the court. Should this happen while crossing the plane of the net, the ball is dead and a side-out and point awarded to the opposing team.

Rotation:

1. When a team receives the ball after a side-out has been called on the opposing team, the team shall rotate prior to serving.
2. Players shall rotate to the next position, rotating clockwise.
3. The player in the front-right position, and only this player, may rotate off the court, and the next player waiting on the sideline rotated into and only into the server's position.
4. When 6 players are on court, there shall be 3 players in the front row and 3 players in the back row. When 5 players are on the court, there shall be 3 players in the front row and 2 players in the back row. When there are 4 players on the court, there shall be 3 players in the front row and 1 player in the back row.

Side Outs:

1. If a team commits an error or foul, a side out shall be called, 1 point and service awarded to the opposing team. 
   Errors include:
   1. Ball lands out of bounds.
   2. Ball fails to pass over the net on a serve.
   3. Carrying the ball (Lift)
   4. Team contact with the ball more than three times in a return.
   5. A player contacting the ball more than once in a row.
   6. Ball contacts the ceiling or hanging object prior to crossing the net.
   Faults include:
   1. A player making contact with the net during the serve, unless the net is pushed into the player.
   2. Breaking the plane of the net with any part of the body.
   3. Blocking a serve.
   4. Making contact with the net while attempting to play the ball. Exceptions: Incidental contact by a player not actively attempting to play the ball is NOT a fault. Contact with the net as a result of movement of the net is NOT a fault.
   5. Crossing the plane of the net (area above the net).
   6. A player on the back row crosses the attack line to spike the ball.
   7. Placing a foot or hand completely over the center line even if contact isn't made with the opposing team.
   8. Illegal rotation or substitution.
   9. A player making contact with the opposing team's side of the court.
   10. Unsportsmanlike conduct.

Scoring:

1. One point shall be awarded for each dead ball, i.e. "rally scoring."
2. The first team to score 21 points by a margin of 2 or more, or to reach 25 by any margin shall win the game.
3. If a team has scored 21 points without a margin of 2 or more points, game play and scoring will continue until the margin has been reached or a team has reached 25 points.
4. All Sets Count as Games.  Teams will play 3 sets, regardless of who wins the first two, and all will count towards the Standings.
5. Third sets may be to 15 if time becomes a factor.  League officials judgement.  *Tri City closes at 10pm sharp so please understand we are doing our best to get 3 sets in.
6. Each match won shall count as 1 point in the league standings.

Forfeits:

1. Teams must be ready to play and meet minimum game start requirements within 5 minutes of the posted game time.  If a team is not ready to play at 5 minutes past posted game time, it shall lose the first game of the match.
2. If a team is not ready to play within 10 minutes of the posted game start time, It shall forfeit the match by a score of 3-0.
3. If neither team is ready to play, both teams shall forfeit.
4. In the event of a forfeit, the team that is scheduled for and shows up for the match, has the preference to use the court for team practice or scrimmage for the duration of the match time period.
5. Teams that forfeit (3) times during one season will be removed from the league schedule and forfeited out of the league.

Playoffs:

1. Best of three format. Winners 2 out of the 3 games advance.
2. The first two games the first team to score 21 points by a margin of 2 or more, or to reach 25 by any margin shall win the game.
3. If a game three is forced, we will play first to 15 points. (No win by two).