OHSAA Volleyball Rules

The Ohio High School Athletic Association oversees high school sports throughout the state of Ohio. The state uses the volleyball rules as established by the National Federation of State High School Associations for its boys' and girls' programs. Those rules are in line with those set out by USA Volleyball. Player eligibility rules follow the regulations as set out by OHSAA.

  1. Player Eligibility

    • The state of Ohio has defined standards for player eligibility in all sports, including volleyball. The OHSAA eligibility rules require that a player must have passing grades in five classes at the school for which she will participate. Transfer players must have been approved due to paperwork filed by both schools prior to participation, and the player must have at least one parent living in the state of Ohio. Players must also receive and pass an annual physical exam and cannot be playing on an outside volleyball team during the high school season.

    Rosters

    • A team roster for high school volleyball in Ohio can carry more than 15 players, but at the start of each set within a match, the coach must designate a list of available players that includes no more than 15 eligible players. The coach must also designate his starting lineup rotation at the start of each game within a match and state his intentions regarding the use of a libero player.

    Rotation

    • Player rotation is a major part of volleyball, and the state of Ohio follows the NFHS and USA volleyball rules regarding rotation and overlap. Players begin a game assigned to one of six positions on the court and must start each point in their assigned position. Players can move around at the start of a point, but cannot overlap the person assigned to be behind them or beside them in the rotation until after the ball is served. Players must rotate one position in a clockwise direction each time they win a point on the opposing team's serve and take back control of the service.

    Rally Scoring

    • Ohio state volleyball uses rally scoring in all of its matches. Matches are played best-of-five, with the first four games played to 25 points and game five, when it is needed to decide the outcome, being played to 15 points. The team that wins a game must do so by at least two points. A team receives a point each time it hits the ball safely to the floor inside the court on the opponent's side of the net, or when the opposing team does not get the ball back over the net or hits the ball outside the court. A point is awarded regardless which team served the ball, and the team that wins the point controls the next serve.