Official Volleyball Rules for Grade School

Volleyball can be played either indoors or outdoors in grade school. Wherever it is played, there are some basic rules to follow. The goal of volleyball is to hit the ball over the the net in bounds where the opposing team cannot return it to your side. This can be done using a combination of power and strategy.

  1. Serving

    • Serve the volleyball with both feet behind the back boundary line of your side of the court. Neither of your feet can be touching the line, but you may jump and hit the ball with your feet crossing the line while in the air, as long as you don't hit the ground before serving. Hitting the ball with an overhand or underhand swing of your arm is permitted on the serve.

    Number of Players and Rotation on the Court

    • Start the game with four to six players on each team. In a four-player team, two are on the front half of the court and two on the back. With a six-player team, three are on the front half and three in the back. Each time the other team fails to score on its serve, the other team's players rotate one position in a clockwise pattern before serving.

    Volleying

    • Each team has three hits once the ball crosses onto its side of the net to return it to the other side, without it hitting the ground. A single player may not hit the ball twice in a row. If a player blocks the ball but it continues onto her side of the net, she may hit it again, as the block does not count as one of the three hits or as a hit by that player. According to sportsdefinitions.com, a block is when a player(s) on one team stops the ball just as it is crossing over the net. A block is made by placing the hands above the head, parallel to the net to form a "wall" without swinging the arms forward. If the ball continues onto the blocking team's side of the net, it is not considered one of the team's three hits, according to volleyballadvisors.com, as this was not an attempt to "attack" the ball.

    Legal Hits

    • The ball may be struck by any portion of a player's body above the waist. Hitting the ball with a head or a shoulder is legal. A player may not "carry" the ball or stop its natural movement. This means you cannot allow the ball to rest against a part of your body, such as your hand or arm; the ball must be struck.

    Court Dimensions

    • Volleyball courts are 59 feet long, with the net in the middle of the court. Spiking is not permitted within 10 feet of the net on either side by a player in a position on the back half of the court. The width of the court is 29 feet, 6 inches.