Volleyball Signal Rules

According to USA Volleyball, the governing body of the sport in the U.S., there should be eight referees for a match: a first and second referee, a scorer and assistant scorer, and four line judges. Only the first and second referee typically use whistles -- the scorer can whistle to indicate an error in team rotation -- and they then identify with hand signals the reason they blew the whistle.

  1. Time and Significance

    • After the whistle, the referee will hold the hand signal for a moment. If only one hand is used, it is to identify which team has faulted or has asked for a timeout or other delay.

    Scoring

    • The referee holds one finger up to indicate that a point is to be awarded to the team on the side of the court where the hand is raised.

    Boundaries

    • A hand pointed down means a ball landed in bounds. Both hands raised in front of the face with palms inward indicates a ball landed out of bounds.

    Contact with Ball

    • A hand moved flat across the fingertips of the other hand (forming a T for a moment) indicates a ball has been touched before going out of bounds. Holding two fingers up indicates a double hit by one player, while four fingers up means a team has hit the ball four times. A hand held at waist level with palm up indicates a ball has been held, thrown or carried. A hand held flat on the net post means a ball has been contacted by a defensive player before passing over the net (this is not illegal if it is a blocked spike). A sharp downward motion of the hand indicates an illegal back row attack.

    Net Violation

    • The referee will touch the side of the net to indicate a player on that side touched the net illegally.

    Stopping Points

    • The time out call is the universal held T, with the flat part of one hand resting on the fingertips of the other. Both fists are pressed flat against the chest with thumbs up to indicate that play is being stopped and a re-serve is in order. Both hands crossed in front of the chest mean the game or match is over.

    Service

    • The referee holds one arm straight out to the side, pointing toward the team to serve, and brings it across his body to indicate a service should begin.

    Out of Rotation

    • A finger pointed down and moved in a circle means a team has violated the rotation rules, either by overlapping or serving out of order.

    Sanctions

    • If the referee holds up a yellow card, a player is being warned that he has violated game rules. A red card indicates a point is being awarded to the opposing team. Both cards together means the player is ejected.