Volleyball Rules & Rubrics

Volleyball is a popular team game that is traditionally played on sand but is very commonly used in school physical education programs as well. Two teams face each other with a net in the middle and the teams hit a ball back and forth over the net. The rules and rubrics of volleyball are simple and easy to learn.

  1. Basic Rules

    • A standard volleyball team consists of six players. The server for each team must serve the ball from behind the end line. The server must remain behind the end line before contact with the ball is made. The ball can be served overhand or underhand. The ball must clear the net and stay within the line boundaries of the other team. The other team must keep the ball in the air by hitting or bumping it. A player cannot hit the ball twice in a row but can make contact again if a teammate hits it after the initial bump. The ball must be hit back over the net within three hits per side. The team that either hits the ball out of bounds or is unable to return a legal ball concedes a point to the other team. The team that scored the point serves next. The game can be played to an agreed upon number of points but 25 or 30 is standard, with a two point lead required for victory.

    Serving Rubric

    • A rubric is a set of criteria used to evaluate a skill. An effective serving rubric is making sure that the server is making contact with the ball consistently and making solid contact with the ball. The ball should be getting over the net consistently on the serve and falling into a legal area of play. Proficient servers should be equally adept at using overhand and underhand serves with expert servers also achieving the same results with more advanced techniques such as jumping serves and floating serves.

    Overhead Pass Rubric

    • The player's shoulders should be squared with the target and the fingers of both hands should be touching to form a triangle. There should be no palm contact with the ball and all impact should come from the front of the fingers and thumbs. The passer should be setting the ball by only using the wrists or the extension of the arms to lob the ball into the air in legal play so a teammate can then return the ball over the net to the other side.