Rules for Coed Volleyball

While not a sanctioned sport in international, college or high school play, many universities offer coed volleyball in intramural programs. This is a way for people to interact and play sports together while learning teamwork and respect. Some rules from men's and women's volleyball are combined to accommodate this.

  1. Nets, Court and Ball

    • Since none of the players in intramural volleyball are likely to be professionals, the nets are generally set at the women's volleyball height of 7 feet, 4 1/8 inches. The ball is 25 to 26 inches around and weighs between .57 to .61 lbs. The court length is 29.5 feet wide by 59 feet long. A parallel line is placed 10 feet back from the net on each side.

    Players and Play

    • There are six players on each team, three men and three women. Each team has to get the ball back over the net in three or fewer hits. This back and forth is called a rally. During play, at least one woman must be involved in each rally, meaning she must be one of the three people who hits the ball before it goes back over the net. If a team only has five players to start a game, then at least three must be women. A team can play with four players but two of them must be women. No team may play with less than four players.

    Scoring

    • All matches are played best out of three sets. The games incorporate rally scoring. There is a point scored every time the ball is served and a team may get to serve the ball after the serving team created an error for a side out. The error can be hitting the ball out of bounds, not getting it over the net, letting the ball drop onto its side of the court or having too many players hit the ball at once. In the first two sets, the first team to 30 points wins. A team must have a lead of at least two points to win a set. If a third set is necessary it is played to 15 points.

    Timouts and Substitutions

    • Each team is allowed two 30-second timeouts. There are an unlimited number of substitutions allowed. In coed volleyball, there is no libero and anyone is free to play on any part of the court. Players rotate clockwise every time it is their team's turn to serve.

    Considerations

    • Teams must designate a captain who is the only player allowed to speak to the referees. All players must wear sneakers and, preferably, athletic clothing. Avoid wearing shorts with pockets so fingers do not get caught and broken.