About the Sideout Scoring System in Volleyball

The Facts

• Only teams that serve can earn points in the sideout scoring model. When play ends and the official rules in favor of the nonserving team, a sideout is awarded and service switches to another team. Points and/or sideouts are awarded when:
  -- The ball is successfully attacked. An attack is any scoring attempt by a particular side. A successful attack is called a kill.
  -- A player serves the ball in bounds without a successful return. This is called an ace.
  -- An error is declared by the official.

The Facts

• In volleyball, errors are numerous and fall into different categories:
  ATTACKING ERRORS
  -- The ball lands out of bounds without being touched by the opposing team.
  -- The ball lands on the same side as the attacking team.
  -- The ball goes under the net.
  -- The ball touches, passes over or passes outside the net antennae. The antennae are located at the end of the net and correspond to the width of the court.
  -- The ball is touched more than three times by the attacking team.
  -- A player touches the ball twice in succession.
  -- A player attacks the ball before it crosses to his side of the court.
  -- A player commits a lift or carry. This happens when a player uses an open hand during a pass.
  -- A player's uniform or body makes contact with the net during an attack.
  -- A back row player attack the ball while it is level or above the netline.
  BLOCKING/DEFENSIVE ERROR
  -- No player touches the ball before it hits the ground on his side.
  -- A player on the back row takes part an otherwise successful block of an attack at the net.
  -- A player attempts a block or front-line attack against a serve. For instance, it is against the rules to spike or attack an incoming serve.
  SERVICE ERRORS
  -- The serve does not successfully cross the net without touching.
  -- The server fails to serve within eight seconds of the officials' whistle.
  -- The server steps out of the server's box before making contact with the ball.
  OTHER ERRORS
  -- A player is out of position when the serve is attempted. While players can line up in different configurations, they must always line up in their order of rotation.
  -- One or more players jump, raise their arms or attempt to block the sight line of the server at the precise moment the ball is served.
  -- If any physical fight breaks out between players.

The Facts

• When play ends, the official awards either a sideout or a point. In the case of a sideout, the serving team surrenders the ball to its opponent and the serving team rotates clockwise. The diagram shows that Player 1 on the red team will move to her left on a sideout, and Player 2 on the red team will drop to the back right/service position.
  If the official awards a point, no rotation is made and the players must remain in their rotation order.

Time Frame

• Volleyball is an untimed game and is predicated on a team winning three of five games. The NCAA and FIVB use a best three-out-of-five model. In sideout scoring, a game goes to 15 points. The winning team must win by two points, otherwise play will continue above and beyond the 15-point threshold. If the match goes to five games, scoring will switch to the rally model for the that game.

Evolution

• In 2002, the NCAA switched to rally scoring for its men's and women's games. The college game adopted a rally scoring system, in which all sideouts result in points. This system also increased the winning score from 15 to 30 points for the first four games and kept it at 15 for the fifth game. In 2008, the NCAA modified its scoring rules, reducing the score needed for victory from 30 to 25 points.
  In addition, the FIVB has adopted a rule allowing the serve to hit the net and stay in play as long as the ball crosses the plane and enters the opposing court.