Referee.com Volleyball Case Play of the Day

Day 31- Libero Redesignation

PLAY

In the first set, after unsuccessfully diving for a pancake attempt, the libero for team A is injured and

unable to continue. The head coach for team A would like to designate player A23, who is currently on

the court in the middle back position, to become the new libero. A10 substitutes for A23. The second

referee authorizes the substitution. Then A23 changes into a legal libero top and after the next rally

exchanges with A10, who has rotated to right back.

RULING

Legal procedure. When a redesignation takes place, the player replacing the libero must be a substitute.

The redesignation of the libero does not need to take place immediately. The player redesignated as the

libero shall wear a libero uniform and have a unique number not worn by any other teammate. The

injured libero may not play for the remainder of the match. The redesignated libero shall remain the

libero for the remainder of the set/match (NFHS 10-4-3a, 11-4-1).

Day 30- The Serve

PLAY

S23 goes back to serve and tosses the ball in the air. S23 contacts the ball with both hands and the serve

crosses the net between the two antennas and is played by R5, whose overpass travels over the net and

lands out of bounds. The first referee whistles and awards a loss of rally/point to team S. The head

coach from team R disagrees but remains seated and quiet on the team bench.

RULING

Incorrect. A service fault was committed by S23 when the serve was contacted with two hands. The

serve is only legal when contacted with one hand, fist or arm (NFHS 8-1-1).

Day 29- Position Fault

PLAY

Team R is trailing, 10-5, in the first set. R7 is playing in the left back position and has his right foot on the

team’s playing court and his left foot completely outside the left sideline nearest the referee stand. The

first referee beckons for serve and S12 serves the ball into the net. The second referee whistles and

signals an illegal alignment fault against the receiving team. The first referee awards a loss of rally/point

to team S.

RULING

Correct. All players, except the server, must be within the team’s playing court at the contact for serve.

Players may be in contact with the boundary lines or centerline but may not be outside those lines at

the contact for serve (NFHS 6-4-3a).

Day 28- Libero Redesignation

PLAY

In the first set, after unsuccessfully diving for a pancake attempt, the libero for team A is injured and

unable to continue. The head coach for team A would like to designate player A23, who is currently on

the court in the middle back position, to become the new libero. A10 substitutes for A23. The second

referee authorizes the substitution. Then A23 changes into a legal libero top and after the next rally

exchanges with A10, who has rotated to right back.

RULING

Legal procedure. When a redesignation takes place, the player replacing the libero must be a substitute.

The redesignation of the libero does not need to take place immediately. The player redesignated as the

libero shall wear a libero uniform and have a unique number not worn by any other teammate. The

injured libero may not play for the remainder of the match. The redesignated libero shall remain the

libero for the remainder of the set/match (NFHS 10-4-3a, 11-4-1).

Day 27- Concussions

PLAY

The libero from team B is hit in the head by a teammate attempting to play the ball. Play is stopped as

the libero falls to the court and is complaining of a severe headache. The first referee orders the libero

to be removed from play immediately.

RULING

Correct. If a concussion is suspected, the player should be removed immediately and cannot return until

cleared by an appropriate health care professional (NFHS 10-3-5).

Day 26- Plays at the Net

PLAY

During a long rally, a ball is headed toward the plane of the net where both A3 and B9 are attempting to

play the ball. As both players jump and reach toward the ball, B9’s right hand makes contact with the

antenna before blocking the ball down on team A’s side. The first referee blows the whistle and awards

a point/loss of rally to team B.

RULING

Incorrect. A player contacting the net antenna at any time during play is considered a net fault (NFHS 9-

6-7a).

Day 25- Protocols

PLAY

During a tournament setting, multiple courts are being used. The courts are next to one another. The

host administrator and lead official meet before the first match and instruct all of the scoreboard

operators to mute the horn on the scoreboard for each court. The lead official informs the court officials

that the second referee on each court will sound his or her whistle to end timeouts, warmup time and

the interval between sets.

RULING

Correct. When multiple courts are being used, the horn on the scoreboard can be disabled so as to not

interfere with the other courts at the direction of the first referee (NFHS 5-8-3a Note).

Day 24- Equipment and Accessories

PLAY

The libero for team A is wearing a knee brace, which is unaltered from the manufacturer’s original

design/production and does not present a hazard. The first referee allows the libero to play without any

additional padding required.

RULING

Correct. Unaltered knee braces are not required to be padded if they do not pose a safety threat (NFHS

4-1-3).

Day 23- Protests and Challenges

PLAY

Team A completes a legal attack of a ball on an overpass by team B’s setter. The libero for team B

attempts to avoid the ball as it whizzes by. The ball lands out of bounds. The line judge indicates the ball

lands inbounds. The first referee agrees and awards a point/loss of rally to team A. The head coach of

team B disagrees and would like to have the call reviewed using video replay. The second referee obliges

the coach’s request.

RULING

Incorrect. The only way the line judge’s call can be overturned is if the first referee overrules the line

judge (NFHS 5-4-3a3, 11-3-2).

Day 22- Playing at the Net

PLAY

A5 passes a served ball and the ball travels into the plane of the net near the back-row setter, A20, who

does not contact the ball, but whose hands are higher than the top of the net. The ball is next contacted

by B4 who is a front-row blocker. The ball lands out of bounds on team A’s side. The first referee blows

the whistle and awards a point/loss of rally to team B and signals a back-row block on team A.

RULING Incorrect. The ball was never contacted by the back-row setter of team A, which is required for a

completed block. Team A’s setter can jump and have his or her hands above the height of net. For a

back-row block to have taken place, the ball would have had to contact a body part of A20 while the ball

was completely above the height of the net (NFHS 9-5-1c2, 9-5-5a).

Day 21- Conduct

PLAY Player B11 is serving as the libero in the first set and has been given a yellow conduct card for verbally

taunting an opponent. In the third set, B11, now playing as the front-row setter, intentionally trips an

opponent under the net during a dead ball. The first referee issues a yellow and red card and disqualifies

B11 from the match. The first referee then awards a point/loss of rally to team A, while allowing B11 to

be substituted for.

RULING Correct for NFHS. The player must be substituted for immediately and a loss or rally/point is awarded to

the opponent (NFHS 12-2-9f and 12-2 Pen. 1c).

Day 20- Serve

PLAY The server for team S goes back to perform a jump serve. As S3 tosses the ball, it hits a support for the

basketball goal. The first referee whistles, awards a point to team R and signals out of bounds.

RULING Correct. The server has a responsibility to assume a position that is not located under an obstruction.

The server is not entitled to a re-serve and the correct mechanic is to signal out of bounds (NFHS 8-5-

2g).

Day 19- Defaulted Set or Match

PLAY Team A has 12 players and is ready to play team B. Team B only has five players when the first referee is

ready to begin the match and has used its allotted timeouts for set one. The coach for team B tells the

first referee that the team is willing to start the match with only five players and will use a “ghost

player” in the empty spot in the rotation until the sixth player arrives in five minutes. The first referee

rules the first set a forfeit.

RULING Correct. Teams must have at least six players to start the match. Unless state association rules

determine otherwise, a set is forfeited when a team has fewer than six players to start the match. After

the first set is forfeited, the team has three minutes for the set interval before set two is forfeited. The

same applies to set three. If the sixth player never arrives, the match is forfeited (NFHS 1-5-4).

Day 18- Multiple Contacts

PLAY Player A5 goes up for a block, the ball rebounds into the net, then comes down and contacts A5’s chest

before A5 uses a forearm pass to A10, who spikes the ball down for a kill on team B’s side. The first

referee issues a point to team A.

RULING Correct. Multiple contacts are permitted when the first ball over the net rebounds from one part of the

player’s body to one or more other parts in one attempt to block (NFHS 9-4-8a).

Day 17- Substitution

PLAY Player A5 is in position 4 and substitutes for player A15 with the score 14-14 in the first set. Later in the

set, with the score tied at 20, A15 re-enters the match for A10 in position 3 as A5 is then substituted for

by A33 in position 4. The second referee allows the substitution.

RULING Incorrect. A substitution is illegal when the substitute comes into the set for a position other than the

original position in the serving order as recorded on the scoresheet (NFHS 10-3-7c4).

Day 16- Libero Disqualified

PLAY The libero for team A is disqualified by the first referee after intentionally tripping B12 beneath the net.

Team A’s head coach redesignates A10 as the new libero. The first referee allows the redesignation.

RULING Incorrect. The team must play the rest of that set with no libero (NFHS 10-4-3d).

Day 15- Vertical Plane

PLAY Player B50 is near the net, attempting to save an errant pass from the libero. The entire ball crosses the

vertical plane beneath the net. B50 manages to return the ball to team B’s side and then B2 attacks the

ball which lands inbounds on team A’s court. The first referee signals loss of rally and awards a point to

team B.

RULING Incorrect. A player may return a ball that has penetrated the vertical plane of the net over or below the

net only if the ball has not completely crossed the vertical plane of the net when the contact is made

(NFHS 9-4-4a, 9-6-3 Sit. B, comment).

Day 14- Blocking

PLAY Player A10, a middle blocker, jumps at the net to attempt a block. A10 mistimes her jump, lands on the

court and then contacts the ball. At the time of contact, a portion of the ball is above the height of the

net and A10’s outstretched hands are below the height of the net. The ball is next contacted by the

libero who passes it to A5, who then sets the ball to A30, who completes an attack that lands inbounds

on team B’s court. The first referee signals a point to team B and a four hits fault on team A.

RULING Correct. The definition of a blocker includes the criteria of reaching higher than the top of the net at the

time of contact, so when A10 touches the ball, it is the team’s first contact (NFHS 9-5-1 Note).

Day 13- Uniforms

PLAY Team A is wearing multi-colored white uniform tops with a solid black stripe that goes down the side

panels along with solid yellow shorts. The libero for team A is wearing solid yellow shorts with a multi-

colored black uniform top with solid white stripes that goes down the side panels. The first referee rules

team A’s uniforms illegal because none of the players on team A are wearing a solid-colored uniform

top.

RULING Incorrect. Solid-colored uniform tops are not required. The libero’s top contrasted from that of his/her

teammates (NFHS 4-2-1a & 4-2-2).

Day 12- Collective Block

PLAY During a rally, B17, B50 and B19 all jump as part of an attempted collective block. There is a completed

attack by A5. The ball completely misses the block and a defensive save is made by the team B libero.

The first referee allows the play to continue.

RULING Correct. Since the ball was never contacted by any player who was part of the attempted collective

block, no violation has occurred, and play should continue (NFHS 9-5-1c3).

Day 11- Net Action

PLAY During a live ball, A7 and A15 are both going aggressively for a ball that is falling near the net. On the

team’s third hit, A7 contacts the ball sending it over the net. After the attack, A7 crashes into the net

pole, which violently shakes the net. A15 then crashes into A7 and forces the player underneath the net,

across the centerline, outside the court. The ball lands inbounds on team B’s side. The first referee

awards a point to team A as team B argues for a violation of the centerline by team A.

RULING Correct. A7 contacted the pole which is legal. While A15’s momentum forced A7 to team B’s side of the

net, A7 crossed the centerline outside the boundaries of the court, which makes it a legal play (NFHS 9-

5-8).

Day 10- Libero

PLAY At the beginning of the second set, team A turns in a lineup that lists A3 as the libero. In the first set, A7

was the libero. The first referee allows the change in the libero.

RULING Correct. A team may change the libero prior to the beginning of a set (NFHS 6-4-2).

Day 9- Libero Serve

PLAY The libero for team B is in the left back position when her team wins the rally and will serve next. The

libero goes into the serving position without leaving the court at the end of the rally.

RULING Correct. The libero does not have to exit the court when he or she is the next server in the order. The

libero is allowed to serve in one position in the serving order (NFHS 10-4-5b).

Day 8- The Serve

PLAY

Team A is serving. A6 serves the ball, a high floater, over the net and between the antennas. The ball is

coming down near the net on team B’s side, where B3, who is a front-row player, goes up and contacts

the ball while it is completely above the height of the net and attempts to set it to B9 near the net. But

the pass goes over the net where it is contacted by A10 and play continues.

RULING

Incorrect. It is illegal for a player to complete an attack-hit on the opponent’s service while the ball is in

the front zone and entirely above the top of the net (NFHS 9-6-6).

Day 7- Team Mascot

PLAY The mascot for team A has its back turned and is run into by a B3 who is attempting to make a play on a

shanked pass as it lands. The referee awards a point to team A.

RULING Incorrect. Because the mascot interfered with a player’s legitimate attempt to play a ball, the rules allow

for a replay to be called (NFHS 9-8-1f1).

Day 6- Delay of Game

PLAY The libero for team B is discovered to be wearing jewelry in the first set and is issued an unnecessary

delay (yellow card). In the fourth set, team B’s libero is attempting to replace a back-row player after a

rally team B won. The libero goes onto the court to replace B5. However, B5 is rotating to the front row

and cannot be replaced at this time. The libero realizes this and retreats back to the team B bench. The

first referee issues another unnecessary delay (yellow card) to team B.

RULING Correct. Administrative yellow cards do not carry over from set to set. The first referee may issue

another administrative yellow card in this situation (NFHS 9-9-1).

Day 5- Substitution

PLAY

After a timeout and the second referee whistles and returns the court to the first referee, who beckons

for serve, team B wants to make a substitution. Player B40 walks into the substitution zone. The second

referee denies the substitution because B40 did not report to make the substitution before the timeout

ended.

RULING

Correct. Player B40, the head coach or game captain must make the substitution request prior to the

first referee beckoning for serve (NFHS 10-1-2c, 10-2-5).

Day 4- Simultaneous Contact

PLAY

During the second set, two players from team A go up and attempt to attack a pass from the setter for

what would be the team’s third contact. A5 and A6 both contact the ball simultaneously and send the

ball over the net where it lands inside team B’s court. The first referee awards a loss of rally/point to

team A. Team B’s captain unsuccessfully challenges the first referee, believing the call should be four

hits on team A.

RULING

Correct. The first referee’s original call stands. Teammates are allowed to contact the ball at the same

time, with the contact counting as one of the team’s three allowable hits during a rally (NFHS 9-4-6b).

Day 3- Defaulted Set

PLAY Team A started the match with six players. Team A wins the first set 25-10. During the second set, with

team A leading 24-20, A8 is injured and is unable to continue in the match. The first referee defaults the

remaining set(s) and match.

RULING Incorrect. The rules allow for a team to continue playing in the set and match even with fewer than six

players. The set and match should have continued with team A playing with five players and an

appropriate penalty being assessed (loss of rally/point) when the position to serve for A8 comes up in

the rotation (NFHS 11-4-2, 6-4-5).

Day 2- Maximum Allowable Hits

PLAY

During a rally, A12 completes an attack that is contacted by blocker B3, a front-row player who is

jumping, while the ball and B3’s hands are completely below the height of the net. B10 then passes the

ball to B12, the setter, who sets the ball to B30. B30 spikes the ball and sends it over the net to the

opponent’s side. The first referee blows the whistle as soon as B30 contacts the ball and awards a point

to team A.

RULING Correct. For a contact to be considered a block, the blocker must be reaching higher than the top of the

net at the moment of contact. In this case B3’s contact of the ball happens when the hands are

completely below the height of the net, making this the first allowable hit for team B. When B30

contacts the ball, it is the team’s fourth hit (NFHS 9-5-1c, 9-4-3).

Day 1- Injury

PLAY

The libero for team A collides with the setter while going after a shanked pass. The libero’s nose starts

to bleed and there is blood on the libero’s jersey, the court and the ball. The first referee blows the

whistle and orders a replay. After cleaning up the court and the ball and the bleeding stops, the libero is

allowed to continue to play.

RULING

Incorrect. The libero’s jersey will need to be cleaned or changed as there was blood on it also (NFHS

Appendix C).