Volleyball officials are ruled by lines. The majority of our calls are centered on whether volleyballs are in or out, and many of those calls are determined by centimeters. We also must determine if contact with the ball is legal or illegal based on where players last contacted the court (behind, on or over a line). Making things more complicated are the three major codes, which don’t always agree on what is legal. Therefore it’s even more important that we know all the nuances related to lines and the rules surrounding them. This article will focus solely on lines on the court and net, excluding delineations of playable areas and ceilings.
Let’s start easy and work our way up to more challenging situations.
In/Out
The easiest rule to understand is what constitutes a ball being in or out. While determining whether a ball is in can be difficult at higher levels due to the ball’s rate of speed, the rule itself is quite clear. Thankfully, all three codes are in agreement: In order to be out, the ball must touch the floor completely outside the court’s boundary lines, with no part of the ball in contact with the boundary lines (NFHS 2-3b; NCAA 16.2.2.1; USAV 8.4.1).
Line Fault (Serve)
While a ball touching the line is generally a good thing, the same isn’t always true when it comes to a foot touching the line. This is where referees really need to understand the nuances of the rules regarding line faults.
First, let’s focus on the lines in regard to serving. There are two lines referees need to focus on when it comes to serving. The first is the endline. At the instant the ball is contacted for service, the server shall not touch the endline. If any portion of the server’s foot is in contact with the endline, is completely inside the endline or last contacted the endline before leaving the floor, it is a line fault at the moment the server contacts the ball. The easiest way to remember this is the line is considered “in” and the server must be outside the court upon contact.
The second set of lines to be concerned with during service is the two short lines, perpendicular to the endline. These lines are included in the width of the serving area. A server may be in contact with those hashmarks at the moment the ball is contacted, but no portion of the foot can be outside of the hashmarks upon service (as shown in PlayPic A). A server may start outside the hashmarks and move inside the hashmarks to serve (as shown in PlayPic B).
Line Fault (Centerline)
When it comes to the centerline, things become a little more complicated. The three codes don’t have the exact same rules when it comes to the centerline, so it is important to understand the nuances. In NFHS, a player may touch the floor across the centerline with one or both feet or hands provided a part of the foot or hand remains on or above the centerline (as shown in PlayPic C on the next page). Contacting the floor across the centerline with any other body part is illegal (as shown in PlayPic D on the next page). It is always a fault in high school, regardless of interference. A player may also cross the extension of the centerline outside the court at any time provided the player does not interfere with the opposing team (9-5-7, 9-5-8). The one area of the rule that can cause confusion is there are two different faults at play here in NFHS. Completely crossing the line with a hand or foot or any other body part encroaching over the line is a centerline fault. However, encroaching over the line and causing interference is a net fault.
NCAA and USAV rules also state encroachment into the opponent’s court with feet or hands is legal, provided some part of the encroaching extremity remains in contact with or directly above the centerline and there is no interference with an opponent. These codes also go a step further. Players may encroach with other body parts, provided that encroachment does not interfere with an opponent’s play. The rules also allow players to completely cross the centerline, provided there is no interference and the encroachment does not present a safety hazard (NCAA 15.2.4; USAV 11.2, 11.4). In these codes, referees must use judgment to determine if crossing the centerline caused interference or presented a safety hazard. In all cases, illegal encroachment is a centerline fault. In NFHS, it is always a fault to completely cross the centerline within the court, which takes the judgment out of it.
Where it gets interesting is when both teams have players near the net and players land on or near the centerline. Sometimes, players land on top of each other’s feet. If both players are doing what they are supposed to be doing and meet the requirements of the rules, this is legal, provided a player does not create interference. For example, if an attacking player jumps to attack a ball near the net, hits the ball into the middle blocker’s hands and then both players land on the centerline, this may or may not be legal. It all depends on what happens next.
If the ball rebounds sharply back into the attacking team’s side of the court and the attacking player is not making any effort to play the ball, there most likely is no interference. However, if the ball is blocked back near the net and the attacking player is trying to make a play on the ball and is prevented from doing so because the blocking player landed on the attacking player’s foot, this would be interference.
