Re: Attacking the serve?

[Todd <tdh@vbref.org>]

kenichi@aloha.net (Matthew W. Dicksion) writes:
> 
> When is it legal to attack the serve?  I ask mainly because I was, well,
> annoyed this weekend when one of the guys I was playing against started to
> attack the serve, then insisted that it was legal.  He claims to have
> played in high school and beach.  Anyone?
> 
> ...
> 
> 

Welcome to the fun of volleyball in the US...where we've managed to
create more rule sets and confusion than any other country (and pass
the savings on to you!).


High school rules do allow you to attack and block the serve, so this
person was not completely wrong.  Everywhere else--including all known
beach volleyball rule sets--it's illegal to attack the serve while the
ball is completely above the height of the net.

Under USAV and FIVB indoor and beach rules, Gordon set it straight.
You must wait until some part of the ball is below the height of the
net to attack it legally.  The AVP Rule and Coloring book, is
(surprise!) silent on this issue, but I can't imagine that they would
allow you to block or attack a serve.

I hope this helps some. These issues are always tough in pick-up ball
because so many rules vary signficantly among the various sanctioning
bodies.  

If you're interested, see my web page for more info.


Best Regards,
--
                  Todd H.   tdh@vbref.org
USAV Regional Referee, Great Lakes Region, Palatine, IL
Todd's Volleyball Referee Page http://www.io.com/~tdh/vball/
"So you're a Ref and an engineer? Oh that explains it...."