Intramural Volleyball Rules

General

1. Each player who participates in the intramural program must assume the risk of injury. Players should have personal accident insurance to cover injuries and accidents. It is the team captain’s responsibility to inform all teammates of this. Concerning ambulance service – it is the injured person’s responsibility to cover all ambulance transportation costs to the hospital. Police Services and the IM Sports Assistant on duty will determine proper immediate care.
2. Intramural programs are available to all student, faculty, and staff of Penn State Harrisburg. Alumni who have graduated within the past year AND are non-affiliate members of the CUB Fitness Facility are also eligible.
3. Team players must be registered on a roster or assigned to a roster by the Intramural Sports Director. Rosters should be comprised of 8-10 players keeping in mind the female ratio as described in Rule #1 under the GAME heading. No new players may be added after the team has played its first game. A player is eligible to play for only one IM team in the league. A forfeiture of the game will result if an ineligible player participates in any part of that game.
4. Absolutely NO alcoholic beverages are permitted at any activity sponsored by the Intramural Sports Department. If a player or team violates this rule, the player or team will be suspended from the league for the balance of the season. If it is determined by the umpire that a player is under the influence of alcohol/drugs, the player will be immediately referred to the IM Sports Assistant on duty.
5. One umpire and 2 back line judges will be assigned for each game.
6. Only regulation court shoes are permitted on the court – this means rubber soled, non-marking shoes (sneakers) must be worn.
7. Care must be taken in wiping off shoes thoroughly on the mats outside the gym. Wet shoes are not permitted on the gym floor
8. No jewelry or hats may be worn during games
9. No camisoles or sports bras may be worn as “outerwear.”
10. Scores and league standings will be kept current and posted on the IM Sports bulletin board in the Capital Union Building.

Game Format

1. Games shall be played with 6 players. The ratio of genders on the court at any given time is 4 men and 2 women. Games can be started with 5 players whereby the ratio will be 4 men and 1 woman on the court. Teams that DO NOT have 2 women on the court at all times shall play a man down.
2. A match will consist of 3 games with a minimum of 15 points per game.
3. A game is won when one team leads by 2 points with a minimum of 15 points.
4. A match is won when one team wins 2 out of the 3 games.
5. There will be a 5-minute grace period for the first game of the match.
6. Teams will volley for the first serve of the first game. Service when then alternate between the 2 teams for subsequent games of the match.
7. During the game, the service shall change sides when a “side-out” is called.
8. Rotation occurs when a receiving team has gained the right to serve. All players will rotate clockwise one position. Rotation does occur after the first change of serve in the game.
9. After each game, teams are to switch sides of the court.
10. After each game, players may switch positions.
11. A maximum interval of 2 minutes will be permitted between each game.
12. Everyone present must play.
13. If, at the end of regular season play, there is a place standing tie between 2 or more teams, the tie will be broken using head-to-head game scores.
14. Playoff format will be determined by the IM Sports Director. Each player must have participated in at least 50% of the games during the season to be eligible to play in playoffs.

Playing the Ball

1. During the game, all contact with the ball must be clean and not held (including lifted, thrown, carried, pushed, or caught). Simultaneous contact of the ball by more than one player is considered one contact and either player may participate in the next contact.
2. Any part of the body may be used for contact with the ball – as long as the contact is clean. PLEASE NOTE: The feet must be in contact with the floor.
3. There is no rule regarding male/female sequence of hits.
4. A ball that hits on a court boundary line is in-bounds.
5. A player cannot touch or catch a ball and call it out-of-bounds. The ball must hit the floor before it can be called out-of-bounds.
6. CEILING RULE – A ball that contacts the ceiling or any other overhead object is playable by the same team. The ball will be ruled dead by fault if it hits the ceiling and comes down into the opponent’s court.
7. CENTER LINE – The center line is common ground for both teams. Any part of a player’s body may touch the center line. Only a player’s hand, foot or feet may cross the center line into the opponent’s court provided that some part of that hand, foot or feet remain on or above the center line.
8. BLOCKING - A team that has partially blocked or tipped a ball, which remains live on their side of the court, has the right to a total of 3 contacts in order to return the ball. The block or the tip does not count as one of the team’s 3 contacts. A blocker’s hands may break the plane of the net, BUT may not contact the ball until the opponent has hit the ball in a return attempt.

Substitutions

1. Substitutions may be made on the serve only.
2. A player re-entering the game will take the position of the player that is leaving the game.

Service

1. “LET SERVE” = a serve that hits the net, without touching the net antennas, and continues across the net into the opponent’s court. A let serve is playable.
2. A server may serve from anywhere behind the end line and within the sideline boundaries.
3. Players may not attack or block a served ball.
4. One service tossing error will be permitted per service.

Timeouts

1. Each team may use one timeout per game. The length of the timeout will be 1 minute maximum.
2. A delay for an injury is an official’s timeout.

Forfeits

1. A forfeiture of a game will result if an ineligible player is used in any part of the match.
2. A forfeiture of the match will result if there are not enough players ready to play 20 minutes past the scheduled start time of the first game.

Sportsmanship

1. Team Captains are responsible for the language and conduct of their teammates and should take such steps as necessary to correct any undesirable situations. Sportsmanship will also be monitored by the IM Sports Assistant on duty.
2. Unreasonable arguing and unsportmanslike conduct with the umpire or line judge will not be tolerated. If it is necessary to discuss a rule interpretation with the umpire, this must be done by the team captain only.
3. Any time that a player has been ejected from a game, it will be reported by the umpire to the IM Sports Assistant on duty. The IM Sports Director and Assistant will determine what action will be taken.
4. Protests – A protest will not be accepted based on the umpire’s judgment in calling plays. If the protest is based on the misinterpretation or application of a playing rule, the protest must be filed with the IM Sports Assistant the night of the game. All protests must be written using the required form. The IM Sports Director and Assistant will make a determination on the protest the following day.

Rev. 9/07