The Official S3 Volleyball League Rules – All Levels

General Details

Each team consists of no more than 6 players on the court at one time (maximum of 3 males). There is no limit to how many girls can play on a court at one time. If there is only 1 girl there can only be 2 guys on the court at one time.

The minimum # of players to be an official game is 3. One guy and one girl. If there are only 3 players, 2 of the players must be of one gender. You may play with 2 guys and 1 girl OR 1 guy and 2 girls.

Matches consist of 3 games to 21. Team must win by 2 and there is a cap at 25 points.

Teams will have an hour to play 1 match (3 games). All 3 games will be played each night because they all count toward your record.

All games will use Rally Scoring Rules. Your team scores on every point won whether or not you were serving.

Beginning of Games

To start the game, team captains will rock/paper/scissor to decide who serves first. The team that wins can elect to serve or allow the other team to serve. The team that loses can select which side of the court to start the game.

Game Play/Scoring

Matches must be completed within the allotted hour, (warm up must be concluded before game start time). All games are played to 21 win by 2 or first to 25. Rally/speed scoring will be used. Standings will be based on W/L and strength of schedule will be the tiebreak.

Forfeits

If you do not meet the minimum team requirements (as mentioned above), the first game will be forfeited 10 minutes after start time. The entire Match will be forfeited at 20 minutes after start time. Subbing is allowed in between points. All subs must be made in a consistent manner throughout a game. Traditional subbing rules will not be followed, as long as the team does not gain an unfair advantage from a type of substitution.

Teams may use fill-in players during the regular season if you need them to field a full team of 6 players. YOU ARE REQUIRED TO EMAIL JESS@S3BOSTON.COM AT LEAST 24 HOURS BEFORE THE GAME WITH SUBSTITUTE NAME.

Fill-in players will NOT be allowed during playoffs without S3 approval.

If your team forfeits an entire MATCH during the season, the following rules apply:

  • First Offense: Loss of three games that night and warning issued.
  • Second Offense: Loss of three games and S3 reserves the right to remove team from playoffs with no refund for games not played.
  • Third Offense: Automatic removal from the league with no refund for games not played.

We enforce the warning because the opposing team is unable to play if a team does not show up. Please get subs or let us know if you do not have enough people in advance! We are all here to have a good time!

Game Rules

  1. Players must rotate clockwise in the order that they are on the court as each new point  is served from your side. Before the ball is served, you must be set up in this order. Once the ball has been served, you may move freely around the court on your side.
  2. A legal serve is one that crosses the net and is either touched by an opposing player or lands within the opposing team’s area of the court within the boundary lines. A serve that makes contact with the net and carries over to the opponent’s side of the net is a live serve and must be returned. Underhand serves are legal.
  3. You do not lose a point due to serving faults. Possession of the ball is given to the other team.
  4. The serve may not be blocked or spiked, but setting the serve is legal as long as the ball is not caught or carried.
  5. A defensive block does not count as one of the allowable contacts. A player may reach over the net to block a ball if any portion of the ball breaks the plane of the net or after the offense has come in contact with the ball on the third attempt.
  6. Player contact with the net in a manner not directly relating to or affecting the course of play is NOT a violation.
  7. The ball must be cleanly hit when spiking with an open hand. Guiding, carrying or lifting is illegal. A carry or lift is any use of an open hand(s) while making contact with the ball that is not in a firm manner.
  8. Out of bounds is the area outside the designated court line. The line is considered inbounds.
  9. The ball can contact any number of body parts down to, and including the foot.
  10. All games will be self monitored. League Coordinators will be on site throughout the games for close calls.  Please be honest and fair when making judgment calls.

Sportsmanship

S3 is all about having fun.  We hope that all participants keep that in mind when joining an S3 League. Although the games may become intense, you still can be competitive while maintaining good sportsmanship. With this said, any behavior deemed unacceptable by staff may result in suspension and/or ejection from a game or the league. S3 reserves the right to remove a player from a game or a league if they damage the quality of the league.