Volleyball (NCAA Men)·Team Sports

NCAA

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NCAA Men's Volleyball Rules of the Game· 2025-26 NCAA Men's Volleyball Rules Book (USAV-base with NCAA modifications, spring season, 2.43m net height)Open source

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At a glanceEverything you need to set up a game

6 players

per teamPlayers

Indoor

Environment

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Section 1: Introduction

NCAA Men's Volleyball is the spring-season collegiate variant of indoor men's volleyball, contested January through May at NCAA Division I and III (NCAA D2 men's volleyball is contested as a separate level). The NCAA Men's Volleyball Championship is contested in early May. NCAA M's Volleyball uses the USA Volleyball + FIVB rule baseline with NCAA-specific modifications around set scoring caps, substitution count, libero usage, and challenge framework. The current edition is the 2025-26 NCAA Men's Volleyball Rules Book. For the women's variant (fall season) see Volleyball (NCAA Women); for the underlying FIVB rules see FIVB Official Rulebook; for beach volleyball see NCAA Beach Volleyball.

Section 2: Equipment

Ball: spherical, leather/synthetic, 65-67 cm circumference, 260-280 g, FIVB/Molten approved

Net: 2.43 m height (men's standard, vs 2.24 m women's), 1m × 9.5-10 m

Antennas marking the legal crossing zone

Posts 0.5-1.0 m outside sidelines, padded

Player apparel: team uniform with numbers; libero contrasting jersey

Knee pads recommended; ankle braces permitted

Section 4: Players & Officials

6 players on court per team; roster 12-18 D1; one or two designated liberos

Libero: defensive specialist, contrasting jersey, plays only back row, may replace any back-row player without counting against substitution limit

Substitutions: up to 15 per set (NCAA framework); substituted players may re-enter

Officials: 1st referee (R1, elevated stand), 2nd referee (R2, opposite), 2-4 line judges, scorer + assistant

Video review: NCAA challenge framework allows review of ball in/out, antenna contact, foot fault on serve, net touch, and ball-handling per the published Rules Book

Section 5: Rules of Play

Best of 5 sets

Sets 1-4: rally scoring to 25 points, must win by 2 (no upper cap)

Set 5 (decider): rally scoring to 15 points, must win by 2

Service rotation clockwise on each side-out

Serve must clear net within antennas; let serve permitted

Each team max 3 contacts before returning over net (block does NOT count as contact in indoor — different from beach)

Side-switch between sets; teams switch in set 5 at 8 points

Two team timeouts per set (60 seconds each); technical timeouts at 8 and 16 points sets 1-4

Section 7: Violations & Penalties

Faults causing loss of rally: ball out, four contacts, double contact (controlled), catch/throw, hand-setting violation, net touch, antenna contact, crossing centerline interfering with opponent, foot fault on serve, illegal server (out of rotation)

Misconduct: warning, penalty (yellow card), expulsion (red, out for set), disqualification (yellow + red, out for match)

NCAA

About

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Full Rulebook(7 sections)

Overview

How to win

The game

Section 1: Introduction

Section 2: Equipment

Section 3: Playing Area

Section 4: Players & Officials

Section 5: Rules of Play

Section 6: Scoring

Section 7: Violations & Penalties

Section 8: Safety Considerations

Playing the ball

Fouls & penalties

Equipment

Version History(1)

Variations of Volleyball(2)

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